Rethinking the Humble Press Release

Rethinking the Humble Press Release Lori Packer :: @LoriPA :: Penn State Web 2011

Let me tell you a story... about ladybugs."Look Up! TheBillion-BugHighway YouCant See"NPR, Robert Krulwich

Its the people who already care about you who care about you.

Its the people who already care about you who care about you.Turn those audiences into communicators

Its the people who already care about you who care about you.Turn those audiences into communicatorsInformation + enthusiasm = BUZZ

FacultyStudentsStaﬀTrustees

General Public Academic Community Prospective Students Parents AlumniFacultyStudentsStaﬀTrustees

Press releases: In the beginningLetterhead, printers,envelopes, labels,stamps, fax machines

Press releases traditionally seen as a source.

Press releases traditionally seen as a source.Serve as “fodder” forjournalists

Press releases traditionally seen as a source.Serve as “fodder” forjournalistsTell our stories toreporters,who then tell a story totheir audience (or not)

Press releases traditionally seen as a source.Serve as “fodder” forjournalistsTell our stories toreporters,who then tell a story totheir audience (or not)Can influence but notcontrol the outcome

Press releases traditionally seen as a source.Serve as “fodder” forjournalistsTell our stories toreporters,who then tell a story totheir audience (or not)Can influence but notcontrol the outcomeHave a limited shelf life

But theres a problem.The traditional news hole is shrinking.

But theres a problem.The traditional news hole is shrinking. CNN closes its science unit.

But theres a problem.The traditional news hole is shrinking. CNN closes its science unit. Time, Newsweek, and other mainstream magazines getting skinnier and skinnier.

But theres a problem.The traditional news hole is shrinking. CNN closes its science unit. Time, Newsweek, and other mainstream magazines getting skinnier and skinnier. Newspapers are in trouble.

But theres a problem.The traditional news hole is shrinking. CNN closes its science unit. Time, Newsweek, and other mainstream magazines getting skinnier and skinnier. Newspapers are in trouble. Another trend? Reporters not including the name of the institution in their story. Just the journal name.

Press releases can now also be seen as destinations. you are here

Press releases can now also be seen as destinations. you are hereStill serve as source material for journalists, BUT...online the press release becomes the story with anunlimited shelf life.

Press releases can now also be seen as destinations. you are hereStill serve as source material for journalists, BUT...online the press release becomes the story with anunlimited shelf life. Tell your own story.

Press releases

ContentPress releases

Stories ContentPress releases

Words and images Stories Content Press releases

Case study #1: Words and images"Parents ums and uhs Help Toddlers LearnNew Words, Cognitive Scientists Find"Study from the UofR Baby Lab shows thattoddlers actually use their parents stumblesand hesitations to help them learn languagemore efficiently. April 4, 2011

Story featured audio of the speech samples used in the study (words)...and photosof theexperimentunderway(images).

Art = options.

Case study #2:Make it easy to be social"Color Red Increasesthe Speed andStrength of Reactions"A study by a Rochesterpsychologist showsthat people see thecolor red, their physicalreactions become bothfaster and moreforceful. June 2, 2011

First big story written *after* Id added theFacebook and Twitter buttons to releases.

Changes in traffic patterns

Changes in traffic patternsSpring semester 2011170k total visitsFacebook:3.5% of total visits11% of visits fromreferralsTwitter:.3% of total visits1.2% of visits fromreferrals

Changes in traffic patternsSpring semester 2011 Fall semester 2010170k total visits 161k total visitsFacebook: Facebook: 2.75%3.5% of total visits of total visits11% of visits from 6% of visits fromreferrals referralsTwitter: Twitter: ..3% of total visits 3% of total visits1.2% of visits from 1.2% of visits fromreferrals referrals

Changes in traffic patternsSpring semester 2011 Fall semester 2010 Spring semester 2010170k total visits 161k total visits 163k total visitsFacebook: Facebook: 2.75% Facebook: 1.1%3.5% of total visits of total visits of total visits11% of visits from 6% of visits from 3.25% of visits fromreferrals referrals referralsTwitter: Twitter: . Twitter: ..3% of total visits 3% of total visits 23% of total visits,1.2% of visits from 1.2% of visits from .65% of visits fromreferrals referrals referrals

Case study #3: Try something different"Cincinnati WaterfrontPanoramaDaguerreotype"Art conservators andcomputer scientistwork together topreserve one of thehighest-resolutiondaguerreotypes inexistence. October 14, 2010

What was cool about this story?

What was cool about this story?That you could zoom in and zoom in and findincredible details in this very high-resolutionphotograph taken in 1848.

What was cool about this story?That you could zoom in and zoom in and findincredible details in this very high-resolutionphotograph taken in 1848.That in many ways this "old" technologyproduced a better image than our most moderncameras.

