| Brian Lubocki 
When working with clients to create engaging content, PR agencies must navigate a number of personal, emotional and habitual obstacles. The goal may be clear, but the path treacherous. One place the results of this can be seen is in the press release. Sometimes the adventurous, the forward-thinking, and the bold win the day. However, the key is getting buy-in for your ideas. The traditional definition of a press release has been replaced by a new definition. In a word, content. Inspired storytelling and strong visuals can help today’s agencies start conversations, interest media and hook new customers for their clients. Here are five lessons that come directly out of my years of experience working with PR agencies, big and small, to better tell their clients' stories. 1. Lead with "Why." The relationship with your client, like most relationships, is a give and get. A collaboration that involves negotiating. When proposing a change in press release tactics, explore why your client uses press releases and outline reasons why it will lead to better results. Regardless of what the client wants their audience to do, their audience wants to know WHY the press release's story matters to them. Lead with the why, then move onto the rest of the 5Ws. Consider, for instance, the company "explainer line" that some organizations want to include in the first paragraph of their press release. Verbiage like "Company Y, the world's largest leading thought-leader in innovative, robust, ground-breaking thoughts, and world record holder for dynamic, out-of-the-box records, announces…" is often better served in a boilerplate than the first paragraph, which is precious real estate for grabbing attention. As an alternative to the explainer line, adding a quote section to the press release can help explain the company's story in a more personal and appealing way. Quotes not only break up content visually, they also highlight your client as an expert, leading to potential interview and speaking engagement opportunities. Read How to Harness the Power of Quotes in Your Press Release for more ways you can feature quotes. 2. Everyone (including your client) responds to visual content better. Audiences discover and share press releases with multimedia more than text-only content, and we have data to back that up. Photos, short infographics, videos and other visuals create a stronger emotional connection than words alone. Additionally, many media outlets and websites need to include multimedia in their content. If you forgo visuals, you miss out on the visibility and engagement that image search results, video streaming sites, and multimedia-only distribution points offer. In this way, pairing visuals with words can also help you demonstrate the success you achieved on behalf of your client. The fact is that your clients are visual, too. Give your client/agency relationship a boost with personal touches such as the placement of an executive headshot or product photo in Times Square. An extra like this, via PR Newswire's agreement with The Reuters Sign, shows that you view your clients as people, not just brands. 
3. Use calls to action to drive discoverability of owned media. Think about newspaper articles that direct readers to "continue story on page 53." A compelling call to action is a press release must-do if you want to persuade audiences to engage with clients' owned and social channels. Hook audiences quickly and send them to a more specific source for additional information. Whenever possible, try to use a "call to action" link in the first paragraph or just after it. Also, avoid using generic terms, like "for more information." Instead, instruct readers to a specific offer: "enter for a chance to win…" – "download the whitepaper" – "watch the video about…" Bringing journalists and prospective customers to your client's website can lead to greater ROI and insights, which is important as agencies are more often tasked with metrics that were once asked only of marketers. When developing a press release with your client, look at how the release can direct audiences to take more measurable actions, such as filling out lead generation forms, signing up for ongoing emails or engaging with social and online content more deeply. Find more tips on getting journalists, influencers, and customers to take the next step with your clients' content by downloading Relationships & Discoverability: Earning More Media for Your Clients. 4. Offer different tools for different goals. Part of the PR professional's job is understanding for whom the content is intended. Help your client get specific about whom they're trying to reach. Successful relationships between brands and their audience are built on credibility, usefulness, and relevance. Understanding this is key to honing your client's message and the variety of communication channels you'll use to promote it. Will your client be targeting mainstream news outlets, trade media, influencers, consumers, B2B decisionmakers, investors, international markets, etc.? Although the distribution of most news will include a mix of a few different audiences, that's not always going to be the case. In her recent article How to Pick the Best Content Promotion for Your Marketing, longtime multimedia designer Jamie Heckler recommends: "When your primary goal is to reach an audience segment that doesn't include traditional media, it may be better to stick with an online-only distribution tool, such as PR Newswire's new Content Marketing Kit. Promoting content across websites, blogs and social media channels can go a long way in boosting visibility and grabbing influencers' attention." 5. There's no magic bullet, but there IS the science of experimentation. While tips and tricks can help increase results, rarely does one solution fit all. Brands pivot, audiences change or change their buying habits, the media changes, influencers change. In other words, success is always a moving target. This is why experimentation is crucial in telling your client's story. A few years ago, Whole Foods Market distributed a press release with the headline "This is what your grocery store looks like without bees." It was picked up by the Huffington Post, among other media outlets, and made its way to the cover of Time magazine. But while I favor the bold, it's not a style that will work in every situation. The approach you take will often depend on your client's news, industry, and brand. Try different tactics and track your metrics through comprehensive reporting. Use different key words and different approaches to "native speak." Tell your story in different ways. Write like your intended audience talks. Once you find the right approach, keep experimenting to make sure you stay ahead of the times. Keep showing your client their ROI and how different approaches get different results. Download our white paper Defining the Metrics that Will Demonstrate ROI to Clients to learn more about measuring your work across various media and channels. Author Brian Lubocki is PR Newswire's head of agency relations in Los Angeles and Regional Director of Southern California. He has written and developed stories for TV and film, with a BA in English Literature and MFA in screenwriting from USC. Connect with him on Twitter at @BrianPRConsult. | 
