On the 23rd of May, 2006, an American agency, Shift Communications, has published a new template for press information. The new form was supposed to adhere to the contemporary trends in development of distribution of information on the Internet and allow for easier utilization of news information by social media. Is it practical to implement the solutions proposed as part of the social media press release in Polish Internet PR?

New challenges, old habits

For many a Polish company, the very use of new press information format can be an opportunity to boast about its innovation and openness to the newest trends. Commentators seem to be in agreement in singing praises to the characteristics of the new tool, underlining the necessity to adjust information policies of the individual enterprise to the dynamically changing realities of the Internet. The changes, rightfully or not dubbed as Web 2.0, especially wide-reaching development of community web services and tools and the increasing importance of blogosphere, demand new standards of activity to be adopted by the authors of press information. Otherwise, of their own volition they will forego the opportunity to reach an ever-increasingly important part of the Internet.

Will the change of the press release format alone suffice? Outside of a small group of reporters and specialists, who, when forced to, can swallow even the most insignificant and mundane piece of news, the wider audience can react to this type of news with traditional disdain. Aversion to the pushy propaganda and the search for the really worthwhile content successfully blocks any attempt to promote boring corporate clichés in the social aggregate information services. A change in thought is necessary – a simple return to the foundations of communication where the message is also valuable to the receiver, which many authors of elaborate PR releases seem to be forgetting about. The Internet needs attractive and meaningful content and such will always be in demand.

The important thing is, that the positives…

The pluses of using the new press release format are obvious:

1. Quicker aggregation and distribution – the main thesis of the text in point form allow for quick assessment of what the information is about. Accessible and well described multimedia materials enrich the content. Preparation of news with the search engines in mind make it easier to locate it later. Varied information formats allow for smoother distribution of material further on. Scripts enabling promotion in “digger” services afford an additional opportunity to broaden the effective reach of the information.

2. Faster editing – the information content broken down to its ”basic parts” in the new format is a comfortable solution for the reporters, who compile their writing from many sources. It is enough to collect the highlighted theses and, based on them, create the copy. Time isn’t wasted on digging for concrete information in the thick pile of newfangled propaganda talk. Also, the press release authors have to devote less time to preparation of complicated corporate narration, most of which ends up being rejected right away by the reporters editing the news.

3. Easier referencing to previous news – publishing links to previous press releases in services modelled after del.icio.us allows for the creation of a clear set of news, from which the reporters can select specific information for their articles. In an ideal situation, those links can be passed on further to the resources of other users of the social bookmarking services.

4. Immediate news signal - RSS - Publishing an RSS channel with current news links relieves the press bureau from informing the reporters ”manually”. Sending hundreds of emails with large attachments is no longer necessary. Reporters using the RSS aggregators (built into browsers or small applications like the RSS Reader) are automatically informed of the news coming from specific companies.

…do not overshadow the negatives.

It is good to approach the aforementioned possibilities with a bit of scepticism, paying heed to the realities of the Polish Internet, where the local versions of the social media press release can be applied.

1. Lack of time – the reporter has less and less time for acquiring, editing and publishing a piece of information. There is too much of it and it’s impossible to devote an appropriate amount of attention to each. In practice, building information anew based on SMPR requires greater amounts of work than copying and pasting the narrative received, after cutting out the most propagandesque elements. This situation is true especially for all the owners of the smaller Internet websites, whose newsrooms are based mainly on free information supplied by the companies.

2. Lack of tools - Even if the reporters open up to using the RSS, the problem with aggregation of SMPR news on Polish websites appears. Placing a link to a company information piece on websites such as Wykop.pl or Gwar.pl, if it doesn’t get flagged as spam, will highly likely not be received with much enthusiasm. There aren’t any Polish websites that would accept the new press release format and allow for easy access to it.

3. Attitude - Are the decision makers in the companies ready to experiment with such ”tweaked” press information? Can Polish companies that are trying to promote themselves on the web prepare content that will first and foremost inform and supply information, and promote as a secondary goal?

4. Higher costs? - Can preparation of information using the SMPR format be associated with costs higher than in the case of traditional information? Creation of a short video, which can be added to the content, parts of expert (or even consumer) opinions, SEO – those are initiatives requiring greater involvement than in the case of traditional news.

Social Media Press Release is a new idea for increasing the effectiveness of PR activities on the Internet. It is still under discussion, efforts leading to the creation of a new, widely accepted standard are still being made. It is good to remember that the format change alone may not be enough. It is necessary to draw attention to providing the audiences with a greater information and knowledge resource. Promotional copy, deprived of irritating propaganda talk, should remain a backdrop.

Marcin Wilkowski
e-PR Manager
Heureka

Links

Die! Press release! Die! Die! Die!
http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2006/02/die_press_relea.php

A Press Release for Social Media? I Think Not.
http://blogbusinesssummit.com/2006/05/a_press_release.htm

Enough Already: Getting Social Media All Wrong
http://www.stoweboyd.com/message/2007/01/enough_already_.html

Resources for New Media and Social Media PR
http://www.toprankblog.com/2006/08/resources-for-new-media-and-social-media-pr/

Teaching the Press Release a New Trick
http://www.shiftcomm.com/downloads/bw7-3-06.pdf

Social Media Press Release not ready for the prime time
http://www.healthcarevox.com/2006/08/examining_the_social_media_pre.html

Social Media Press Release Template
http://www.shiftcomm.com/downloads/smprtemplate.pdf

Why Use Social Media With Your Press Release?
http://www.toprankblog.com/2006/10/why-use-social-media-with-your-press-release/