Can a Press Release Boost Your Holiday Sales?

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A Pressing Matter: Selling Your Company’s Potential during the Holidays

With the holiday season already upon us, you’re probably already knee deep in your holiday marketing campaigns. But, it’s never too late to fine tune the perfect approach for reaching your targeted customers in the most efficient way possible. Enter the press release. 

If you’ve worked with me before, you probably know that I have some pretty opinionated stances on press releases. To sum it up, I’m not a huge fan of using press releases as the be-all-end-all of PR strategy. The reality is, they’re just not that effective on their own, and I prefer to harness the power of earned media whenever possible.

Buuuuut….

Done the right way, they can enhance the results of your other PR and marketing efforts, lead to higher conversions, more traffic, more exposure, and potentially, more sales.  Doesn’t everyone want these things during the holiday season!?

Confused yet? Let me explain. 

When done properly, press release syndication offers an authoritative voice that clearly communicates a company’s ambitions, accomplishments, and activities. They can also be a great way to shed light on new products, services, and holiday promos. 

When press releases are executed poorly, it’s usually because they’re being used as a stand alone marketing or PR tactic, and people are approaching them with the wrong expectations. 

Does a well-crafted and appropriately-targeted press release help to boost your holiday sales? 

Yes, it can play a role, and an effective one at that. However, a press release alone may not generate the traffic you need or expect. 

Let’s consider the best way to incorporate press releases into a successful marketing campaign and how they complement a digital PR strategy.

Adding Impact through an Effective Press Release 

A well-designed and perfectly-timed press release can be an important part of your holiday marketing strategy. Most people absorb the content of these effective press releases not by spending hours scrolling through your company’s “news,” “about us,” or similar pages on your website. They get your message from others who share and promote it. The key is in crafting an engaging (albeit factual) message, and getting in front of the right people. 

Part of promoting your brand involves touting goods and services mentioned in your press releases to the best audiences that can investigate your claims, report on them, and share with their broader audience, one that hopefully includes your present and future customer base. 

To that end, sending out multiple releases with nearly the same information and a trite holiday message will be an ineffective and costly mistake.

Building Reputation and Demonstrating “Social Proof”

Press releases offer a way to shed light on your professional reputation, expertise, and brand positioning. But if no one reads or shares the press release, what was the point to begin with?

The importance of “social proof” cannot be underestimated in today’s competitive world. Today’s consumers embrace the practice of searching for recommendations and reviews by others to validate why goods or services you offer would be beneficial for them. 

Companies today incorporate an understanding of social proof into their overall marketing strategy. This is especially important in targeted marketing campaigns during the holidays, when people are ambitiously looking for things to purchase and may want to see what others — such as social media influencers — have to say about a product before making a commitment to purchase. 

There are ways to incorporate social proof into carefully tailored press releases during the holidays:

  • Case studies allow you to identify one or several clients that have had a positive experience, and include excerpts of how you met their needs or worked together in the press release.
  • Reviews and testimonials can be strategically incorporated into press releases, with extended content also shared on social media to illustrate what others think of your firm.
  • Include any accolades or awards you or your firm have received and use the press release to tout honors that offer social proof of your company’s value.

Incorporate Press Releases into an Integrated Holiday Digital PR Strategy

Retool the old-school press release so it works in partnership with your broader digital public relations approach. Here are some integrated marketing performance goals to consider: 

  • Using the press release to cultivate new marketing channels.
  • Increasing web traffic through SEO targeting.
  • Communicating discounts for brand loyalty and return customers.
  • Bringing a broader sense of authenticity to your business. 

As you finalize your holiday campaigns, consider five important reasons press releases can improve your impact when combined with other social media and outreach:

  1. Provides Inexpensive Distribution: Stories shared and re-shared by other outlets in coverage provided through blogs, publications, podcasts, and trade journals is cost-effective and has impact. 
  2. Boosts Visibility: A concerted effort to develop a press release strategy, including one that incorporates holiday themes, allows you to share your company’s values, products, and successes.
  3. Demonstrates Media Savvy: Press releases that communicate effectively illustrate how your organization understands the importance of outreach to other media outlets.
  4. Generates New Leads: Incorporating press releases into a well-designed holiday integrated marketing strategy can generate new leads, increase conversions,and amplify your marketing approach.
  5. Fosters Engagement: Telling your holiday-themed message, especially with the guidance of press release services working in concert with you, optimizes your message by targeting the best audience.

Remember that a successful holiday press release is always most effective when it’s part of a larger integrated PR or marketing strategy. Very few marketing or PR activities are effective on their own. 

In short: if you have a product, service, or event that you want to shed light on this holiday season, a press release should be part (but not all) of your holiday PR strategy! 

If you’re ready to order a holiday press release, need earned media coverage, or if you’re just in need of expert consultation, send an email to get in touch with us!


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