What is a media release? And do you actually need one?

​​“I need a media release!” This is one of the most common things I hear when people get in touch, looking for ways to get more exposure for their business. “I need to get some PR for my business. Can you do a media release?”
 
But the truth is, a media release might be the furthest thing from what you or your business needs.
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​“I need a media release!” This is one of the most common things I hear when people get in touch, looking for ways to get more exposure for their business. “I need to get some PR for my business. Can you do a media release?”
 
But the truth is, a media release might be the furthest thing from what you or your business needs.
 
The confusion is understandable. ‘Media release’ is one of the most common terms people associate with public relations – and public relations itself is a tricky thing to explain. (I’ve been working in PR for well over a decade and most my family have no idea what I actually do!)
 
So if you’ve come to the point where you think you need some PR for your business, it might help to first understand what a media release is and whether it’s the right plan of attack for your business.
 
What is a media release?
A media release – otherwise known as a press release or a news release – is essentially a short summary of news about your business (or your own personal brand). Although it’s only a page or two long, it will be carefully crafted complete with punchy headline, descriptive sub-head, and carefully chosen copy, complete with quotes from the company spokesperson. It will be written in the style of a news article to make it easy for journalists to use in their stories.
 
There’s a very particular template for writing a media list – making sure you include the who, what, why, where, when in the first paragraph, and other technical points. But the most important thing to know when writing a media release is that it must contain news.
 
What makes something newsworthy?
In order to warrant writing a media release, you need have something newsworthy to share. The launch of a new business doing something no one else has done before, the launch of a brand new product breaking the mould, the first of its kind service, or something quirky and interesting like a child prodigy inventor or dog running a business. There needs to be some kind of wow factor otherwise it simply isn’t news.
 
Of course, the audience for the announcement is also an important factor when determining what is and isn’t news. Maybe your news isn’t interesting to the wider public and will therefore not be of interesting to mainstream news reporters. But perhaps you’ve got a niche product or service that will completely transform the lives of engineers or school teachers or marketers or graphic designers, in which case you’ll have a great reason to do a media release specifically tailored to niche publications who write for your particular audience.
 
Other exceptions to the rule might be when your product or service is relevant at a particular time of the year – Christmas or Valentine’s Day or Plastic Free July; it is sometimes possible to use these calendar events as the news hook for your story. In fact, there are many tactics you can use which can help create news where there isn’t any, but the simple fact that your business exists probably isn’t one of them.
 
I have nothing new to say – does that mean I can’t do PR?
No, not at all! There are plenty of other ways that PR can help get exposure for your business. From drafting opinion pieces to demonstrate your expertise on certain issues, to offering media and bloggers products or services in exchange for a review, there are loads of different ways you can use public relations to help drive business exposure.
 
And even if you do have a newsworthy announcement that warrants writing a press release, quite often, writing and distributing a media release isn’t a standalone activity. It’s simply one activity that forms part of a wider campaign that has been carefully tailored to meet your business’ unique objectives.
 
It’s all about the outcomes
Rather than thinking, ‘I need a media release’, the best thing to ask yourself before deciding whether you need PR is, what exactly is it that I want to achieve for my business?
 
What are the specific outcomes you’d be looking for? Do you want to reach more customers? Do you want your brand to appear in Google searches? Do you want more people signing up to your subscription service? What will success look like for you?
 
Once we know what the end result needs to be, we can then work backwards develop a carefully tailored project plan which is designed to help you achieve those goals. Then, and only then, will we know if a media release forms part of the equation.