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How to upcycle older content for a future press release

by | Mar 8, 2018 | Public Relations

For many organizations, finding press release content is not hard—they focus on new product launches, or company changes. But what about when you are looking to activate new audiences, or initiate new discussions in between tent pole news events?

When it comes to generating truly newsworthy press releases, your company doesn’t always need to create entirely new content. There are plenty of existing content options internally, your team just needs to know where and what to look for.

To get started, make a list of the places your company hosts content

These will include blogs, audio/video podcasts, newsletters, infographics, presentations/webinars, surveys, third-party reviews, earned media, eBooks, anything! Still having trouble finding content?  Ask PR, IR marketing and sales co-workers for the location(s) of their client-facing materials and confirm that the items are okay to share with the public. Scouring for content can even be a team-building exercise designed to build the most comprehensive list possible.

Once you have mapped these locations, evaluate how organized and accessible the content is

Ideally, it’s located on a single website categorized and accessible to investors, consumers and media. If not, ask your website developers if a company content archive can be created. If technical resources are tight, one option for hosting your content is to use an online newsroom solution such as Business Wire NewsHQ­℠.

Once your newsroom/archive is available to the public, include the URL in all future communication and marketing content

The debut of this archive can also serve as a press release topic.  In fact, it is increasingly common for companies to issue press releases about their content solutions. With your company content organized, finding a new way to reintroduce this information via a press release should be less difficult. Here are some ideas:

  • Look at past blog posts that received high inbound traffic. The older the posts are, the easier it will be to use them. How has your company changed since that blog post? Take a quote from an old post and provide a clear difference or continuity from that place in time. Has your company’s mission statement changed? Is your company developing a product that didn’t exist at the time?
    • “In 2009, we were correct when we predicted that      would be important in 2014.”
    • “When we initially developed     , the purpose was to     . Since then,      has become so popular that we reevaluated the market of      and realized that      needed an update to include     .”
  • Review earned media, third party reviews and social media content for comments and criticism. Quote them within your press release and discuss how the company considered and reacted to the critique; show that your company is not only aware of its customer base, but takes its opinions seriously.
    • “In 2011, a commenter on our Facebook page complained that we ‘have spent too much time on      and should focus more on     .’ That comment was brought to our upper management and within a week, we started the wheels turning on our new project,     .”
    • “A review in the July 2012 edition of      magazine really opened our eyes about     . The review was emailed to and considered by our entire staff here at     . Two years later, we are excited to present the new and improved     .”

How to upcycle older content for a future press release

Any of these aforementioned elements can work well as the focus of a press release. Another option is to attach these items to press releases as assets.

  • Consider content from the past as an opportunity to do a before and after release. If your website is going through an update, take a shot of the main page before the update and then after the update. Place them together in one image with the words “Before” and “After” on them and write a press release about what has changed on the site. This also works well for images of product updates such as automobiles, medical devices and food packaging.
  • Supplement a product or service announcement with a PDF or graphic from the associated marketing materials or datasheets. An instruction manual, or key sections, could also be attached. Attaching a PDF is a great way to increase the information available in your press release without convoluting the message. Reporters can focus on the body of the release for general information and the readers most interested in your content will have specifics available in the PDF.
  • A great way to show brand longevity is a video retrospective of former logos, commercials, advertisements and products along with photos of past headquarters and employees. If the reader was not aware of your company previously, the video will quickly increase their familiarity.

Take a moment to review what other companies send as assets by viewing Business Wire’s recent multimedia press releases.

It is essential to remember that a company’s ability to communicate positively or negatively influences their relationship with both media and consumers alike. It takes a lot of content to fill a newspaper, magazine or website; interesting and diverse multimedia communications will always stand out among text-only business copy. A lesser-known company offering straightforward product and personnel announcements without multimedia is often overlooked.

However, when the same company offers a video introduction from their new team member, includes access to more information and a well written, relevant release, the chances of being noticed increase as much as five times.

Don’t let your older materials expire, revive them into something new!

Paul Bowman
Paul J.F. Bowman is currently a senior editor at Business Wire’s Minneapolis bureau. His editing experience includes press releases, news articles, advertisements, screenplays, novels, legal contracts and résumés.

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