This week we’ve released the final stage of our news distribution tools, to help communications professionals reliably identify interested journalists and deliver media releases to them.
These features have been a top client request for some time, but we’ve been careful not to rush them.
We spent a lot of time talking with customers and thinking through how to create a system that doesn’t just bring competition to the market – but also represents a thoughtful evaluation of how connecting with media can be done better and more reliably.
We wanted to create a approach that is better for BOTH communications professionals and media.
At Fuseworks we’re lucky to have a foot in both camps. We process hundreds of media releases per day for our media customers and that’s given us a deep insight into what media wants (and also into what makes their job harder – and diminishes your chances of coverage).
Our news distribution tools are built on those insights.
To connect with media we strongly encourage you to distribute your release via the Fuseworks platform. Using a specialist platform for distribution isn’t the way it’s typically done in New Zealand, but it is very common internationally. It’s more common here to download distribution lists and then send your release via your email client. You can do with Fuseworks as well – but you’ll get a better result if you distribute via our system (free, for subscribers).
Here’s why:
1. Reliably delivering news to journalists is hard. Out of the hundreds of media releases that are sent to Fuseworks each day, more than 15% get classified as spam. Fuseworks systems are highly optimised to maximise delivery rates. Simply put – if you send your media releases via Fuseworks, they are more likely to reach the people you want them to.
2. Continuously updated media contacts. The Fuseworks team is investing heavily in keeping our database of media contacts and distribution lists up to date. We know from receiving the large number of releases we do, that many organisations are using badly out of date lists, with important news often being delivered into a black hole. Reach the right destinations with Fuseworks.
3. Optimised formats. One of the benefits of receiving thousands of media releases each week and being able to track what news makes it into media, is that Fuseworks has a very detailed understanding of what works. By using our systems you can tap into that expertise. Within Fuseworks you’ll see tips to help you load and send your news in the way we know journalists prefer. The actual email received by media is structured to make your releases compelling and useful to reporters and editors.
4. Maintain a permanent archive of distributions to media. All releases and advisories distributed via Fuseworks are permanently archived in the system – so you can go back to them and easily report on activity.
5. Track distributions happening throughout your organisation. If you have multiple people distributing news, with Fuseworks you can see at a glance who has sent what, to whom – all in real-time. You can also see upcoming scheduled distributions and change them, if you need to. A full log of all activity is always available.
6. Pre-made distribution lists. A range of topic, media type and geographic distribution lists are available via Fuseworks – all ready to send to, with just a few clicks.
7. Detailed media profiles to help you build the most relevant possible distribution lists – if you’d like to build your own within Fuseworks.
8. Shared distribution lists. We see this problem a lot – a number of people within an organisation send out news and overtime the distribution lists each person uses, starts to diverge. With Fuseworks your lists are shared with all of your users – so if one person updates a list – your whole team gets the benefit. Also, if a team member leaves – their list can never be lost, ensuring a seamless transition for your organisation and your media recipients.
9. You’re not restricted to just sending your news to the destinations in our database – you can also upload private contacts and create your own private lists that can only be used by people within your organisation.
10. Distributing releases via Fuseworks is free, for subscribers. You can send an unlimited number of releases to an unlimited number of destinations, for a fixed monthly subscription fee. There are no ‘per release’ fees.
Depending on your subscription plan, you may already have our distribution tools enabled for your account. If you’d like a quick demo to help you get started, contact your account manager today.
If you’re not yet a Fuseworks customer, contact us to find out more.