What is a newswire? How do newswire services work? And how do they support public relations and investor relations pros?
Newswires (such as GlobeNewswire by Notified) are a storytelling bridge, taking your press releases and media elements and turning them into a news package designed to reach and engage global journalists, media outlets, industry audiences and consumers.
Who Uses Newswires?
Newswires are used by any organization who has a story to share. From startups to Fortune 100 companies, from freelancers to full-service agencies, newswires drastically increase the visibility of their stories and their brands.
No matter if you’re an IR or PR pro, a business owner looking to engage a wider audience - or just someone who’s curious about how news travels - this article is your ticket to understanding newswires and the important role they play!
In this post, we’ll explore:
- The benefits of using newswires to share your story
- How to choose the best newswire
- GlobeNewswire by Notified: A closer look
What Is a Newswire?
A newswire service, also known as a press release distribution service, provides corporate storytellers with the vehicle they need to increase the impact, from awareness to purchase, of their press releases among all key audiences - from employees to buyers to writers and analysts.
These releases are official announcements about a company, commonly covering topics such as earnings reports from publicly listed companies, new product launches, ongoing program support, upcoming events, executive appointments, management changes, acquisitions and more.
Newswire services, such as GlobeNewswire by Notified, offer simultaneous and real-time distribution of press release content to a diverse array of recipients - including general and financial media, investment communities, industry trades and the public.
How Do Newswires Work?
Newswires have relationships with reporters, media outlets, media syndication services, global news services, financial platforms, search and social media engines. These relationships allow newswires to distribute press releases to the most relevant audiences.
Newswires have contractual relationships with media platforms around the world – which is something no in-house teams have.
Press release example from GlobeNewswire by Notified newsroom.
How Do You Use a Newswire?
Newswire services function as intermediaries that help companies and organizations distribute their press releases to a broad audience.
Here’s a step-by-step overview of how the process works:
- Press Release Creation – Organizations draft press releases to announce news such as product launches, earnings reports, executive appointments or other significant events.
- Supporting Content – Companies pull together supporting story elements including photos, videos, testimonials, PDFs and other materials to help increase the reach, engagement and understanding of their story.
- Uploading Process - The press release and supporting content is submitted to the newswire service through an online portal. Companies who wish to extend the reach of a suite of supporting materials - including text, images, videos and other multimedia elements - can combine these into Media Snippets.
- Targeting and Customization – During the submission process, companies select the geographic, industry and demographic audiences relevant to their release. Options may include general media, financial media, industry-specific outlets and geographic regions.
- Submission - Once the press release, supporting elements and distribution details have been uploaded and submitted, an editorial team will review your content and turn your text and assets into a single storytelling news package designed specifically for easy usage and consumption by end audiences.
- Distribution – Once finalized and approved, the newswire service distributes it simultaneously to its proprietary network of media outlets, journalists, investors, regulatory bodies and online platforms. This can include major news websites, financial audiences, local media, industry-specific publications, news aggregators, social channels and search engines.
- Full-Text Story Syndication – To assist companies in controlling their story, each press release is also posted in partial or full-text upon thousands of online news databases and search engines. This makes it easy for anyone to find your story, in your words.
- Analytics and Reporting - After the press release is distributed, the newswire’s analytics provide a snapshot of the performance of the release. GlobeNewswire Analytics provides metrics such as the number of views, shares, media pickups, engagement rates and more.
The Benefits of Using a Newswire To Share Your Stories
When it comes to increasing the reach of your stories beyond owned channels, newswire services are extraordinarily important.
Newswires provide corporate storytellers with the vehicle they need to reach a wider audience.
Why Should Communicators Use Newswires?
- Exclusive Reach - In-house teams simply do not have the partnerships, contracts or technology to deliver press releases to as many audiences as newswire services.
- SEO-Friendly Platform - Reputable newswires provide increased visibility within search engines ranging from DuckDuckGo to Yahoo! to Google and more. Note: Low-price newswires are often dinged by Google for their low-quality content. To protect your brand, use a newswire service such as GlobeNewswire by Notified to maximize results.
- Cost-Effective Communication - Newswire services provide a budget-friendly method to keep audiences and stakeholders informed.
- Enhanced Brand Visibility - Even if reporters do not act upon your news, they see your name, your images and your logos. Every press release you distribute builds your company's brand recognition and visibility in the media and among the public.
- Instant Online Exposure - Benefit from immediate online syndication and a boost in your company’s searchability with content that’s indexed by leading search engines.
