Do you know that merely adding an image or video in your business press release can boost its open rate? Studies have shown that releases with visuals are up to 10 times more viewed than plain-text releases.
Images and video can draw a lot of attention, makes a content interesting and encourage the readers to share it. Another plus factor of story with visuals is its tendency to grab media attention. When posted on YouTube or Pinterest, the content can be viewed indefinitely.
Here are 7 ways to optimize multimedia assets into your press release:
1. Create good descriptions for your multimedia.
Multimedia including images and videos should have descriptions when used in the release. Follow the correct way to describe the image and video. If you are announcing about your latest Android app, describe the image while thinking how people will find your product.
Do not use general description for your images, like xxxx.jpg. You may also use text overlay on the image to retain your message.
2. Have an image alt attribute.
Always assign words to describe the content of an image. It is useful when the image doesn’t appear due to unforeseen issues. The “alternate text” or “alt tag” is seen when the image doesn’t appear online.
Having the “alt tag” is valuable for search engine optimization (SEO). If you hire a press release distribution company, these technicalities are done behind the scenes to ensure that your release is optimized.
When creating an “alt text” limit it to four to six words and make sure not to exceed 125 characters. Do not use complicated words. As much as possible, use words that people use to search for an image.
3. Follow the right size and format.
Different online press release distribution sites have different rules in using multimedia for the release. For instance, Marketwired recommended that images should be at least 300 dpi for fine printing and follow the maximum size of 100K or 800 x1020 (WxH) for high resolution images.
Most websites and news publications require a smaller size for images with high resolution to load the pages faster. Ask your distribution partner on what type of file format they prefer. Most sites require high-resolution JPEGs.
4. Use images to boost traffic to your website.
You may add a URL to the image that links to your site when distributing your press release. Doing this can boost the traffic to your site.
To maximize the traffic, use a dedicated page, such as your company newsroom when linking an image. Press page contains all the valuable information about your release and even the image, which provides the readers a chance to learn more about your brand.
Moreover, linking your image to your newsroom can encourage readers to engage more, such as leave their feedback or comments and join any conversation on various topics. It’s your chance to highlight your expertise by responding to any inquiry. When done continuously, you widen your reach and improve sales.
5. Upload video on popular platforms.
When you embed the video of your new app in your release, ensure that you upload it first on sites like Vimeo or YouTube than uploading it from your computer. Submitting a video from desktop takes time because it is a large file.
Using YouTube is easy. You can simply copy the embedded code below the video by clicking “share” and “embed.” When you use a popular platform to host your video, using it in your release improves its visibility.
6. Use high quality images.
Today, multimedia such as images and videos are useful tools to increase clickthroughs, open rates and drive traffic to sites. It makes a content interesting and gives the media a reason to feature your news.
With these benefits, use high quality images even they are used in various platforms like search engines or social media channels. At least include images with 300 dpi. Don’t ever upload images that are blurry because they will not help you in your successful marketing.
7. Have descriptive image captions for context.
Place multimedia assets close to relevant text. For your release, add captions to describe the image or video. Ensure that it syncs with the the file name and “alt text” to avoid misperception.
Fred Griffin is a marketing consultant, promotion specialist and content creating guru. He writes custom content for the internet offering solutions from creative digital marketing tactics to SEO and web design driven by results. He enjoys applying his marketing insight to overcome business stagnation, create growth solutions, and improve customer experiences.