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Press Release

North Coast Communications Advising Disaster Relief, Climate Campaign

WASHINGTON—Mar. 6, 2023—North Coast Communications, a digital public relations and communications consultancy, is advising a disaster relief and climate campaign benefiting families and individuals affected by 2022 monsoon flooding in Pakistan. With Shezad Habib, President and Managing Partner at Manhattan Strategy Group, North Coast Communications is implementing a public relations and development strategy for The i-Care Foundation.

The campaign has produced in-person and virtual engagements with,

  • U.S. Federal Government agencies,
  • the United Nations Environment Programme,
  • U.S. foundations and philanthropies,
  • think tanks and policy institutes in Washington, D.C.,
  • national and international news media,
  • non-governmental organizations, and
  • corporations.

The campaign is boosting The i-Care Foundation’s response to 2022 monsoon flooding, The Coalition for Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction, which has benefited over 500,000 individuals impacted by climate change. The i-Care Foundation is a donor-advised fund and international charitable organization that works with and oversees a network of vetted charities and partners to uplift underserved communities in Pakistan.   

“The climate challenge requires governance, process and system innovations,” said David N. Silverman, Founder and President of North Coast Communications. “We’re helping raise awareness about a philanthropic model that can respond to evolving needs dynamically and with scale.”

Within three months of flooding, The i-Care Foundation’s flood-response coalition coordinated a multi-sector disaster response that reached over 500,000 beneficiaries in over 39 districts. More remains to be done. As many as 4 million children are still living near contaminated and stagnant flood waters and an estimated 9 million people are being pushed into poverty or forced to forego their education. To support The i-Care Foundation disaster relief and climate campaign, please visit The I-Care Foundation website.

About North Coast Communications

North Coast Communications helps organizations, projects, and programs effectively plan, implement, and optimize their digital public relations and communications. David N. Silverman started North Coast Communications in 2020 because mission-driven organizations, businesses, and social-impact campaigns need trusted PR and communications expertise at a fair value. Based in Washington, D.C., North Coast Communications supports public affairs campaigns and private, nonprofit, and public sector clients.

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Categories
Good, Done Well

Press Release Protocol for SMBs and NGOs

A press release protocol is a strategic necessity.

True, the press release is not the cornerstone of public relations and communications it once was. But information is no longer produced and distributed the way it once was. Newsprint, cable, and radio news desks are no longer the exclusive arbiters of what is, or what is not, news.

Nonetheless, a press release should remain part of your digital public relations and communications strategy. Because, when publishing and distribution are well planned, a press release benefits your brand, organization, or campaign in multiple ways.

How a press release helps you

  1. A press release is a factor in your online discoverability (i.e., SEO).
  2. A press release is a source for secondary and repurposed content (i.e., social media).
  3. A press release captures and demonstrates institutional credibility and performance.
  4. A press release is a critical step for developing media relations and winning media coverage.
  5. A press release is a vehicle for building customer trust and engagement.

The press release is still important.

And, in the age of digital public relations and paywall journalism, it remains one of the only sources of information that everyone can still freely access and one of the most trusted. That’s important, too.

With all that said, don’t count on a newswire service to do the heavy lifting for you. Simply submitting a press release to one of the many pay-for services won’t guarantee distribution to your target audience. You may just end up paying exorbitant sums for mere vanity metrics and no publicity.

Instead, first ask, how should I publish and distribute my press release?

A step-by-step guide for your press release

This is a modern press release protocol for SMBs and NGOs.

Use it and you’ll not only own your news, but you’ll see if it blazes, burns, or fizzles. Then, if your analytics suggest that your community digs it, distribute it via paid newswire to traditional media for more consideration, and to reach more of your target audience.

An 11-Step Modern Press Release Protocol

  1. Define keywords or phrases that will attract attention from your target audience. Include them in the headline.
  2. Create a meta description that accurately summarizes the content and reinforces its key value to the reader. Use that meta description as a subtitle under the headline.
  3. Optimize the content for online search. Include keywords throughout the piece but maintain readability. Use subheadings to improve readability and break up text into logical segments.
  4. Include calls-to-action for direct access to related information. Include links to relevant pages on your website. Include a quote or two. A quote can increase the likelihood of it being published should the editor/writer decide to run it as a brief. Include a contact for additional reporting inquiries.
  5. Now own the press release. Embed it in your website. Create a dedicated URL and more feature content and social media sharing widgets. Link to it from other pages on your site and, if possible, partner sites.
  6. Provide a sharable and printable PDF version. Include high-resolution photos and videos as part of a hosted digital media kit.
  7. Push the release to customers and prospects via email, chat, community groups, etc. Share it directly with social media influencers interested in your niche.
  8. Share on social media using hashtags identical to the press release keywords and phrases. Follow social engagement strategies to promote it.
  9. Stop and listen. Analyze audience feedback, site traffic, and any social chatter. Is your audience talking about it? What is the general sentiment?
  10. If you are sensing traction, pitch your release to your favorite journalist as an exclusive or to your media list.
  11. Ready to go further and you have the budget? Pay up. Pick a newswire service and push your press release to editors and journalists. There are many options: PR Newswire, Business Wire, GlobeNewswire, PRWeb, eReleases, Newswire Today, Press Release Jet, Newsmaker, PR Underground, Nova Release, and more. Want to scale down? Consider regional or niche-specific options.

Performance review

This is a press release protocol for SMBs and NGOs. It can be improved and tailored to your needs.

You followed the steps above. Now take some time to look at what worked and what didn’t. Here are some sample questions to kick off your review.

Performance Review Sample Questions

  • Did we adhere to an effective schedule?
  • Did we have the right target audience for our news?
  • What does engagement data from owned media indicate?
  • What does engagement data from paid media indicate?
  • Did we get earned media coverage? Who are their readers?
  • Does the demographic data for engagement align with our audience personas? Maybe there is a new market to target.

For SMBs and NGOs, a press release protocol is a strategic necessity for effective digital public relations and communications. Plan your distribution well and your brand, organization, or campaign will benefit. Make it a component of your digital public relations and communications toolkit.

If you have questions, we can help.

If you want to download or share this article, here is a PDF.

Categories
Good, Done Well

Digital PR and Communications to Grow a Community Organization

North Coast Communications used digital PR and communications to help Newton Southeast Little League recruit players and volunteers and raise funds for youth sports programming.

Review

North Coast Communications (NCC) was brought on to assist our Massachusetts little league organization with off-season registration and communication activities.  E-mail and registration communication metrics were significantly higher under NCC management, when compared to metrics of prior years.  NCC was adept in managing social media accounts and partnered seamlessly with league representatives in the generation of content across several platforms.  I fully expect our league will engage NCC in the future on new collaborations.  Highly recommend!

Kyle Mikulis, Google Review

North Coast managed the organization’s social media and email marketing channels, producing newsletter and social media content for Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and led its communications and distribution strategy.

For North Coast Communications, it wasn’t the first time working with a mission-driven organization or managing social media accounts. (In fact, I did these tasks frequently as a Federal government contractor.) We’re happy to support youth sports because we know first-hand how they can positively impact a child’s life. That’s #GoodDoneWell.

How can North Coast can help you? Tell us.