Press releases are an effective way to get the news out about your business. However, sending your release to the right people is an important part of the process. 42% of people find it challenging to get their messages to the correct people.
Determining who the target audience is for your press release is multi-faceted. Your news might not get shared if it doesn’t get sent to the right person or news outlet. You might be asking yourself, “what is a target audience?”
This guide will discuss everything you need to know about what a target audience is. Improve the chances of your news getting publishing by sending your release to the right individuals.
What Is a Target Audience?
A target audience is a group of people that would be interested in your business’s service or product. The target audience for your press release includes two groups of people:
- The outlet or journalist
- Their readers
Not only should your news be something that grabs the attention of the recipient of your press release, but it should be something that their readers would want to learn about. A journalist or media outlet isn’t going to share your news if they don’t think the article is going to get them clicks. At the end of the day, if they don’t believe that your news will get them results, they’re not going to share it.
The first step in this process is figuring out who your ideal customer is. This would be the reader who’ll see your news story once it’s published. You can use that information to tailor your press release.
Some factors you should consider when researching your target audience include:
- Gender
- Age
- Location
- Socioeconomic status
- Education
- Interests
Once you’ve figured out who your ideal customer is, think about where they go to get information. Research what media platforms they prefer. While you might want to send your release out to large publications, your target audience could frequent smaller blogs instead.
Start Researching Media Outlets
Figuring out what media outlets to target can take a lot of time. One of the benefits of creating a comprehensive list is that you can use it again in the future. You can create different segments to include or exclude various journalists depending on the company news you’re sharing.
Traditional Media
While many people think traditional media outlets are a thing of the past, that’s not necessarily the case. Some examples of traditional media outlets include:
- Radio
- TV
- Newspapers
- Magazines
These channels of communication are key, especially if you’re targeting local customers. Get the contact information of radio stations, newspapers, and TV stations in your area. Make sure they’re on your target audience list.
Once you’ve compiled your master list, divide your contacts up based on their beat.
New Media
New media refers to smaller, more niche websites that might cover your news. Some examples include:
- Podcasters
- Bloggers
- Influencers
Read through multiple articles that they have on their websites or listen to an episode of their podcast. Get to know them and their audience. Target them with a clear, catchy story that’ll grab their attention.
Find Their Contact Information
Locating a journalist’s contact information can sometimes be challenging. While you can send your press releases to a general email at a company, it’s better to get your release directly in someone’s inbox.
Your ideal contact person can include:
- Managing editor
- Features editor
- Publisher
- Reporter
- Program manager
You can search the internet to find their contact information if it’s not included in their author bio on their website. As you gather their details, make sure it includes the following information:
- Full name
- Email address
- Job title
- Telephone number
Sometimes including their location is helpful, especially if want to target certain regions with your press releases.
Regularly Update Your List
Journalists might move to publications or change what industries they focus on over the years. A publication could close altogether. Stay on top of each of your media contacts, making modifications to your media list as necessary.
Ways to Talk to Your Target Audience
You can send out your press release to multiple journalists at once using a distribution service. Another way to hit up your target audience is with cold pitching. Cold pitching includes a personal email from you to your contact.
The format of these types of emails is a little looser than a traditional press release. However, you can include your press release in the email with a short, personalized message at the top. Just make sure you have a killer subject line that’ll entice your reader.
Write a Good Press Release
Developing your brand voice is an important part of writing a good press release. Effective communication will help get your message across to the right people. Even if you send it to the right person, your news might not get shared if it’s not written well.
Make sure your press release adheres to industry standards. A journalist will quickly delete a release if they see it’s full of formatting problems and errors.
Press release typically includes the same basic information. These details include:
- Headline and subheadline that summarizes the news
- Where your business is located
- A few paragraphs of key details
- Bulleted facts
- Company bio at the bottom
- Contact information
You can also include quotes from key members of your team, only if they add value. Your reader should be able to gather the important parts of your news from the first couple of sentences. Everything else is just supporting information.
Improve the Success of Your Press Releases by Targeting the Right People
We hope we’ve answered the question “what is a target audience?” Being strategic about who you send your press releases to is key to their success. Be thoughtful about your target audience and you’ll see the results.
The team at eReleases is here to ensure your press release goes to the right people. We have a large database of relevant media that we have relationships with. Contact us to learn more about our press release distribution services.