The terms “press release” and “news release” are often used interchangeably, causing confusion among both the average person and marketers. However, it’s important to recognize that there is a significant distinction between the two. For business owners, understanding the difference between a press release and a news release is crucial, as it can make a significant difference in the success of your PR strategies.
To shed light on this topic, the Pressfarm team has drawn on their extensive PR knowledge and experience to develop a comprehensive guide that will help you understand how to effectively use these tools in various situations. Furthermore, we will demonstrate how you can leverage each type of release to boost your business.
What is a news release?
A news release is directly tied to a trending news topic. If you want to cover a current or previously trending topic that is newsworthy, then a news release is the appropriate choice. Its purpose is to inform audiences about ongoing events from an objective point of view. By commenting on a hot topic through a news release, you can establish yourself as a thought leader in that specific area.
To craft an effective news release, follow this format:
- State the motive behind the incident.
- Specify the location where the event or incident took place.
- Mention the individuals or audience involved.
- Provide the timeframe of when the event is happening or when it occurred.
- Clearly describe what exactly took place.
A news release allows you to cover various topics such as crime reports, politics, or inspiring stories about the good deeds of individuals. However, to ensure that your content reaches the right audience, it is crucial to write your press release with the specific audience in mind. This requires taking the time to understand your audience’s interests, geographical locations, and age demographics. By leveraging this knowledge, you can personalize the news for your readers.
While these details may seem insignificant, they play a critical role in attracting readers. For instance, millennials may prefer a different news release format compared to baby boomers. Therefore, customizing your content to meet the needs of your readers is essential.
A news release can also be useful if your business has hosted or participated in a recent industry event, especially local events like charity drives. Additionally, it is a valuable tool to inform your customers about any changes in your business operations, such as modified working hours.
What is a press release?
A press release is a document that covers a story significant to the company or individual writing it. Although it doesn’t necessarily have to be headline news, it should still be a newsworthy story. The primary objective of a press release is to address the “how,” “why,” “when,” “what,” and “who” aspects of a story. It serves as a creative and indirect way to deliver a sales pitch without your audience immediately realizing that it is a sales pitch.
Once you have prepared your press release, you need to present it to targeted media outlet reporters and convince them of its newsworthiness. If the content meets the threshold of newsworthiness, journalists may publish it on their media platforms.
Apart from persuading news representatives that your story is newsworthy and your brand is credible, a press release serves other important roles. It plays a key role in capturing the attention of the general audience and introducing your project to them.
When well-written, a press release can be a powerful marketing tool for your business. However, if not properly prepared, it can have the opposite effect. In fact, a poorly-written press release may never see the light of day or go beyond the journalist’s desk.
For small businesses seeking publicity, a press release can be a valuable resource. It can be used for product promotions and to make announcements about upcoming events.
Press release vs. news release: contrasts
The critical factor that distinguishes press releases from news releases as PR tools is time. A news release covers ongoing or past events that are newsworthy, while a press release focuses on upcoming events or developments specific to your business. In other words, a press release highlights planned developments for the future.
While the term “press release” has been in existence for a long time, the term “news release” has emerged more recently. While not exclusive to media outlets, both press releases and news releases are closely associated with news channels and online platforms.
For small businesses, a news release is useful for reporting past business events, while a press release is ideal for announcing upcoming events or projects.
The importance of PR services and tools for small businesses
When launching a new business, it is easy to overlook public relations activities. There is often so much to focus on, such as developing valuable products, building an effective team, and finding customers to sell to. However, PR is a crucial aspect of your business’s survival.
Through public relations, your business can generate publicity and thrive in the marketplace. PR allows you to build relationships with your target customers, ensuring their satisfaction and loyalty to your brand. It also enables you to connect with media professionals and demonstrate why your business is worth writing about, thereby attracting new clients. Without PR, it is impossible to grow in the industry, regardless of the size of your business.
PR services aim to target, build, and promote a positive brand reputation within your industry. The right PR professionals can ensure that your brand remains top of mind in the marketplace, resulting in a growing customer base. Whether you choose to handle your PR in-house or hire a PR agency, your PR efforts will contribute to the success of your business. For startups, partnering with a PR agency provides access to a global network of media professionals who can help you share your brand story with the world.
How Pressfarm can help
If you need assistance with writing your press release, Pressfarm offers press release templates and PR packages that include professional press release writing services.
In addition to writing compelling press releases, the Pressfarm team of PR specialists, expert writers, and certified designers can develop captivating guest posts and visually appealing media kits. With these content assets, you can capture media attention and engage your target audience effectively.
Pressfarm has also developed a proven content distribution strategy for hundreds of brands. By submitting your content to the right media outlets and startup directories, Pressfarm can enhance your online visibility and ensure that your brand appears in relevant search results across various search engines. Moreover, Pressfarm’s extensive media database can help you connect with over 1 million journalists across different industries, allowing you to share your brand story with the world.
At Pressfarm, we can build a customized campaign that puts your brand in front of the right eyes, helping you capture the attention of prospective clients through well-crafted news releases and press releases.
Conclusion
Understanding the distinction between press releases and news releases is crucial in the field of PR. Regardless of the size or type of business, comprehending how each aspect of your PR strategies works is essential for garnering publicity and establishing a positive brand reputation. By effectively utilizing press releases and news releases, you can effectively communicate your brand’s message, engage with your target audience, and ultimately drive the success of your business.
