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July 31, 2014

A brand is how you represent your business and how people see it. Your brand can make or break your company. It's your professional reputation and the difference between people buying your products and services or going elsewhere.

Areas of branding are vast; they stem from the creative side such as creating logos and taglines, down to the nitty gritty of what your business goals are and how you want to convey that to your audience by way of brand messaging. Once this is established, a way of putting your plan into action is by using press releases.

Press releases are a powerful tool for branding that, if attended to properly, will maintain your brand's consistency and keep your business thriving. Press releases provide regular exposure and fresh new content for your business and website. It generates excitement while subtly promoting your company to prospective customers and placing you as an industry leader.

The great thing about press releases is that it also captures a wider audience these days online. And it doesn't have to be about earth-shattering news; press releases can be written about anything your business is doing. Such as:

• Product Launches -- new programs/products/services/upgrades on existing products
• Staff hiring or promotions
• Endorsement or publicity by a well-known entity or person
• Company events, conferences, and workshops your staff is holding or speaking at
• Any philanthropy or charity work
• Being award recipients
• Company publications such as whitepapers, reports or studies

It is important to note that as part of creating a brand, an area is to create a "voice." This might include the tone and style of written communication. While it is important to stay true to this, be careful When it comes to press releases, it's frowned upon to sound like you're selling something when the main purpose of a press release is to report news and inform an audience. It would be wise to follow this because your brand is your reputation and is a reflection of your company so you want to be sure you stick within the scope of what's appropriate.

Don't let this scare you off. If done correctly, press releases can be your brand strategy's best friend. It will help your support your brand in creating and maintaining visibility and familiarity to your target audience. It is an ongoing process where you want to establish trust and credibility. No branding strategy is complete without taking press releases into consideration because it's a major channel that puts your company out there.