Using Multimedia in Your Press Release

Let’s be honest, nobody likes plodding through a massive wall of text. According to some surveys, viewers may be up to 85% more likely to buy your product if you simply show them a video. While there’s no way to guarantee that your press release will be a big hit, including one of the following forms of rich media can certainly help. Here are some quick tips for using media to enrich your release:

1. Video

With the explosion of video sharing platforms like YouTube and Vine, some brands are achieving a lot of success by getting out to consumers and journalists through digital video. It’s getting surprisingly easy to record and share videos online, so if you aren’t including videos (or links to them) in your press releases you’re missing out on a big opportunity.

audio-media-press-release2. Audio

As podcasts become increasingly popular, companies are finding the new form of online radio to be an excellent way to reach listeners. Whether this means starting your own podcast and linking to it in your release or referring to another podcast that helps make your message more clear, it’s definitely worth including some form of audio information for your readers.

3. Photos

It should be obvious by now, but good press releases, blog posts, and marketing materials have to include some form of attention grabbing image. You’ll notice that we don’t add anything to our College Media Blog here on UWIRE without posting an image, and there’s a reason for it.

4. Infographics 2.0

You might think that by now infographics are a bit overdone. So many of them seem to be cheap novelties that you might be telling yourself that it’s time to move on to something better. Well, that something better might be  coming sooner than you think. In 2013, you can expect to see more interesting and interactive infographic designs that take advantage of real-time data as well as advances in HTML5. Check out Prezi or Infogram if you’re interested in creating your own.

What multimedia elements have you found to be helpful in your press releases? Would you prefer to use a PR Distribution company that allows rich media? Let me hear your take in the comments below.