Press release and news release are terms that often confuse both the average person and marketers alike. While some people use the two terms interchangeably, that shouldn’t be the case. After all, there’s a significant difference between the two. If you own a business, understanding the difference between a press release and a news release is vital. Knowing how to use the two can make a world of difference in the success of your PR strategies.
Different members of the Pressfarm team have drawn on their PR knowledge and experience to develop a guide that will help you learn how to use these tools in different situations.
Furthermore, we’ve also demonstrated how you can leverage each to boost your business.
What’s a news release?
A news release directly ties into a trending news topic. If you want to cover a current or previously trending topic that’s newsworthy, then you should consider using a news release. Their role is to inform audiences about current events from an objective point of view. By commenting on a hot topic via a news release, you can establish a reputation for yourself as a thought leader in that topic.
To write the best news release, you should follow the following format:
- The motive behind the incident
- Where the event or incident is taking place or took place
- People or audience who were involved
- When it’s happening or when it happened
- What exactly took place
A news release allows you to explore various topics. For example, you can cover crime reports, politics, and inspiring stories about the good deeds of Samaritans. However, in order for your content to reach the right audiences, you must write your press release to target those specific audiences. This requires you to take time to learn about your audience members and what matters to them. In order to do this right, use key aspects like interests, geographical locations, and age. Moreover, you can leverage this knowledge to personalize the news for your readers.
While these pieces of information may look insignificant, they play a critical role in the gaining of readers. For instance, the news release format that millennials prefer is often different from the preferred format of baby boomers. Therefore, you must customize your content to ensure you meet your readers’ needs.
A news release can also come in handy if you’ve hosted or participated in a recent industry event, especially a local one like a charity event. It’s also a helpful tool if there has been a change in your business operations, especially the working hours. You’ll need a news release to inform your customers about this change.
What’s a press release?
A press release is a document that covers a story that is significant to the company or person writing it. While this doesn’t have to be headline news, it still needs to be a newsworthy story. The main objective of a press release is to address the “how”, “why”, “when”, what, and “who” aspects of a story. It’s a creative, indirect way to deliver a sales pitch without your audience necessarily realizing that you’re making a sales pitch.
After preparing this document, you need to present it to target media outlet reporters and convince them it’s newsworthy content. If it meets the threshold of newsworthy content, the journalist will publish it on their media platform(s).
Besides persuading the news representatives that your story is newsworthy and your brand is credible, a press release also plays other important roles. For starters, it plays a key role in capturing the general audience’s attention and introducing your project to them.
If you write your press release well, it will turn out to be a powerful tool for business marketing. However, it can also be a poor marketing tool if you don’t prepare it well. In fact, a badly-written press release won’t see the light of day. It won’t even go past the desk of the journalist.
If you own a small business and you’d like to generate some publicity for it, a press release can be a resourceful tool. For instance, you can use it in product promotions. Additionally, you can use press releases to make announcements if you have upcoming events.
Press release vs. news release: contrasts
There’s a critical factor that distinguishes the press release and news release as PR tools. That’s time. For instance, a news release would either cover any newsworthy event that is ongoing or one that has already happened. On the other hand, a press release covers an upcoming event or development, specifically in your business. In this way, a press release focuses on developments planned for the future.
While the term “press release” has been in existence for eons, the term “news release” has only emerged in the last few years. While not exclusive to media outlets, press releases and news releases are closely linked to news channels and online platforms.
When you have a small business, the news release will help you report past business events. On the other hand, the press release is the perfect tool to announce upcoming events or projects.
Why small businesses need PR services and tools
When you’ve launched a new business, it’s easy to push public relations activities of any kind aside. After all, there’s usually so much to worry about when you’re simply trying to establish a robust business before you even think about public relations functions. You need to develop valuable products, hire an effective team, and find customers to sell to. This is all very vital to the survival of your new business. In reality, so is PR.
Through public relations, your business can generate publicity and flourish in the marketplace. Public relations is the way you build relationships with those same customers who you need. It’s the way you keep them satisfied and ensure they stay loyal to your brand. It’s also the way you connect with media professionals and prove to them that your business is worth writing about so that you can connect with new clients. As you can see, without PR, growing in the industry is impossible, regardless of the size of your business.
PR services target, build, and promote a positive brand reputation in your industry. The right PR professionals can make sure your brand remains top of mind in the marketplace, therefore ensuring you have a growing customer base. Whether you choose to do your PR in-house or hire an agency of PR experts, your PR efforts will always boost the success of your business. For a startup, hiring the services of a PR agency can give you access to a worldwide network of media professionals who can help you share your brand story with the world.
How Pressfarm can help
Do you need help with writing your press release? Check out our press release templates. You can also sign up for a Pressfarm PR package and let us worry about writing your press release.
In addition to writing professional press releases, the PR specialists, expert writers, and certified designers at Pressfarm are skilled at developing winning guest posts and eye-catching media kits. With this content, you can capture media attention and win your target audience over.
We’ve also built a content distribution strategy that has proven successful for hundreds of brands. By submitting your content to the right media outlets and startup directories, we can boost your online visibility and ensure your brand ranks in relevant search results across different search engines. Our media database can also help you connect with over 1 million journalists across different industries and share your brand story with the world.
At Pressfarm, we can build a customized campaign that puts your brand in front of the right eyes.
Capture the attention of prospective clients with your news releases and press releases
Understanding the distinction between a press release and a news release is vital when you’re doing PR. Regardless of the size or type of business, understanding how every aspect of your PR strategies works is essential for publicity and brand reputation.