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The Importance of Teamwork

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About this lesson

Irrespective of the size of your company or PR team, writing a press release should be seen as a team exercise.

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The Importance of Teamwork.docx
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Quick reference

The Importance of Teamwork

In medium to large businesses, a fully-fledged PR department is responsible for creating and distributing press releases. However, in small businesses, the PR department might not be very large or there might not be one at all. Irrespectively of the size of your PR team, writing a press release should be seen as a team exercise.

When to use

Mark in your business calendar upcoming events and product launches for the year: being aware of press release opportunities will ensure that you have ample time to prepare for each adequately and to arrange team meetings.

Instructions

A great press release blends thorough product knowledge, an understanding of how the product fits in the bigger picture, a deep awareness of the company’s philosophy and history, and excellent writing skills including conciseness. It would be hard for one individual to possess all of the above. The press release will be a success if each team member contributes meaningfully with his specialist knowledge and experience.

The people who can contribute to the press release content need to sit together and brainstorm about the following aspects:

  • Ideas for a catchy title and an informative sub-heading;
  • What the press release is going to cover in bullet points, which the appointed writer will then develop;
  • The tone in which information should be conveyed;
  • Sourcing or asking someone to produce a suitable quote that supports the general message of the press release;
  • How your company is going to be presented;
  • Whose contact details will be added to the press release to answer enquiries and give further information;
  • Appointing at least two members of staff to proofread and edit your press release.

These steps will increase your chances of your press release being approved for further interviews or publishing.

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  • 00:05 In this lesson we're going to discuss the importance of teamwork.
  • 00:09 Now in medium to large businesses, a fully fledged PR department is
  • 00:14 normally responsible for creating and distributing the press releases.
  • 00:18 But in a small business, the PR department might not be very large, or
  • 00:23 there might not be one at all.
  • 00:25 So irrespectively of the size of your PR team,
  • 00:29 writing a press release should really be seen as a team exercise.
  • 00:33 Now blending is going to be the key,
  • 00:36 because a great press release is going to blend some thorough product knowledge
  • 00:41 with an understanding of how the product fits into the bigger picture.
  • 00:46 And really a deep awareness of the company's philosophy and
  • 00:50 the history that we've got.
  • 00:51 And then, of course, we're going to need some excellent writing skills to
  • 00:56 pull all of those points together.
  • 00:58 Now, it would be quite hard for
  • 01:00 one individual to possess all of these skills that we've just mentioned.
  • 01:04 And this is precisely why we want to have a well rounded press release
  • 01:09 that's put together by our team.
  • 01:11 So it really depends on good teamwork.
  • 01:14 And really, as much as producing a smooth and well-rounded tasting coffee is going
  • 01:20 to depend on blending the different types of beans, so is it with the press release.
  • 01:25 Because each member of the team is going to contribute some meaningful and
  • 01:29 specialist knowledge along with their experience.
  • 01:32 So let's look at teamwork and practice then, and brainstorming in particular.
  • 01:37 Whether you've got a small or large business,
  • 01:40 the people who can contribute to the press release, they need to sit together and
  • 01:44 they need to brainstorm the following aspects.
  • 01:47 We'll typically start with ideas for a catchy headline and
  • 01:51 of course an informative sub-heading, and
  • 01:53 it's really important to start at this particular point.
  • 01:57 Then we need to look at what the press release is going to cover in
  • 02:00 the bullet point, and of course, from this point onward,
  • 02:04 we need to think about what the writer needs to develop further.
  • 02:07 And this is, of course, where the bullet points will guide them.
  • 02:11 We also need to think of the tone in which the information is going to be conveyed.
  • 02:15 The tone will very much depend on the focus of the press release and
  • 02:18 the message we're trying to get out there.
  • 02:20 Then we need to source somebody or ask somebody to produce a suitable quote
  • 02:25 that's going to support the general message of the press release.
  • 02:30 We also need to think then about how the company is going to present it, and
  • 02:34 we need to think about whose contact details are we going to provide.
  • 02:39 Will it be the manager?
  • 02:40 Will it be a field specialist?
  • 02:43 Or whatever the case might be.
  • 02:45 Finally, we want to appoint two members of staff, and preferably at least two,
  • 02:49 that's going to help us to proofread this press release and
  • 02:53 make sure that it's free from any grammatical or spelling mistakes.
  • 02:57 If you follow these steps and do them in a team, then, of course,
  • 03:02 it's going to increase the chances that the press release will be approved.
  • 03:05 And of course,
  • 03:06 that will lead to further interviews and the publishing of the release.
  • 03:11 Now I would argue that the secret is really in the title, and
  • 03:15 let me quantify that.
  • 03:17 The title is the most difficult part of the press release because
  • 03:21 ,today with websites fiercely competing for
  • 03:26 eyeballs on the web, you need to get spotted for your press release to be read.
  • 03:31 So really, the title represents your chance of ensuring the audience will
  • 03:35 continue to read the press release instead of just moving on quickly to
  • 03:38 something else that's a bit more catchy, or perceived to be catchy, at least.
  • 03:43 So your title should snap the attention of the reader,
  • 03:47 as the media will also want to be reading more if they see an interesting title.
  • 03:53 This is really with the power of teamwork and
  • 03:55 brainstorming is going to come in to play, as we say, two heads are better than one.
  • 04:01 It all comes down to being organized.
  • 04:03 As with everything, good organization is so important.
  • 04:06 So mark it in your business calendar, look at some upcoming events and
  • 04:10 product launches for the year, and try to structure the team meetings around that,
  • 04:14 so that there's always enough time for
  • 04:17 good planning and to make sure that we're ahead of the game with our press releases.

Lesson notes are only available for subscribers.

Know Your Product Inside Out
03m:55s
Get Your Press Release Published
03m:58s
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