Problematic 'point and shoot' PR

I'm working for a client at the moment who has dropped all advertising and instead is just concentrating on Google adwords and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO for those in the know). One of my jobs has been to make sure that the keywords and search terms that are proving popular are also reflected in the press release.

Optimising and sending out press releases is a growing trend and there are more and more companies offering to send out a killer press release that'll help boost your search engine ratings.
But as more companies rush into this 'point and shoot' PR, it's worth considering once again who your targets really are. If you are trying to get a double page spread in the local business daily (Børsen, in my case) the benefits of releasing the story on the internet equivalent at the same time is really a waste of time. Journalists want exclusives, or at the least a fair run at beating the competition.

I think PR is developing towards a two-tier approach:

1. The personal relationships developed with journalists and bloggers that will get the targeted quality coverage. These are the people that can move opinions: they need one-to-one attention not blanket coverage


2. The ratings battle - getting your release on the right sites and feeds and getting clicks back to the right web site.

Both these are important and if you get the balance right will result in good coverage and good results, which is what PR is all about.