Well, it can be quite challenging for the people who are entering into the world of press release writing to understand and figure out what a press release means and how to become a master in this. PR writing is not an easy task; it needs a lot of effort and research to complete the task efficiently. To write a press release, you need to know the basic patterns of writing. There is much confusion among the writers regarding this, and that’s why today we decided to clear all your confusion. The article is dedicated to all those beginners who have just entered the world of writing. Here you will learn the differences between the media advisory and a press release that can make you a pro writer. So, learn both the topic simultaneously and understand when you can use a press release and when a media advisory. If you want to know the potential to distinguish between these two marketing proposals, then let’s continue this article.
To write a press release, you should focus on few things, including purpose, composition, length, and timing. Here you will learn about the differences in writing styles and how the industry works. By gaining all the information in this article, you can become a master of PR professional quickly.
What is a press release?
A press release is known as the official news that contains all the necessary information of any upcoming events and launches of brand-new items. The press release articles are written especially to provide to the PR distribution sites and journalists so that they can post this on news and media outlets.
Why press release is important:
- The press release is written when a product is going to be launched.
- Written for announcing the achievements
- Mergers
- For Generating new funds
- To provide important information regarding any event of the company
A press release sounds similar to the news stories because both are published in the newspapers and on websites. The main aim of a PR is to get considerations from the media representatives and the media coverage. A press release is an innovative and smart way of representing the exclusive story of your brands. By doing so, you can get the attention of users and reach up to your target audience.
The proper format of writing a PR:
A suitable press release is written in a typical format by providing all the facts and information about a company. Here in the below section, we discuss the things that make a PR effective:
- A proper and to-the-point headline
- The essential subheadings
- Fascinating paragraphs
- Interesting pictures and videos
- Including effective and attractive quotations
- Details of the business, including contact information provided by the website.
The proper definition of a media advisory
When it comes to a media advisory, this is a one-page written article that is written to give information regarding any future event. This is specially written to invite selective media representatives solely regarding future events. It contains the most important data that is given to the members of the media. These are written skillfully and only cover the specific details about the event only.
What is the format of media advisory?
The media advisory contains Contact Information along with a short headline. And it has the 5Ws, and those are:
- What
- Who
- Where
- When
- Why
Example of the media contact information:
Who- Justin Bieber
Where- Mention the URL
What- Virtual concert
When- Mention the date, Day, time, including time zone
Why- To entertain and reveal his new tracks to the fans
What is the main difference?
Now after covering all the above points, we can come to the main part that distinguishes between a PR and a media advisory.
- Purpose: The main goal of a media advisory is to generate all the information regarding the upcoming events. This is specially written by concluding all the information regarding an event and should look like an exclusive invitation. It contains only the most important terms to inform the media that something important is going to happen in the upcoming days. While making a media advisory, you should ensure that it should be shared only with the media members. It is not meant to be published for the common people; instead, it is solely for media partners. It intends to invite specific media recipients. The media house people decide whether they want to attend the event or not. At the same time, the PR is written to publish the articles on media outlets and other media forums. This includes all the information regarding the upcoming projects. This is written to gain the attention of people worldwide. A press release contains the product introduction and company details. It covers all the essential information of the industry so that it can become famous and reach the targeted audience. Moreover, you can send this to the magazine sites and media forums for publishing. You can also use the same content even after the event.
- Composition: Composition is almost the same for the press release and media advisory. The press release and media advisory contents follow a fundamental structure with the same details mentioned in a different style. Both contain the 5 W factors that include a proper headline in order to make a strong PR. Besides these, both the document should be grammatically error-free and spelled correctly. Along with that, there are some other fundamental differences that you can find if you concentrate on the pattern. Both PR and media advisory must contain Headline, Contact information, Dateline, and Introduction. But if we talk about the media advisory, then it has less detail. It has a small introduction, but it contains full details of the upcoming event so that they can publish this in social media and media marketers.
- Length: There is a huge difference between the length. A media advisory is usually written up to 100 to 150 words, whereas a press release can be written within 500 words.
- Timing: The right time for releasing a press release is when something is going to happen, like when a new event or product will be launched. PR can be released just before the event. But a media advisory is always published five days in advance.
The final verdict!
You see, by considering all the above points, you can easily write effective and well-informed PR and media advisory content just like a pro writer!