Press releases on your web site

Most companies publish their press released on their web sites. Gerry McGovern of Giraffe Forum says that it’s a bad idea:

Press releases are a form of propaganda. Publishing them on your website shows your customers how you are attempting to spin the media.
The Web is where we go because we don’t believe the hype, because we don’t like being spun. The Web is the land of the thinking customer. So, why do so many organizations still publish press releases prominently on their websites?

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Press releases abound. Were press releases published before the Web? No. They were released to the press in the hope of generating media coverage. A website is a publication. The website editor should review the press release, and if there is something interesting in it, turn it into a well-linked story.

A press release nearly always begins with the name of the organization. Why? Because it needs to exist among many other press releases. Journalists will often look for a specific press release based on the organization name. You should never start a web heading/sentence with the name of your organization. Why? Because they’re at your website. They know who you are.

A press release will always have a couple of contextual paragraphs. Why? To give the busy journalist some context. But if someone comes to your website, the context has already been established, and reading such paragraphs will be a waste of time.

The first sentence of many press releases includes the word “today”. Why? Because press releases are like bread; if not consumed quickly they go stale. How do you think a press release with “today” in its text reads tomorrow, or next week, or next month?

I mostly disagree with Gerry on this, but he is raising an important point.

There are lots of good reasons to have press releases on your web site. The most obvious is that an online press room is an important feature of most corporate sites. Having one makes it easier for journalists to write about you, and it needs to include your press releases (along with corporate backgrounders, Q&As, and so on).

Your press releases are part of the public record of what you do, and should be easily accessible for anyone who wants to see them; for public companies, there are legal issues here, too. The “well-linked story” that Gerry recommends is a good idea, but could get you into trouble if some details from the press release aren’t included or additional information is.

But that well-written story based on the press release is needed. Press releases, as Gerry notes, are written for a specific kind of user (a writer who needs information to write about you). A good press release won’t be written in a way that’s idea for the customer who wants to know how the news affects her, or a prospect who wants to learn more about what you do.

And the beauty of the web is that you can serve multiple audiences. So keep putting those press releases up. But when you want to explain the news to your customers, members, or other non-press audiences, do it appropriately (and link to the release for background). A blog is a great place to do that. Make sure your site makes it very easy for different kinds of users to find the appropriate content. Yes, it’s a bit more effort than slapping “see the press release” with a link on top of the home page, but it will be more effective.

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