With the power that social media currently have in the business world, self-promotion in those channels should become a vital part of your marketing strategy. Although traditional press releases still have their place in print media, they are often ineffective online. To help bridge the gap between press releases and social media, Shift Communications developed a basic template for a social media press release. How do you apply this template to your business’ press release?

Be brief. Trim the unnecessary parts of your press release and get right to the point. Use bullet points or numbered lists, if you can. After all, people tend to scan rather than read online. How many press releases do you actually read word for word online? I doubt your total reaches 5, unless the task is part of your job description. If you won’t read a lengthy press release online, what are the odds that your target audience will?

Include multimedia. Through the internet, you can easily display and share audio, video, graphic, and text content. If your company has an AVP or television and radio commercials, you can include them in your social media release if they’re relevant to its message. You can also include still graphics such as your company logo or other relevant photographs. Having a variety of media to relay your message gives your audience several options. Also, if you’re simply going to make a text-based press release on the internet, you’re not taking advantage of what the internet has to offer.

Encourage bookmarking and sharing. ‘Social’ is the operative word in the phrase ’social media press release’. At the bottom of your release, make sure you include social bookmarking buttons for Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.ico.us, Technorati, and other major social bookmarking sites - especially if they’re relevant to your niche. A release that is relevant to SEO practitioners should include a Sphinn button, while a tech-related release will benefit from a Slashdot button.

As for sharing, don’t forget to include a form that allows your audience to forward your release to others. Make this process as easy as possible, such as a simple text box where your readers can input an email address. The easier it is to forward your release, the more likely it is for people to do so.

Link to your social networking pages and accounts. If your business has a Facebook page or a LinkedIn network, don’t forget to link to those in your release. Doing so will allow readers to stay connected with your business within the social networking sites that they are familiar with.

The social media press release may not be as common as the traditional press release, but it is a distinctive type of release that is meant for today’s internet landscape. In a few years, with minor adaptations made along the way, I won’t be surprised if the social media press release will be the release of choice.