What was cool about this story?That you could zoom in and zoom in and findincredible details in this very high-resolutionphotograph taken in 1848.That in many ways this "old" technologyproduced a better image than our most moderncameras.Thats how the press officer pitched it, but whystop there?

What the hell ... Zoomify! The press officer in this case did a pitch, but did not initially write a press release. For his pitch, he asked if there was a way to show the reporter the incredible detail of the images. Enter Zoomify, a Flash plugin that allows the user to zoom in and move around on an image. But why waste this on the reporter?

If you pitch, why not publish?

If you pitch, why not publish?The story was picked up.(yay! By Krulwich, no less)

If you pitch, why not publish?The story was picked up.(yay! By Krulwich, no less)Then Yahoo! News ran itand linked to our Zoomifypage

If you pitch, why not publish?The story was picked up.(yay! By Krulwich, no less)Then Yahoo! News ran itand linked to our Zoomifypage 14k hits in one day Time on page 04:46 (site avg ~01:20) Still sees traffic today

Case study #4: The media still matter"Lights Most Exotic Trick Yet: So Fast It Goes ...Backwards?"Light passing through a fiber laced with achemical element went so fast that it exited thefiber before it entered. May 11, 2006http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=2544

Backwards light: An early attempt at a complete packageInfographic… Animations… High-res photos…

Backwards light: The results Hit in the New York Times = SUCCESS! Story appears online with link back to the release because of the animation

Backwards light: Theres more In May 2006, release receives 101,000 hits To date, this story has received more than 326,000 hits "The gift that keeps on giving." Story is still regularly among the most visited pages on our News site.

What do reporters want? • 87% want access to high-res images online • 79% are more likely to pick up a story with an image • 32% want embed codes so they can easily reuse digital content • 30% are looking for web-quality video 2011 survey of 200 journalists by PR agency PwR http://releaseit.pwrnewmedia.com/?p=95

What do reporters want?Mainstream media are reacting to changes in media landscape too Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism 2011 State of the Media Report Only online audience has increased. For the first time, more people said they get news online (46%) than from newspapers (41%).

Learning from FuturityOnlinemagazinepublishingresearch newsfrom morethan 60universities inU.S., U.K., andCanada.

Learning from Futurity: Words and images

Six things you can do now torethink your press releases.

Six things you can do now torethink your press releases. Add tweet and Facebook like buttons. I wish I did it months ago.

Six things you can do now torethink your press releases. Add tweet and Facebook like buttons. I wish I did it months ago. Write headlines like a copy editor. Is your headline tweetable?

Six things you can do now torethink your press releases. Add tweet and Facebook like buttons. I wish I did it months ago. Write headlines like a copy editor. Is your headline tweetable? Art, art, art. What can we shoot? Can we use stock? Art = options

Six things you can do now torethink your press releases.

Six things you can do now torethink your press releases. Dont bury the lede. Get to the cool. The researchers title, name of the lab, and the funding agency are what the second paragraph is for.

Six things you can do now torethink your press releases. Dont bury the lede. Get to the cool. The researchers title, name of the lab, and the funding agency are what the second paragraph is for. Link, link, link. Original study, professors lab, other research from this professor, other studies on this topic, Google Earth, Wikipedia, NIH photos...

Six things you can do now torethink your press releases. Dont bury the lede. Get to the cool. The researchers title, name of the lab, and the funding agency are what the second paragraph is for. Link, link, link. Original study, professors lab, other research from this professor, other studies on this topic, Google Earth, Wikipedia, NIH photos... Always be measuring. Add Google Analytics to your news site if you havent already. Track tweets and retweets and follow up.

Four things I want to do next.

Four things I want to do next. Write less about more. There are hundreds of tenured faculty doing research around here. How can we tell those stories?

Four things I want to do next. Write less about more. There are hundreds of tenured faculty doing research around here. How can we tell those stories? Add commenting. Have tried some experiments with Disqus. Who would monitor? Cant "turn on comments and leave the room."

Four things I want to do next. Write less about more. There are hundreds of tenured faculty doing research around here. How can we tell those stories? Add commenting. Have tried some experiments with Disqus. Who would monitor? Cant "turn on comments and leave the room." Rethink our platform. I smell a Wordpress conversion.

Four things I want to do next.

Four things I want to do next. Think strategically. How can we use our press releases to help tell the larger story of our institution?

Some inspiration: William & Mary

Some inspiration: Vanderbilt

Some inspiration: Denison University

Some inspiration:Eberly College of Science

Questions? Presentation available on SlideShare"Rethinking the Humble Press Release." Tag: psuweb11 Contact me: Lori Packer lori.packer@rochester.edu Twitter: @LoriPA

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Rethinking the Humble Press Release

by Lori Packer on Jun 14, 2011

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