Social Media Releases - Everything You Ever Wanted to (or Should)Know

The social media news release is rallying support. And more importantly, examplesand discussions of usage are percolating throughout the blogsphere among PRpractitioners and bloggers alike.It’s no longer a matter of if, nor when, but now a matter of practice and evolution inorder to determine success and failure.As a recap, the Social Media Release has been pushed by many influencers,including TomForemski’s public outcry for the death of crappy press releases; Todd Defrenwho offered the first template and remains an authoritative champion; ChrisHeuer who helped lead an effort to propose astandardfor their construction and distribution; Stowe Boyd whoremindsdisingenuous, lazy or opportunistic PR peoplethat they’re not invited to participate in Social Media (and rightfully so); ShelHoltz who hosted the originalNMRcast, and continues to demonstrate the value of newreleases; Shannon Whitley'sworkto help PR "get it;" and the many others whocontinue to carry the flag forward.I joined Heuer from the onset of the Working Group and have since spent most of myfree time defending the reasons for their existence in blog posts and at conferenceswhile also practicing what I preach.

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Instead of being a spectator however (like many of the critics out there), I’ve been aplayer on the field helping to define the opportunities, landscape, best practices, andalso, when to use restraint.The social media release, aka SMR, aka social media press release, aka new mediarelease, aka hrelease, is not a miracle pill to cure the ills of poorly written pressreleases. It is merely a tool that is most effective when combined with a strategicarsenal of relevant company blog posts, traditional releases, relationships, and anemerging category of press releases that tell a story (written by people for peopleusing SEO to reach them).What? There's more than one way to tell a story?YES! Why be so foolish to believe that one message matters to all who read it?Nowadays, different markets require information specifically tailored for them, and notone tool works across the spectrum.

Defining SMRs

Social media releases are designed to get the conversation going, providing readerswith the ability to disseminate information and multimedia, bookmark and share thecontent, and in turn, spark threads. They also serve a purpose of providing newmedia influencers with the information they need, in one package, in order to write afull story, their way – without having to carve out the BS of a traditional release or pitch.But just because it sounds cool, doesn’t mean PR should start folding new mediareleases into their day-to-day PR toolkit. And just because Social Media is a popular "buzz word" these days doesn't mean that PR should even participate.Why? Because we're still battling the "used car sales" reputation that the industry hasrightfully earned for itself by selling rather than talking, spinning rather thanexplaining, blasting instead of focusing, and most importantly, not understanding thevenues, publications, blogs, sites, etc. or who they reach, before spamming them.Social media is about respect, engagement, and transparency – critical traits thatmost PR is guilty of not practicing or embracing.The only way to evaluate the potential for new media releases is to first participate inthe communities you find interesting, and not as a PR person, but as a genuineenthusiast. This is the first step that will separate the PR people of today versus thecommunications professionals of tomorrow.New media releases aren’t only written for journalists or bloggers. They can have the

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same impact with people they’re written to engage, appealing to an entirely newgeneration of influencers.

Clarifying Social Media Releases

While the SMR represents an exciting mechanism to socialize news, let’s recap whatthe Social Media Release is not…It does not fix what’s wrong with most press releases nor is it designed to replacethemIt’s not exclusively for journalists or bloggersIt was not created for PR to create new value for itself (that goes for social media ingeneral)Social Media Releases advertised by wire services are not true SMRs and neither are the multimedia releases they offer (although they do have value)Even though a great template exists, SMRs can take many forms and include avariety of content plus social tools.SMRs are not about BULLSHIT or SPIN or controlling the message.New media releases represent the opportunity to share news in way that reachespeople with the information that matters to them, in the ways that they use to digestand in turn share with others through text, links, images, video, bookmarks, tags,etc., while also giving them the ability interact with you directly or indirectly.

SMR Style Alternatives

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