All posts about multimedia

The Rise of the Infographic Press Release

by Robin Cangie on February 29th, 2012

The popularity of infographic press releases is on the rise, and for good reason. A well-done infographic is eye-catching and engaging, and, unlike traditional text releases, it tells your story almost instantly, offering a crucial advantage in the constant battle for your customers’ attention.

Infographics offer more information and detail than photographs, and convey it more quickly than videos. They are especially good at conveying complex data and statistics, original research or when you’re catering to a multi-lingual audience.

According to a study last year by PRNewswire, press releases that included multimedia content garnered significantly more views (up to 77% more) than those that didn’t.

So what makes a good infographic release? When telling your story visually, there are three main things to keep in mind:

  1. Keep it meaningful. This really should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway – if you don’t have a really great story to tell, one that will be meaningful to your audience, not just tout your brand, then you shouldn’t be writing a press release.
  2. Keep it relevant. No amount of beautiful design will help you if your audience isn’t interested in your story.
  3. Keep it concise. Attention spans are short. Respect your readers’ time by keeping your story clear and concise.

Here are a couple of examples:

source: PR Newswire

source: PR Newswire

Have you ever tried an infographic release? What were your results?

by Robin Cangie
on February 29th, 2012


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Make Your Press Release More Shareable with Multimedia

by Jesse Wynants on February 6th, 2012

What’s the easiest way to encourage people to share your press release? A great story alone won’t do the trick if it looks like all the other plain-text releases out there. If you want to up your press release’s “share factor”, you need to include (surprise!) something shareable, usually multimedia. Here are three ways to do it:

  • Add an image. There is no, repeat no reason not to add an image (or several!) to your press release. Whether it’s a collection of screenshots from your groundbreaking new release, a clever and relevant illustration or a photo captured on-the-ground, adding an image makes your release instantly more visually appealing (and therefore, more likely to be shared).
  • Include a video. The words “viral video” are practically a cliche these days, but there’s still a lot of value in creating a good video to accompany your release. A video is an opportunity to add depth to your story and lend a human face to your brand. They’re a lot more sharable than text articles, too, and bloggers are always looking for good ones to share with their followers.
  • Create an infographic. Who says your release has to be plain-text? Try telling your story visually, instead, with an infographic. The best ones can spread across the web like wildfire. But before you decide to go this route, make sure your story is suited for it – your story should be entertaining, informative and, most importantly, simple to articulate in pictures.

When it comes to sharing, the most important thing to remember is that people don’t share things with their friends because they like you; they share things with their friends because they like their friends, and because they want to look good in front of them. Help your audience do that, and your story will already be well on its way to “going viral”, as they say.

How do you increase the “share factor” of your releases? What tactics have and haven’t worked well for you?

by Jesse Wynants
on February 6th, 2012


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