This is the first of a two-part article, which deals with the importance of using press releases as highly effective marketing tools.

One of the most effective ways of strengthening your market position is by creating positive business publicity.  The key to making it happen is to take advantage of all the publicity tools available to you, and the press release is one such tool.  The press release is a powerful yet cost-effective marketing tool you can use right now to leverage your business.

With the advent of the Internet, press releases are no longer written just for the media anymore.  Today, most of the press releases you will find on the Internet are actually marketing pieces.  But what sets them apart from other types of advertising is that people perceive them as being more truthful and trustworthy.

Numerous studies have repeatedly shown that an advertisement released in the form of a news item is always perceived as more credible or trustworthy than paid advertising.  For the same reason, disguising print ads as news articles, results in higher conversion rates than mainstream methods.

There is an aura of credibility surrounding the press release format that is not found in advertising or marketing blurbs.  And so, even if your company does not expect media exposure, you should still create a written document in a news or press release format.

Although press releases are proven to be one of the most effective business promotional tools, press releases remain underused simply because many people don’t understand its real value as a marketing tool, and also because they have never written them.