Press Kit vs Press Release: Formats, Advantages, and How They Benefit Public Relations

When businesses launch their products or services, they already know competition exists. Small companies must find unique ways to make their brand stand out. While startups do not have huge budgets to play with, public relations and digital marketing provide a helping hand in competing with their competitors. A good PR campaign backed by a marketing strategy will help the brand build trust with potential customers and enhance its reputation.

In 2023, the public relations (PR) worldwide market value amounted to an estimated 19.5 billion U.S. dollars, down from 20 billion dollars a year earlier.

This blog discusses the fundamental differences between electronic press kits and press releases. This will also focus on the benefits of both.

What is a Press Kit?

A press kit is a unified page on the business website where potential parties like journalists and media can get to know the business more deeply. EPK or digital media kit is advised, but businesses can also make a PDF or send the link to prospects to establish relationships with the media outlets by cold pitching.

All businesses need a media kit because it helps get media coverage by facilitating relationships with crucial journalists in the relevant industry. It should be readily available online because businesses may never know when a media outlet or journalist is interested in writing a story about the company or reviewing its services or products.

Press Kit Template

Every press kit differs from others depending on the needs of the business. However, there is a specific protocol that every company must follow when creating the press kit.

Mission and Vision

Adding the mission and vision of the brand to the press kit goes beyond just telling a story. It tells the prospects who and what the business cares about. The company’s mission should include values and explain why nosiness started in the first place. Considering the kind of business, try to include the background context and what the company wants to achieve.

Branding

This is another crucial aspect to include in the press kit because it allows the journalists to use visual assets while writing the story. Multimedia-like videos and photos should easily be downloadable to ensure any logo or pictures follow the brand style guide.

Team Members

The media kit should add executives and primary team members of the businesses. This gives the background about the CEO and why the company was launched.

This also helps the journalists to shortlist the person for the interview to develop the story depending on the story.

Media Coverage and Company News

Adding the already published press releases and new features in the press kit can assist media outlets in understanding whether or not the stories are newsworthy. If the business is still in the process of brand positioning and does not have much media coverage, a brand can add stories to help journalists and investors learn more about the company.

Benefits of Press Kit

Here are the benefits of the press kit:

It Helps define the Brand

A business without brand identity is just another faceless corporation. That is not precisely something consumers or media players find particularly endearing. That is where the press kit’s tone and design communicate the brand identity a business wants to put across.

Enables Prompt Media Coverage

Reporters and deadlines are wed into a miserable matrimony for eternity. A press kit lets a reporter complete a story without waiting for the PR contact’s return. This is very valuable when time is of the essence.

Attracts New Investors

The company overview presented in a press kit can be as beneficial to shareholders as it is to journalists. Create a press/media kit with statistics and figures to demonstrate the company’s performance and strong points. Such can be used to convince any shareholder to support the company.

Encourages Cooperation

This can help users find new collaborations in that manner as well. A press kit seriously bangs it to the wall when someone wanting to collaborate with a business wants an overview of what the company is about and what it does.

What is a Press Release?

Press releases are typically utilized to disclose specific information about a company. Usually, the public relations crew of that particular company documents a news release. One to two pages in length, a press release explicitly states the purpose of the document.

Press releases should be a part of companies’ PR and marketing campaigns. They first enable companies to establish a relationship with media people and reporters.

Press releases can, therefore, disseminate a business’s information to its target market. Further employing some search engine optimization into the release, PR writing services aid in boosting website visitors.

Press Release Format

When writing a press release, one has to be conversant with the format. The press follows this format:

• Attractive headline.
• Lead paragraph
• Body paragraph
• Quotations
• Conclusion

Typically stated in the uppermost left are the release date, contact details, etc., and the attraction headline. Information is meant to be most and, subsequently, least important.

Attractive Headline

The headlines in a press release should be captivating since readers and reporters will first look at them. Understandability, informativeness, clarity, and concision define its primary goals. It is a creative task with the minds of the viewers in question. So get one; use facts, action verbs, figures, and a little twist to add more appeal. The ideal headline runs 50 to 80 characters with eight words.

Lead Paragraph

The crux of the knowledge resides here. The Five Why may be news presented in the press release manner. That also determines the who, what, when, where, and how. This part should comprise two to three phrases and between three hundred and four hundred characters.

Body Paragraph

This is known as the body and corresponds to the part following the lead paragraph. This portion provides expanded information concerning the lead paragraph regarding news, features, and advantages of goods or services. The data should be presented to support this and further enhance the value of interest.

The body paragraph should not overdo jargon, clichés, or anything extraneous to the press release and should not feature high-end terminology. Avoid adding these; the more the quotient of these is added, the worse it would look; consequently, this would be a breach in the press release form. Wrap the ending in two to three brief sentences and provide a complete call to action under this portion.

Quotes

Including the quotes in the press release will make it more authentic. It would encourage the readers to believe that professionals support the material. Add powerful, brief quotations to raise relevancy around the news and define the brand’s tone.

Avoid including unrelated material. Make sure the quoted material relates to the news. Generic quotes will lower the press release.

Conclusion

This is the final paragraph; in it, information about the business—that of a short description, its purpose, vision, and contact details—is passed. It also contains hyperlinks to platforms and social media that have been incorporated.

Press release format has a small variable portion that does not change from organization to organization.

Benefits of Press Release

Here are the benefits of the press release.

Low-Cost

Among the many benefits of press release distribution is that it is very cheap compared to most other advertising and PR activities.

Targeted Audience

Press releases are written to target the audience and acquire new markets, as well as what the potential clients, partners, investors, or other stakeholders are interested in or worried about.

Advertising Value Equivalent

Advertising value equivalent is the metric showing an ad’s cost in media channels that publish the press release.

SEO and Visibility

Using the proper wording in the news makes it better for search engines and brings more visitors to the site.

Final Thoughts

Finally, to build good media relations and communicate a brand message to firms, one should know the difference between a press kit and a press release. Press kits contain detailed information about a company and its products or services. Press releases are focused on business announcements or events. These are two valuable tools within a well-rounded PR strategy.

Press Connect can help the business with just those PR essentials. Be it a professional, well-structured press kit that brings out the brand’s identity and success or a timely and attention-grabbing press release for the media, Press Connect offers specialized services in line with the requirements. Let us help you make the right impact, build credibility, and rise through this competitive market.