Our presser went out today announcing the initial conclusions from our research into the ‘ROI of Online Press Releases.’

The top-line findings included:

• Press releases are increasingly a tool for marketing and sales - The press release is becoming a communications tool for both public relations and marketing professionals alike. Approximately one-third of respondents were marketing professionals (32.9%); 30% were public relations professionals. Small business owners and self-employed individuals accounted for 23.7% of those who issue online press releases, according to the survey.
• Additional goals and priorities for press releases are emerging - In addition to reaching the press and announcing news, today’s top priorities for those issuing online press releases include: increasing visibility and credibility for the organization, directly reaching customers, making content available to online users, and search engine optimization (SEO).
• The ascension of bloggers and new media - Bloggers have joined traditional media as highly valued targets. Respondents indicated that reaching bloggers and new media outlets were nearly as high a priority as reaching traditional media. Seventy-three percent indicated that it is “important to very important” to reach traditional media via their online press releases while 67.7% indicated that it is “important to very important” to reach bloggers and new media outlets. For small business owners, reaching bloggers and social media sites was slightly more important than reaching traditional media.
• Measures of value and success are changing - Respondents rank their top measures of value for their online press releases by how many times the press release is published on other websites and the number of online views of the release. Both of these metrics rated higher than articles or media interview requests based on the release. In fact, respondents indicated that the most important placements for the releases are online news aggregators, such as Google News, Yahoo News and online news sites like Reuters and Topix, followed by blogs and social media sites. In addition, respondents noted that the two most valuable aspects of issuing online news releases is the opportunity for SEO and the opportunity to reach both consumers and customers directly, as well as traditional media.
• PR and marketing professionals have different priorities and perspectives - Respondents who identified themselves as public relations professionals noted they primarily use online press releases to announce news and enhance thought leadership, while respondents who identified themselves as marketing professionals stated their priorities as SEO optimization for the organization’s website and reaching customers and consumers. Small business owners stated that they use online press releases as a sales tool to reach customers and consumers.
• Hard measures of value and success are a challenge - Respondents stated that their top challenges in maximizing the value of issuing online press releases include: “cutting through the clutter,” targeting and distribution, affordability and measurement and metrics.

Jen McClure will be presenting our findings in more detail at our annual users conference taking place this week.

News Coverage:

• Direct News, Small firms ‘targeting bloggers with news’
• Business Feet, Bloggers ‘as important as the press’ for business