Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Sometimes, when I boil down a piece of writing, I find nuggets of truth embedded within a matrix of jargon and bullshit. But sometimes, I just find nothing but platitudes, emptiness, and evidence of incompetence. That’s the apparent communications strategy of Revolt PR.

Here’s what the press release says: Revolt PR believes it can help you reach millennials, and it has a new web site. It takes 270 words to say so. And it’s a revealing exercise in why, if you have nothing to say, you should say nothing.

Should you REALLY invest in a PR Section on your website? We think not-- and here's why.The time has finally come: You can go ahead and get rid of that “Company News” section.

Nobody’s reading it. In fact, a recent analytical report compiled by Chris Scott of Headscape suggests that the fewer than 1% of visitors who DO read your press releases tend to leave your site shortly after.

So there you have it: your company news page – with all its press releases, employee event descriptions, award notifications and job promotion updates – is actually driving your prospects away...

Need a news fix? How about rack of goat; a score of new websites; 10% retail savings; a two-month old talk show appearance; NYPD Nudie cop; 50 year-old abs; aerospace engineers and car repairs; albinos in Tanzania; air hockey and better relationships; the end of a store sale?

We’ve got it all in the 2nd installment of our Bad News Releases feature.

Our first collection of bad press releases was our most popular post in 2010. We’ve got 25 brand new press release turkeys that will never get past the editor’s or reporter’s inbox.

Here are seven reasons why these news releases fail...

[Just in time for the holiday, an old favorite: 25 Press Release Turkeys ~ Jeff]

Here's a press release and PR fail that provide a double take and a serious lesson for every junior public relations pro.

Unfortunately, it comes from a big agency that should know better.

The headline tells the story:

Dismembered bodies and gunned-down landlords: Reminders to screen tenants

[One of the worst news releases you'll ever see - JD]

Press release disasters? File this one in the “some posts just write themselves” folder.

Pity the poor editors and news directors across the country. Inundated every day with pitiful press releases containing horrible headlines, bad ledes, lame quotes, bluster, babble and an absolute lack of news. Most of them just bad PR.

No better examples than these 21 press release flounders...

As promised, here's a link to the infographic, the playlist and below is my presentation from #PRSAICON. It covered a lot of content in a short period of time, but my goal was to prove out a premise.

"Changes across content, skills and tech are confusing PR.    Adaptive modeling is key to working smart(er)."

Turning the numerous changes afoot in our industry into opportunity isn't a simple task. But it sure beats extinction. So the following presentation looks at the trends impacting our industry and how to capitalize on them. Comments, sharing and the like are most appreciated....

[The Bad Pitch Blog's Kevin Dugan's presentation on news release trends tips and secrets is worth viewing ~ Jeff]