Both case studies and press releases are well established ways of getting your business or brand in the media. However, both serve different purposes – and understanding them can help boost your public relations strategy. In this blog, we outline how to use press releases and the benefits of case studies.
What is a press release?
Press releases are factual announcements for media outlets (usually trade publications) and your public audience. These communicate newsworthy information quickly and clearly.
Examples of press releases might include corporate news, product launches, event promotions or announcements of executive appointments.
Sharing these with relevant publications is useful to get the word out to the relevant audience and increase brand visibility. In fact, 85% of journalists use press releases as a source for stories*.
However, they tend to have a short lifespan, with coverage occurring a few days after distribution and losing relevance quickly.
Benefits of case studies
Case studies are detailed accounts of projects, campaigns or client relationships, designed to showcase positive results and your expertise. Rather than providing immediate coverage, they are used as social proof across a variety of platforms – including trade publications.
According to research, companies that publish case studies generate 70% more leads than those that don’t**. Case studies are also seen as more trustworthy: 78% of B2B buyers consider case studies as “very credible” content when evaluating a brand***.
With many of our clients, we find that customer case studies are the most effective way to garner significant media coverage. In our decades of working in PR, the front cover pages we’ve secured have almost always come from customer case studies – in addition to the larger spreads in trade publications.
While they can take longer to produce than press releases, case studies are effective in engaging the audience and are considered authentic and trustworthy.
Which should I use – case study or press release?
The short answer is both. Case studies and press releases serve different purposes, and should be used to complement each other.
Choosing the right format depends on your objectives – but immediate attention through press releases is best backed up by the credibility of social proof.
How can RED help you?
We use our decades of experience to help you strategically plan your content for maximum press coverage. Get in touch to find out how or check out our services.
* Cision State of the Media Report (2023)
** HubSpot and DemandGen reports on B2B lead generation and content marketing effectiveness
*** Content Marketing Institute (CMI) and Demand Gen Report survey