When you own a local business, large or small, the more people see and hear about you the better. Though it’s fascinating that more businesses don’t get ‘out there’ to announce any changes, updates, or newsworthy events by issuing press releases. This could be in part due to the fact that many small local business owners only think of press releases to announce a new business, but don’t think to use them as a tool to promote their business throughout the future. But given that press releases are a low-cost, powerful marketing tool, they should.
Benefits Of A Press Release
The benefits of press releases go beyond merely announcing something. In addition, press releases present you with the opportunity to:
- Boost SEO and search engine rankings.
- Stay in front of your target market.
- Gain exposure and build brand awareness via several online and offline networks.
- Build ‘expert’ status for the local business and owner.
- Get creative with what you can announce and share.
Types Of Local Business Announcements
There are literally tons of reasons to use a press release to show off your local business, including:
- New products or services.
- Changes to current products or services.
- Personnel changes or additions.
- Expanding of a business unit, division or department.
- Opening of a new branch or location.
- Newsworthy events in the industry.
- Attending industry invents.
- Public speaking events.
- Community involvement and charity.
The list could go on and on, so get creative and any time something changes, or you or an employee thinks something of significance is exciting, then announce it in a press release!
Building A Powerful Press Release
Keep it to-the-point: You want your press release to be somewhere between 250 – 400 words if possible, but don’t write content to simply write. Share information that’s pertinent to the announcement, and keep it simple and to-the-point.
Use keywords: Keywords that are naturally placed within the contents of your press release will help boost SEO when posting online. But don’t overdo it. Go with 1-2% keyword density at most.
Consider hiring a writer or using a press release service: If you do an online search, there are paid press release services that can help you distribute your press release throughout the web. You can also consider hiring a writer to write your press release if writing isn’t your forte. If you choose to do it yourself, you can typically submit to local newspapers for free, and you can (and should) also post to all of your social media networks, website and blog online, as well.
Using press releases to build your local business is smart, and as an added bonus, it can be a fun way to promote your business. Use a press releases to regularly promote your business by using the information provided here to have a big impact on your target market.