AdWeek has a pretty good feature article today about the social media press release.
Key points:
[…] Journalists are no longer considered the only audience for a company’s news because in the blogsophere “everyone can be their own journalist,” says Todd Defren, a SHIFT principal [and developer of the first social media press release template]. “And a lot more companies are looking to consumer generated content to add to the conversation. The most important aspect is enabling people to have and share conversations about the news.”
Defren describes the social media press release as “the democratization of access to content” where participation in the conversation becomes a form of marketing. “Every press release becomes like a blog post so people can track it and come back to it,” he says.
That last sentence is a primary focus in the wide debate on the evolution of the traditional press release.
Some vehemently disagree with the social media press release, opining that it illustrates a complete lack of understanding of social media. Others skillfully and audibly articulate the features and benefits of this evolutionary format.
Whatever the different opinions are – and it’s great to have such open, if at times heated, discussions – I think the social media press release today is a complementary communication channel that sits alongside traditional communication methods including the venerable press release.
No one’s ready to ditch that. Yet. If ever.