- Customer Attraction and Sales Growth - Help attract more customers and drive growth.
- Industry Expertise - Establish your company as a recognized expert in your industry.
The benefits of using newswires to share your story are clear – but what should you look for in a specific newswire service?
How To Choose the Best Newswire
Choosing the best newswire service for your company's press release distribution involves evaluating several key factors.
Here are five important considerations to guide your decision:
1. Distribution Network
- Reach - Ensure the newswire service has a broad and comprehensive distribution network that covers general media, financial media and relevant stakeholders such as investors and regulatory bodies.
- Niche Targeting - Consider whether the service offers demographic, geographic and industry targeting options.
- Quality - Low-quality newswires that distribute low-quality news can impact your overall brand strategy. Select a newswire that provides a great service at a great price.
2. Visibility-Focused Features and Services
- Logos - The brand visibility that comes with adding a logo to your press release should not be an additional fee. Find a newswire who truly wants to build your brand.
- Press Release Tags - Choose a newswire who has the technology to increase your press release visibility by allowing you to add terms to your releases’ meta tags.
- Story Reiteration - Does your newswire allow you to tell and retell your story multiple times? Press release summaries, quote features and multimedia captions are a terrific way to ensure no one misunderstands your news.
- Multimedia Storytelling - Ensure the service supports multimedia elements such as images, videos, infographics and hyperlinks to make your press releases more engaging.
- Social Media Integration - Look for features that enable automatic sharing on social media platforms to extend the reach of your press releases.
- Searchability Benefits - Choose a newswire service that follows search engine indexing requirements for improved brand visibility.
3. Simplified Process
- Full-Text, Human Translations - Today’s world is not local and neither are most communications programs. If you want to reach audiences beyond your home market, select a newswire with a simplified workflow including local market translations.
- EDGAR and SEDAR Integration - If your company is publicly traded in the U.S. or Canada, make sure the newswire service integrates with EDGAR and SEDAR for seamless regulatory compliance.
- EDGAR – The Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance and forwarding of submissions by companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- SEDAR – An electronic document filing and retrieval system for Canadian public companies where issuers are required to file their disclosure documents.
4. Reporting and Analytics
- Performance Metrics - Choose a service that provides detailed analytics and reporting on the performance of your press releases, including metrics such as reach, impressions, engagement and media pickups.
- Custom Reports - The ability to generate custom reports tailored to your specific KPIs can help you measure the effectiveness of your communications strategy.
5. Customer Support and Service Quality
- Support Availability - Ensure the newswire service provides reliable, global customer support – including expert editorial services to correct errors.
- Training and Resources - Look for providers that offer training resources, tutorials and best practice guides to help you maximize the effectiveness of your press releases.
Now that you understand the important considerations, let’s take a closer look at what one of the leading newswires offers!
Example of GlobeNewswire by Notified Media Snippet.
GlobeNewswire by Notified: A Closer Look
As one of the leading newswire services (with more than 230,000 global press releases distributed in 2023), GlobeNewswire stands out for its comprehensive news delivery, reliable technology and exceptional editorial service.
- GlobeNewswire provides an expansive reach for your press releases - across 158 countries in 35 local languages. You can choose from more than 1,000 newslines to target your news by geography, industry and media type.
- With GlobeNewswire, you get targeted distribution in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, including major outlets such as the Associated Press, Bloomberg, CNN, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star.
- For investor relations, GlobeNewswire provides distribution options for material and financial news distribution, along with regulatory filing solutions (EDGAR, SEDAR).
- GlobeNewswire offers full-service and self-service options, including 24/7/365 editorial support from our team of experts.
- You can also take advantage of translation services when required.
- GlobeNewswire Analytics provide meaningful metrics in a user-friendly format, using widgets and live dashboards instead of static reports allowing you to assess your press release impact and test new formats, timing and reach. Your report is available immediately after your release is published and is easy to share with whomever you choose.
- GlobeNewswire improves your brand’s searchability with press releases that are coded to follow search engines' indexing requirements, so your content gets quickly indexed by Google, Bing and more.
- Media Snippets can be seamlessly embedded to help you provide an immersive and information-rich experience for your key audience. Images, infographics, PDFs, on-demand video, audio and webcasts – even streaming video of live events.
- The GlobeNewswire AI Press Release Generator makes it easy to quickly and securely draft press releases by automating the content generation process.
If you're looking to boost brand visibility and engage your target audience, a newswire service is for you.
Contact us today to learn how we can take your storytelling to the next level!