There are more ways than ever to connect with customers. But which ones really work?
During Business Wire’s recent webinar, “Out of the Lab and Into the Headlines,” we asked Biotech communications pros for three top tips to reach and engage scientists, reporters and patients.
Three trends PR pros should adopt to increase interaction and views:
1) Issue compelling content
Stop hiding your great news content inside a text-only box with a boring headline. The two most important activation elements of a news release are the headline and a supporting multimedia asset.
Take advantage of free tools like Google Trends to help you write more compelling headlines that will appeal to your target audiences and markets. Learn how to use Google Trends to construct a headline that reporters love.
With a strong headline in place, adding captivating visuals will increase the appeal of your news release. Whether you add a photo, graph, or video -- or a combination of assets -- selecting the appropriate multimedia can help you tell a more complete story. Research shows that approximately 65% of today's audiences are "visual-first" and that multimedia increases open rates by 200% over traditional text-only news releases. Show your story, don't tell it.
2) Leverage your company news center and owned media channels
Build a highly functional online newsroom to host your textual and visual content, highlight your research, showcase your internal experts, provide a wide range of touchpoints for your audience and increase your ability to engage viewers. A truly actionable news center can increase dwell time on your website, drive engagement to other official pathways (e.g., social channels and product/partner websites), and convert visitors into qualified leads for your organization.
Don’t have the bandwidth or budget for a robust newsroom? Another idea is to build an interactive media package for each program that you can embed across your existing web pages and social channels. This combines your news release and visuals into an interactive asset proven to increase views, activities, and education without the high cost of maintaining an entire newsroom. Learn more about interactive news releases here.
3) Use data to drive your strategy
Each interactive release you distribute through Business Wire generates a series of metrics, including viewership, link engagement, and multimedia usage. Leverage these reports to identify where your messaging resonates geographically, the key terms that drive traffic back to your site, the volume of referrals from Google and other sources, and the top social influencers sharing your content.
Once the release goes live, the reactions and engagements will show which parts of your story are the most compelling and which ones didn’t move the needle. Use this data to create better content and to help shape in-market strategies around the globe.
It only takes three steps to build a news release that resonates with your media, financial, and consumer audiences. Business Wire is here to help. Contact us today to learn how we can help you meet and exceed your communication goals.
