Press Releases in 140 Characters or Less

This April, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced his candidacy for governor via Twitter (image via VentureBeat).

As a former journalist, I can assure you that 99.9 percent of press releases are far, far too long. Contrast the average 750-word beast with this short and to-the-point pitch: “Bcuz I Love U, I want u to be the first to know the title of my new album ‘Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel’ Its very personal & dedicated to u.”

That’s the tweet that singer Mariah Carey used to debut her new album – the latest in a continuing trend of companies and public figures making major announcements through their Twitter feeds and other short-form, opt-in media.

Another example that was hard to miss came this election season. Then-Senator Barack Obama announced his VP pick through a text message sent to subscribed supporters, bypassing the press and forgoing standard campaign trail pageantry where the candidate and running mate appear on stage together for the first time.

There is a trade-off that any marketer faces when considering whether to announce something or debut content on Twitter and other short-form media. A press release or splashy announcement has the benefit of reaching a relatively broad audience compared to even a well-followed Twitter feed.

But Twitter feeds are entirely opt-in – when you send a Tweet to your followers, you’re dealing with a far more engaged audience. If that audience includes the press (as President Obama’s text message opt-in list no doubt did), you end up getting a similar benefit as a long-form press release anyway. While the practice remains out-of-the-ordinary, followers who are given the inside scoop in this way get those warm, fuzzy feelings that come with being in on something exclusive.

Making announcements exclusively on Twitter definitely has its pitfalls, though. Take eBay’s Richard Brewer-Hay, who live-Tweets eBay’s quarterly earnings reports – after eBay’s lawyers took note, the following tweets must come first:

• Tweet 1: “Important information about the nature of this session. Forward-looking statements and non-GAAP financial measures. Click here:”
• Tweet 2: “This session will contain non-GAAP financial measures.”
• Tweet 3: “The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for GAAP financial measures.”
• Tweet 4: “A reconciliation of these measures to the nearest comparable GAAP measures can be found by clicking on the following link:”

Although Brewer-Hay definitely seems to be pulling it off despite the lengthy disclaimer, most announcements that require hefty doses of legalese probably aren’t ideal Twitter material.

The important thing for marketers to consider is who they want to reach and if that audience has opted-in to receive messages from them. When it comes to press releases, as much as we all love seeing our company names in ink (or pixels), the point of that coverage is ultimately to reach your target audience through the press.

If there’s a direct line to the target audience who have opted in to hear from you and are engaged in your message, marketers should certainly tap into it and bypass the middleman – or, at the very least, utilize that channel in addition to the standard channels. And, in the case of President Obama, when the press itself has opted in to receive your message, it’s basically no-lose and all gain.