Are you struggling to decide between using a press release or a sponsored article to promote your business? You’re not alone. With both options offering unique advantages, it’s important to understand which strategy will yield the best results for your specific goals. In this article, we will compare press releases and sponsored articles, exploring their differences and helping you make an informed decision.
If you’re looking for a more traditional approach to media coverage, press releases might be the way to go. They are concise, newsworthy announcements that provide journalists with all the necessary information for publishing a story. On the other hand, sponsored articles offer a more subtle and persuasive way of promoting your business. They give you the opportunity to create engaging content that aligns with your brand’s voice and values.
While press releases can generate wider exposure through news outlets, sponsored articles provide a more targeted and direct reach to your desired audience. Ultimately, the best strategy depends on your objectives and the nature of your business. Join us as we delve into the details and help you determine the most effective promotional strategy for your business.
Press release vs sponsored article: When is a press release more useful?
Press releases are designed to help announce a currently unfolding event. Furthermore, they only present facts and come in a standard format. When writing a release, you have to be objective. The goal here is to capture the attention of the reporter, journalists, or media outlet. These are the people who will capture your story and turn it into a newsworthy article for publication. Speaking of newsworthy, all press releases must be newsworthy. Besides using the right format, this is the minimum threshold you need to attain to capture a journalist’s attention.
Keep in mind that reporters or journalists still rely on press releases for information they can publish. That’s because they present official announcements from a company or organization. Companies/businesses use press releases when:
- Acquiring another business
- Announcing a new milestone
- Announcing partnerships
- Hiring a new chief executive officer
If you follow the right format when creating your press releases, they can be powerful announcement tools. They will capture the attention of the masses. They will even enhance the probability of your business obtaining media coverage. Getting published in the media will not only expand the visibility of your business but also improve its credibility.
Press release vs sponsored article: When to choose the press release
Using a few words to share your newsworthy story or announcement is one of the major benefits that you get from a press release. After all, the recommended word count for a good press release is 300-500 words. You don’t get the benefit of brevity with sponsored articles. Rather, you have to contend with writing 1,000+ words while also keeping the audience engaged. Since it’s so easy to digest the information in a press release, journalists and reporters love this format. Due to their brief nature, releases are also inexpensive to produce and distribute. Therefore, you will be spending less money on them.
Press release vs sponsored article: When is a sponsored article more useful?
Unlike press releases, sponsored articles are more detailed. As such, they tend to be longer. They typically discuss the subject matter in-depth so that the reader can get the complete picture. Even so, you need to support your content with facts. Backing up your content with facts is a common requirement for press releases and sponsored articles alike. Finally, sponsored articles have a specific editorial format that you must follow when creating them.
Sponsored articles can come in different forms. The most common options are expert opinions, interviews, or articles. For example, you can boost your content on Cointelegraph with sponsored articles. Other options include price analyses and case studies.
While Cointelegraph claims that they acquire most of their views through content on price analysis, there’s a downside to this. You see, only companies among the top 200 rank on ConMarketCap can appreciate this placement.
Thus, if your company is not among the top 200, the best strategy to boost your brand visibility is through sponsored articles. These articles allow you to share various news about your business or your industry with the target audience. Since sponsored articles are more in-depth, they also give you the opportunity to educate your target audience. This helps with customer acquisition and customer retention, especially if you operate in a niche industry like cybersecurity, cryptocurrency, or finance. Once people trust you to educate them, they are more likely to buy your products or services.
While you can use sponsored articles to highlight industry challenges, it’s more important to highlight how your company is helping to solve these challenges. To give your content more power and credibility, consider doing a case study. Thereafter, you can boost its visibility by publishing it in a magazine or a similar outlet.
Press release vs sponsored article: When to choose the sponsored article
When used consistently over a long period of time, sponsored articles can help your brand gain a positive reputation. With a good sponsored article strategy, your business will have a shot at being a thought leader in your industry. Here are some key benefits that sponsored articles offer over the standard press release:
- They are more shareable on social media sites like Twitter
- Media sites and news sites rank sponsored articles higher
- They appear on Google News
- Media outlets and journalists often pick up sponsored articles and write a follow-up story based on the original story
Unlike press releases, they offer many unique story angles that one can use when targeting media outlets. At times, the same story can be told from several different angles. In this way, you can tweak one article to align with the needs of multiple outlets at a time.
The disadvantages of sponsored articles
While they offer impressive benefits, sponsored articles also have a few downsides. For starters, since they are more in-depth, it’s more costly and time-consuming to prepare or create them. Some audiences can also be skeptical when it comes to sponsored articles since it’s paid content. However, if you do it right, and focus on educating readers, sponsored articles can be powerful marketing tools. They can help your business gain wider visibility and establish a reputation as a thought leader.
How Pressfarm can help with this
Whether you settle on a press release or a sponsored article, Pressfarm can help you. Pressfarm is made up of a team of PR specialists and expert writers who have experience working with several clients across different industries. They have some of the best PR packages you can leverage to boost the visibility of your business. For instance, they offer press release writing, press kit design, sponsored article writing, email pitching, and much more.
With all these resources at your disposal, you can create an engaging brand story that drives people to your brand.
For flexibility, their services come in different packages. As a result, startups, medium-sized, and established companies alike can access services that meet their needs and fit within their budgets. They also offer content distribution with a refined strategy that is designed to put your content in front of the right eyes when it matters most. With their industry experience, you have a better chance of featuring in media publications. Combine their expertise with their media database of 1 million+ media contacts across different industries and regions, and your competition will not stand a chance against you.
Collaborating with the Pressfarm team might be exactly what you need to give your brand the boost it deserves.
Press release vs sponsored article: Our final verdict
In the press release vs sponsored article battle, both are formidable opponents. The best choice for your brand depends on the intended purpose of the tool. While both tools offer brand recognition, credibility, and reputation, they do so differently.
If you want to attain media coverage without investing too much in content, a press release will do. On the other hand, if you want to share an in-depth account of a specific news story, then a sponsored article would be better.