Audience Questions to Answer Before You Write Your News Release
Identifying your audience is essential to planning, but you do need to dig into specifics as you detail your various tactics. Answering these questions will help you engage more effectively with the media, consumers, professionals, investors and analysts.
WHO IS THE ULTIMATE READER, VIEWER OR LISTENER FOR YOUR MESSAGE?
Identifying consumer, professional, investor, etc., will help you refine your message. Write for your reader first and search second in order to convey your message as clearly as possible. Include the most important information at the top of the release, with additional details closer to the bottom. When in doubt, the Inverted Pyramid format is a good concept to remember when writing.
HOW AND WHEN ARE THEY CONSUMING INFORMATION?
Whether it’s a smartphone and the radio in the morning or tablet and TV at night, make sure your content is going to reach your audience when they’re interested in it. Consider that more content is consumed via mobile daily and ensure that your content isn’t so long that it deters readers from reading on small screens.
WHAT CONTENT TYPES DO THEY USE OR ENGAGE WITH?
Make sure you’re supplying the text, photos, videos, infographics, etc., that your audience is looking for. The most-viewed press releases include multimedia, and those that include photos, videos and more earn additional time on page and engagement.