CorpComms Magazine

Multimedia press releases generate 3.5 times more engagement than text-only releases while those that include video doubles the engagement rate, according to new research by PR Newswire and Crowd Factory.

The media distribution organisation analysed thousands of press releases and found that, on average, they generated two additional views each time they were shared on a social networking platform and expanded the total audience by 70 per cent.

Almost half (48 per cent) of all shares occurs on Facebook, 37 per cent on Twitter and 15 per cent on LinkedIn. However, microblogging site Twitter is a more effective platform on which to share news, according to the research, as it drives about 30 per cent more press release views than Facebook.

PR Newswire also found that adding a photograph to a press release increases engagement by 14 per cent, while adding a photo and a video doubles the engagement rate.

Ken Dowell, executive vice president of PR Newswire, said: ' We have known for some time that Twitter was more heavily used for news and business purposes. This data reiterates the importance of creating interesting content that people will want to share.'

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