The social media release did not just appear out of nowhere, it began after a blog written by Tom Foremski. Foremski was an annoyed journalist/blogger that was tired of the traditional press release. In 2006, he made a blog not only containing his opinions about the press release, but suggestions on how it could be made better.
These suggestions included:
1. Deconstruct the press release into special sections and tag the information so that I as a publisher can pre-assemble some of the news story and make the information useful.
2. Provide a brief description of what the announcement is, but leave the spin to the journalists. The journalists are going to go with their own spin on the story anyway, so why bother? Keep it straightforward rather than spintastic.
3. Provide a page of quotes from the CEO or other C-level execs.
4. Provide a page of quotes from customers, if applicable.
5. Provide a page of quotes from analysts, if applicable.
6. Provide financial information in many different formats.
7. Provide many links inside the press release copy, and also provide a whole page of relevant links to other news stories or reference sources.
8. And tag everything so that I can pre-assemble my stories.
(taken from Tom Foremski’s 2006 blog- http://www.siliconvalleywatcher.com/mt/archives/2006/02/die_press_relea.php)
And with these suggestions, the social media release was developed!
~Mariska~
