Comments on: The Social Media News Release

By: staffeen thompson

staffeen thompson — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:07:39 +0000

On another note: I too cited SHIFT Communications in my post – Todd Defrens’ blog is quite dynamic and informative. Have you visited? I love to go back to 2004 and read the posts, it’s really interesting to see the format of blog posts and how they’ve evolved. I’m thinking that the format of the SMNR may change in the near future just to keep up with evolution of social media. Just a thought.

Keep up the great work.

By: bcarlos

bcarlos — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:31:18 +0000

Rayanne,

you make a valid point, and one that Mr.Solis does address. Our job is not simply cookie-cutter; creativity is highly valued. The problem with the SMNR not being standardized, at least to a degree, is that social media is still an unfamiliar realm for many people in both PR and journalism. Without some sort of general format, we run the risk of counteracting the purpose of this new endeavour (i.e. to improve the functionality and efficiency of the news release).

By: Rayanne Langdon

Rayanne Langdon — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:56:32 +0000

Good post, Brandon. I like that you focused on the possible need for standardization of the SMNR. I haven’t seen a lot of similar discussion.

But, it made me think… Is there a standard for the traditional news release? Sure, there are organizations like Canada News Wire that churn out releases in its own format. But, if a company is responsible for getting its releases into the hands of journalists, my bet is that few of them look the same.

I think the look and feel of a release (social media or traditional) depends on personal/business preference. After all, isn’t content the most important thing?

Just as there are general rules for news releases, there are shared beliefs on the functionality of the SMNR. If this is the only factor standing in the way of some professionals adopting the practice, I simply don’t agree.