Subscribe to my full RSS feed or receive updates via e-mail.

Discussion: Social Media Press Releases vs. Traditional Press Releases

January 13, 2010 0 comments

Recently I learned about social media press releases from Todd S. Defren, principal at SHIFT Communications, and I wondered if journalists would really find them more useful and informative than traditional press releases. Since I'm combining my Christian author site and this blog to move them to Wordpress, I'm remodeling the Web pages on my author site. That said, I thought about adding the social media press release format to my press releases page, but before I used Todd's social media press release template, I decided to see what others were saying about this new press release format. From everything I read, many seem to believe the traditional press releases will continue to be better than the social media press releases.

I'm always open to trying new trends, but after what I've read, I'm not sure if it would be worth my time to convert all my past press releases to the social media release format. I would, of course, still leave the traditional press release on my site, but I'd also have links to the social media versions. To help me make my decision, I'd like your opinions on the social media versions. After all, you're also a writer who reads the news in hopes of finding story and article ideas.

Below I've posted links to two of my past press releases (all are in PDF format, so Adobe Reader is needed to view them). One is the social media version and the other is the traditional version of each release. View both versions of both press releases and let me know which version you prefer. Before you begin, I'd like to mention a couple things for you to make a mental note of as you're viewing the press releases listed below:

1. Help From Above was published before I remarried in June 2004 and begin writing under my remarried name (Misti Sandefur); therefore, the press release about Help From Above was sent out when I still wrote under the name of Misti Jackson (my first married name).

2. Based on what I've read about the social media press releases, I decided not to add the social networking links at the end of my social media releases.

Links to My Social Media Press Releases & Traditional Press Releases

Release About CoffeeBreakforWriters.com:
Social Media Version Traditional Version

Release Announcing the Publication of Help From Above:
Social Media Version Traditional Version

Once again, please comment to let me know which version you'd prefer: the social media version, traditional version or both. Your thoughts will help me decide if it's worth the time to place social media versions of press releases on my website.