The Death of Traditional PR Distribution? Not So Fast!

Back in 1906 the first press release was created by Ivy Lee, the so-called founding father of modern PR. For almost 100 years the press release didn’t change but thanks to the proliferation of the Internet, new online wire services such as BusinessWire and PRNewswire came into play. These online press release distribution services reduced and in some cases, eliminated the need for the fax as method for distributing news.

Over the past few years we’ve witnessed a move towards what some are calling the “social media release” (SMR). Services like PitchEngine, PressLift, PRX Builder, and MindTouch() are bringing the press release into the new millennium with embedded multimedia and easy distribution through various channels, including social media and e-mail.

So will these new innovations in press release distribution eliminate traditional tried and true methods? Today I believe them to be complimentary. Solid PR pros know that there is nothing more powerful than having a highly targeted media list comprised of reporters who want to hear your client’s latest news. But being able to augment that list and reach other potential targets through social media tools is definitelyworth exploring. I think the emergence of the SMR enables clients to more effectively tell a complete and compelling story to a wider audience. The addition of keywords/tags for SEO is promising. Being able to automatically tweet the news and upload to Facebook and Linkedin with the click of a button saves times, and the ability to showcase video and images on the same page as the release helps give the reader more context.

So will the SMR be the end of the traditional press release and traditional wire services? In my opinion, not today.