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May 13, 2020

Our last article, Adapting your Business Model, Maintaining Visibility, and a few Press Release Ideas During Unprecedented Times was nearly a month ago and much has gone on and changed since then.

We are now at a point where although the COVID-19 crisis continues, we have seen a bend in the curve and a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel with America proceeding cautiously to re-open up shops.

At the beginning of the crisis, 24-7 Press Release Newswire saw a slight pause in the press release service industry (perhaps many business owners were strategizing, taking everything in and navigating the next steps. After the interval, we started to see press releases showing an adaption of how businesses were reacting to the economic fallout as the whole world around us grounded to a halt.

With some restaurants closing, we saw an adapt quickly from a few of how they were running their business to a new kind of norm, like altering menus to accommodate for a larger 'take-out' audience. We also read about how some restaurants began offering toilet paper with their take-out meals, and some even announcing the sale of organic produce.

We are just now beginning to see a shift away from nearly every press release talking about COVID-19 (or related) in their headline to 'off COVID-19' specific press releases. Again, only an observation from our staff, perhaps this change is more of a strategy to announce refreshing news for journalists looking for alternative news, away from the COVID-19 subject.

A few unrelated COVID9 press release examples that we have seen gain some excellent traction:

• UAV Propulsion Tech Representing Suter Industries AG/CAE GmbH to Market their UAV Engine Solutions (Over 12,500 headline impressions, 1,500 actual views, and 100+ social shares)

• Brazilian Wax Specialist Ashley Yamauchi to Open New Salon in Lake Worth TX (Over 62,500 headline impressions, 1,500 actual views, and 100+ social shares)

• FDA Clears New Mechanical Thrombectomy Platform (Over 46,000 headline impressions, 2,400 actual views, and 185+ social shares)

• Poets&Quants Names Best & Brightest MBAs For 2020 Over 44,000 headline impressions, 1,600 actual views, and 79 social shares)

This observation is the only speculation; however, you have to wonder, if you put on the hat of a journalist that is overwhelmed with COVID-19 headlines for the last couple of months, would you not be yearning for something 'different' and refreshing?

We are not saying don't submit a press release if it is COVID-19 related; however, there is undoubtedly a time and a place. There is also another significant component called 'intent.' The right intent is submitting a press release whereby COVID-19 directly affects your business. An example may include the closing of a store and moving to an 'online retail model' because of the crisis; this is undoubtedly legitimate news with an example here "Beloved Midwest Confectionery Closes Mall Stores Due to COVID-19".

An example of a press release that would not be suitable would be one announcing a retail sale (or any sale for that matter) just because of COVID-19. This type of release demonstrates trying to capitalize (newsjacking) on the use of COVID-19. Let's be realistic, sales existed before COVID-19, and anyone can have a sale at any-time, and this is not worth newsjacking.

There is a time and place for newsjacking, and we feel right now you should resist newsjacking on the subject of COVID-19/Coronavirus. For more information about newsjacking, please see our newsjacking related article here.

Again, these are only some guidelines from some real-life examples we wanted to provide to guide our customers in the best direction for success and to help attain the largest viewership of their press releases.