Industrial B2B marketing: how to write an effective media release

We may live in an age of social media, but the humble media release is still a powerful and cost effective way of getting your message to a mass market –especially industrial markets.

The main thing to consider with any media release is that the customer is an editor – not the end user of the product, service or development being announced. That’s a big difference.

The most important thing to understand with a media release is that it must be ‘newsworthy’ i.e. topical and noteworthy. In the context of industrial markets: of benefit to end-users.

Each editor will assess a media release according to their publication’s content remit, but all will consider any release on the basis of timing, significance, proximity, prominence and human interest.

Okay. So you’ve got something newsworthy. Now what?

Firstly, come up with a good headline. A headline such as… ACME Pumps launches new slurry pumps is as dull as dishwater, but a headline such as … Highly non-corrosive slurry pumps halve maintenance and replacement costs will pique an editor’s interest.

Secondly, to maximize your chances of publicity with a media release you need to understand the Who-What-Where-Why-When principal of breaking news.

This well-adopted practice in journalism communicates all the necessary information in brief and succinct lead sentence in the release.

A good example might be …Perth-based pump supplier ACME Pumps has developed and released a slurry pump with a highly non-corrosive impeller said to reduce maintenance and replacement costs by half.

You then need to elaborate.  Describe in details the technical specifications of the product or service. Avoid motherhood statements, hyperbole and generalisations. Be SPECIFIC about what, for example, the product can do or what service is on offer. Remember: you’re talking to a technical audience of engineers. Most have finely honed bullshit detectors, so avoid the hard sell.

Generally speaking, media releases should be no more than 400 words or one double-spaced A4 page including contact details and captions, but there are exceptions to the rule.

Just bear in mind that the ultimate aim of any media release is for it to get ‘picked up’ by an editor and reported in original format by a journalist – not published verbatim.

That said; write your release on the expectation that it will be published verbatim, because most editorial departments have limited time and resources to generate original content.

Couple of final tips: include a contact person for technical enquiries in the media release – with their contact details – and always, always, always supply two to three high resolution images in portrait and landscape formats for the editor to choose.

Follow these basic rules and your chances of unpaid media placement reaching thousands of end users i.e. potential customers will increase dramatically.