Today’s 24/7 media landscape is characterized by the constant demand for relevant and impactful content delivered seamlessly all the time. Busy public relations (PR) and investor relations (IR) pros need news and content distribution partners aligned with modern media outreach and consumer content preferences.
How do you select from the hundreds of newswires out there? To help navigate the noisy and increasingly fragmented newswire ecosystem, make sure to select a newswire partner that includes these seven qualities.
1. Automated Workflows
Historically, press release distribution has been a time- and labor-intensive industry. In the early days, newswire editors did everything from editing, proofreading, retyping finalized copy into a teletype machine, and releasing the document over the wire一with a handful of phone check-ins to confirm each step along the way. Despite significant, available modernization in most of these areas, much of the process remains the same.
In today’s technologically advanced business environment, these tasks are typically automated and take a fraction of the time required than when humans are involved. For example, a top news distribution company such as News Direct includes a self-directed automated workflow that covers these steps一all within a secure, cloud-based content creation platform.
And with News Direct’s proprietary SimpliFi™ functionality, IR pros can copy and paste text and tabular data directly into the platform, with complete format retention. Oh, and there is no need for human editor intervention throughout the process. You control the process from end-to-end, all in a matter of a few minutes.
2. Multimedia Content Distribution
Today’s media consumption trends reflect shorter attention spans and preferences for rich content experiences, including videos, images, infographics, audio, and animation. And the research bears this out:
- In a survey published by inbound marketing and sales enablement platform HubSpot, 43% of respondents agreed branded video content is the most memorable, followed by 36% for branded photo content, and 18% for branded written content.
- 55% of respondents said they consume video content thoroughly, versus only 32% for long-form business content.
- In a survey by data visualization company Venngage, of 200 marketers, 86% said visual content was quite important to their marketing strategy.
Top PR newswires, such as News Direct, can easily accommodate this demand. Embedding videos, photos, and infographics is easy and quick. And with its proprietary Digital Asset Direct™ functionality, News Direct can even distribute multimedia as a standalone release.
3. Robust Security
Information security is often a consideration when distributing a press release, especially for the IR community. A data leak on earnings day can cost a company millions of dollars. Top-tier newswires provide a range of security features and/or integrations such as cloud-based collaborative work management platforms to help keep data safe during the upload and distribution process. However, it’s important to note most newswires still require all releases to be reviewed by a human, third-party editor, an inherent risk that can’t be fully mitigated.
Alternatively, News Direct’s platform has industry-leading security protocols including cloud isolation technology, two-factor authentication, permissioned sharing, and more. This advanced technology enables stakeholders to collaborate and review drafts within the secure environment throughout the press release creation and distribution processes. No third-party editors participate.
4. Advanced Targeting
Newswires broaden the distribution of your press release beyond what you could effectively achieve yourself. While distribution to more outlets boosts the probability of greater exposure, views and media pickups may not increase.
Evaluate outlets based on whether they align with your target audiences. A Fortune 1000 company with millions of global stakeholders will likely go with broader distribution across major news websites, media outlets, and journalists. Alternatively, a small translation business targeting higher education institutions in a specific region might take a more targeted approach utilizing regional market selections along with targeted trade distribution.
News Direct offers comprehensive distribution capabilities that span a global network of top-tier media agencies, news outlets, and trade press. In addition, hyper targeting is available across customizable geographic options and niche media and influencers, including in environmental, social, and governance (ESG), Hispanic media, and entertainment culture.
5. Expert Customer Service一When You Want It
As discussed, navigating the creation and distribution of a press release is typically a protracted process. Connecting with a human editor several times throughout the workflow can be time consuming and stressful. Still, having an industry expert on hand to assist with editing, proofreading, or dissemination can be helpful一when requested.
Top press release distribution companies such as News Direct ensure industry experts are on hand to assist when issues arise. These customer service specialists are available 24/7 via live chat or phone should you require assistance or have a question.
6. Comprehensive Reporting
Reviewing the performance of your press release is just as important as distributing it. Quality press release distribution companies often include performance dashboards enabling comprehensive analysis of each release.
For example, total traffic and potential visibility figures provide insight into overall engagement and the number of views, respectively. Click data illustrates the number of people who took action, and earned media pickup shows if the piece was written about by journalists.
Performance data for social media posts, if the newswire company offers it, should also be available. This includes the number of followers gained or lost and engagement metrics such as comments, likes, and shares. Click-through rates on links, mentions, hashtags, and special codes should also be available.
News Direct, for example, provides industry-first reporting in these categories in easily shared formats. Exclusive earned media reporting, screenshots, and detailed visibility and engagement metrics are also available. For the IR pro, News Direct also offers the News Direct Equity Impact Report that tracks the impact of your market-sensitive news in real time.
7. Transparent Pricing
The cost of press release distribution will vary widely based on several factors, primarily the word count and geographical scope of distribution. Add-ons such as writing, for example, will bump up the total cost. This model is antiquated and out of sync with how content is produced, distributed, and consumed in the current digital age.
Alternatively, News Direct’s pricing is designed with modern media outreach in mind. News Direct uses an asset-based, flat-rate model that’s simple, clear, and fully transparent一for a fraction of the cost of mainstream press release distributors.
Finally, contact News Direct for a demo of its proprietary, industry-leading capabilities, and transform your press release distribution today.
