What is the impact that an organization, an event, a person, a project can have within society or within one's target niche?
This is a vital question within the workflow that leads to defining a PR and media relations strategy and writing press releases.
Telling the impact (including possibly emphasizing tangible data) can make a difference in terms of media results: demonstrating and explaining how an organization can have a (positive) impact on a group of people can attract media attention.
For this, tell the solution "generated" by a product/service to solve a common problem has the potential to get a wide media coverage.
Here are two examples of how two press releases with this footprint (problem - solution - impact) could be set up (at the structure level).
EXAMPLE 1.
- An X report (also citing third-party sources) brings out a common issue in the environmental field
- Company Z's Project Y seeks to propose a solution in this regard
- This solution could generate a positive impact (with data and numbers to support it)
EXAMPLE 2.
- Niche-related problem: e.g., loss of time in performing a particular task
- Company X develops software with certain functionality, which has the ambition to pose as a solution for that problem
- This solution could have a positive impact in the niche's area of expertise, saving X% of time
It is not a pattern that can be replicated in every press release, but reasoning in these terms helps to create texts that are capable of presenting USEFUL information and news (for journalists and readers).
Below we also leave three examples of questions to ask yourself to question the impact of a project.
● Does my product/service have a (positive) social impact?
● Will the product/service I am launching also lead to the creation of new jobs?
● Does my product/service represent an innovation in my industry?
SHIFT FOCUS FROM PRODUCT/SERVICE TO IMPACT
By shifting the focus, for example, from the characteristics of the product or service to the impact they can generate, the journalist will also be able to get a sharper view of the project being communicated. This mechanism is always based on the concept of "I don't recount the details of something, but focus more on what benefits it offers“.
Communication, in this way, acquires a higher degree of strength and the outlines become clearer.
"It's not about your product, it's about its impact on society."
The above text is taken from an article by Chris Whitcomb - "How to approach PR mountains in 2021", posted in Muck Rack's blog.
THE BATTLE TO GET JOURNALISTS' ATTENTION
Ever-increasing attention to these issues must be developed with a view to increasing (or maintaining) one's chances of attracting the attention of journalists. Attention contended for by increasingly well-prepared actors.
The data in this table show just one of the faces of the journalists' sphere of attention. That attention that needs to be captured from the media pitch.
But it is not simple. The media and information professionals are becoming increasingly information-demanding. They demand supporting data, they want to understand what impact is generated by a "solution." They are not satisfied with stories and tales with happy endings.
For this reason, taking steps in this direction and making it clear right away that you are telling about the real impact a project is able to have can help significantly increase the chance of being read (and taken up).
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