How to Best Leverage Multimedia for Press Coverage

How to Best Leverage Multimedia for Press Coverage

By most accounts, video content, especially in bite-sized, easily consumable packets, is eating the world. We’re all spending more time watching short-form video on our screens (just look at the meteoric rise of TikTok), and aside from entertainment, our collective preference for video is showing up in our work, educational materials, and consumer behaviors, as well. 

Naturally, media professionals are taking notice. Innovative use of video in press collateral can provide greater engagement一among journalists and end consumers alike.

Here are a few tips on how best to leverage video content to gain press coverage.

First, a Few Stats About Video

The increased use of video in public relations (PR) and marketing campaigns has much to do with the compelling statistics that back up its efficacy. Consider the following:

Video can elicit an empathic response from viewers, which can boost trust and engagement一especially in our endless 24/7 cycle of data overload. In short, video can be an effective way to break through一by integrating storytelling and emotion to connect with viewers in meaningful ways. 

Ensure Video Aligns With Messaging

Video for press collateral can take various forms, so it’s essential to align the video type with the messaging of the piece. For example, news that causes stakeholder feelings of uncertainty, such as mergers, acquisitions, closures, or other events, can benefit from an interview or statement delivered compassionately by a company spokesperson. Seeing a human being express reassurance about these or other issues can have a positive impact on the viewer.

 Alternatively, a product tour video that addresses consumer pain points is well suited for a product launch or update. Video product tours can also be effective for complex products that are difficult to explain through text alone. 

Other relevant videos include customer testimonials – good for building credibility, a sneak peek format – great for creating buzz around events or ahead of a launch, or company profiles in place of standard boilerplate text. Video even works for the investor relations pro trying to spiff up a run-of-the-mill brand story.

For those interested in the next generation of video engagement, interactive video has arrived. This is something like a digital collage, starting with a video and layered with links, images, animation, alternate storylines, and more. The viewer can explore more of the story一even control it一by engaging with the layered collateral directly. This can result in a richer, more engaging user experience. Online marketing and content consultant Rock Content provides more detail about how to use interactive video here.

Begin Your Video With Essential Information & Limit It to Two Minutes

According to multiple sources, including digital marketing agency Single Grain, 5% of video viewers will stop watching after one minute, and 60% will stop watching after two minutes. To help ensure more viewers see key content, put it at the beginning of your video, and try to keep the length to two minutes or less in total.

Embed Multimedia in Your Press Materials

Embedding video with other forms of multimedia in your press materials can offer multiple touch points for audience and journalist engagementif done well. An image with a video, for example, should complement each other and together advance the story. Remember, more is not always better, and repeating a point with different media can be a lost opportunity in some cases. It may also bore or confuse your audience. 

Other multimedia forms that can integrate well with video, where appropriate, include infographics, graphs or charts, hashtags people can use to follow the story, and links. 

Also, embedding multimedia, including video, in your collateral, is preferable to including links because it enables the consumer to stay on the press material rather than click away.


Use Standalone Media

The most powerful multimedia can tell a story without accompanying text. Again, if executed well, standalone media can deliver a message with huge impact and greater chance of earned media pickup.

Standalone media assets increase shareability and the opportunity to break through the clutter of traditional press releases sent to journalists. According to News Direct’s Market Assessment study, 86% of journalists find standalone media appealing.

Ensure Video Is Formatted for Social Sharing & SEO

Whether embedding multimedia such as video, or deploying it on its own, make sure it's properly formatted to be shared on social media networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Visual content is 40x more likely to be shared on social media than other content forms, according to top inbound marketing, sales, and CRM platform HubSpot.

In addition, be sure to follow sound search engine optimization (SEO) protocols for multimedia assets. When a video is added to a press release, it’s indexed by media search engines, such as Google Images. Help searchers find it more easily by including accurate video tags, descriptions, and thumbnail images. Leading SEO tool Semrush offers additional hints on how to get your videos to rank.

How News Direct Can Help Leverage Video Content & More

To get the most out of your video press content, work with a news and content distribution service made for modern media consumption preferences, such as News Direct. Started by industry veterans, News Direct brings a new model to the content creation and dissemination process with streamlined workflows and game-changing flexibility.

News Direct is the only distribution service that offers a Digital Asset Direct release – a streamlined news release format that accommodates standalone multimedia content without having to embed it in a text-based new release. So PRs can now broadly reach interested journalists with just the content they want.

Industry-leading security is also provided with cloud isolation technology and advanced encryption protocols. Access to content is only available with permission. 

Distribution selection is handled by the user right in the platform and takes mere minutes. News Direct offers a vast range of media targets, including national news outlets, media agencies, trade press, customizable niche media. 

Pricing is also straightforward, and fully transparent. Whether a press release or standalone multimedia, each primary content piece is charged the same flat rate一regardless of word count or geographic distribution. This approach一built for modern media outreach一makes budgeting and forecasting easy and predictable.

Schedule a Demo

Contact News Direct for a demo of its ground-breaking capabilities and expertly leverage video content for press, today.