Press Release Distribution: Go Horizontal or Vertical?

Whether you are an entrepreneur, a company or a PR firm, the distribution of optimized press releases does present both challenges and opportunities. The good news? With a little extra work-make that a little extra attention-you’ll maximize and leverage both the reach and longevity of all your optimized press releases BEFORE they are sent.

Your press release distribution strategy should start with answering two VERY important questions:

1) Press release distribution: horizontal or vertical?
2) Who’s more important: reporters or customers?

Now you may think, distribution of optimized press releases can’t be that black and white, it’s more gray. Well, sure, you’d like to have everything, but that’s not how it works. There is a reason we call them “target” audiences.

Let’s tackle horizontal vs. vertical press release distribution first. And the best way to illustrate the difference between the two is with a few examples:

• Selling online = horizontal
• Reaching a business to business audience = vertical
• Targeting a specific industry sector (like technology) = vertical
• Geo-targeting a specific region: city, state, or country = vertical
• Appealing to multiple regions and countries = horizontal

With distribution of optimized press releases, you can even adopt a horizontal vs. vertical perspective when it comes to targeting reporters or customers…

• Reaching local business community and media reporters = vertical
• Reaching customers directly = horizontal

The reporters vs. customers dynamic will also impact the decision on which press release distribution service provider you select. Some are better for reaching customers directly via search engines, while others do better with journalists covering a specific topic. (Often via emails sent directly to a list of reporters on that topic.)

Distribution of optimized press releases: the one-to-many benefit

The distribution of optimized press releases is a real time saver. You upload a release to a press release distribution provider and it’s sent out via RSS feed to thousands of web sites, journalists and media sites.

Press release distribution reality check: not your grandfather’s press release

The word press comes from printing press. People like to call press releases “news releases” or “media releases” and yet “press release” is still the most used and familiar term. Perhaps the new descriptions are an attempt to better communicate the venerable press release’s social marketing capabilities.

Today, optimized press releases can include audio, video, images, and more. There is seamless integration with podcasts, social marketing, social bookmarking, as well as article marketing and more.

To sum up, the horizontal vs. vertical press release distribution strategy really helps focus on the ultimate objective behind your online press releases.  For some best practices read my article about press release distribution. For specific tips and tricks on getting every extra search engine visitor read my post regarding optimized press releases.

Story highlights and action steps:

• Time to review: 12 minutes
  • Determine distribution strategy and target audiences first
  • Examples of horizontal and vertical Press release distribution
  • Enhancements for optimized press releases include audio, video, social marketing
  • Paid press release distribution delivers superior ROI
• Action steps:
  • Set a goal for your next release: horizontal or vertical?
  • Identify distribution options: 1 horizontal (PRweb.com) and 1 vertical: (many industry publications allow direct submissions)
  • Feedback and comments: horizontal or vertical success stories?
• Related resources: Tutorials on submitting optimized press releases: PR Traffic