Mark Adams
Aiming to contribute to the online visibility of brands by focusing on newsworthy contents, B2Press | Online PR Service doubled its revenue in the international markets in H1 2021.
While the reading rates of digital media have outstripped traditional publications, PR work has begun to be structured with a digital focus. With the distribution of press releases, it is no longer expected that the contents of the brands will only be published in a few newspapers, but that the press communication efforts will make a total contribution to the online visibility of the brands.
Founded in 2016, B2Press | Online PR Service offers package solutions that combine newsworthy press release writing services, distribution of press releases to journalists through news agencies as well as media monitoring and reporting services by focusing on digital PR activities.
B2Press, which provides press releases distribution service in 23 languages in more than 30 countries, has increased its business volume alongside its brand awareness. B2Press has increased its revenue by 94 percent in the international market serving more than 220 brands during the first six months of 2021. What lies behind this successful growth story is the quality performance B2Press expert team has exhibited as well as the prosperous collaborations it has established.
Netherlands-based company will grow abroad
While B2Press has increased the number of full-time employees to 13 with the rapid growth it has achieved, especially in the last two years, it ensures the preparation of newsworthy press releases in 23 languages from Chinese to Portuguese, Urdu to French with its content network that includes more than 100 freelance editors around the world. Focusing on developing its overseas collaborations in 2021, B2Press aims to diversify its products and grow in Europe as well as the Middle East and Southeast Asia through its Dutch-based umbrella company. Not only does it distribute press releases to journalists through media lists, but it also cooperates with the leading local news agencies, and focuses on providing coverage-guaranteed service. In this way, B2Press, which is quite different from traditional PR agencies, offers its services with a unique model. In other words, no fixed monthly fee is paid or no annual contracts are required to be signed. Companies use the most convenient service package for their publicity purposes when they need it and only pay for what they use.
“Social marketing shapes online PR work”
Ediz Tokabaş, Managing Partner of B2Press, stated that online PR is based on the concept of social marketing and says “You may be producing the best and highest quality product in the world at the lowest price. But if no one knows about it, you can’t get results. For this reason, companies today are looking for the answer to the question, ‘How do I build my brand awareness in the digital world to increase my sales?’ before the question ‘How can I make more sales?’ Moreover, online PR work does not only contribute to brand awareness but it also helps to create a general consumer opinion, rank the brand higher in search engines, drive traffic to websites and increase sales.”
“The impact of the news on purchasing decision is 55 percent”
According to a study conducted annually by Bright Local, 92 percent of internet users search the internet before purchasing a new product. 73 percent of these users – nearly 3 out of every 4 people – consider search engine results to be the most reliable source of information about people and companies. The impact of online news about brands or products on the purchasing decisions of users searching the internet is measured as 55 percent.
Evaluating the digital behaviors of consumers, Ediz Tokabaş said, “Today, internet users first knock on the door of search engines to get information about a brand. Users examine the news they come across and shape their thoughts on the brand according to these results. Whether it is a start-up or an SME, this habit of users provides a competitive advantage for organizations of all sizes that follow the right steps. It becomes possible for any structure that can benefit from the power of the online media with effective news studies, to be recognized by the press, to make a sound by announcing its success, to allocate trust in the target audience.”
“Communication industry forgets news value”
Brands, which follow the digital footprints of consumers, enrich their digital assets and try to present their products, services and messages to users in every search. In this process, the PR value is the “hidden ingredient in the recipe”, which increases the interest in the brand and contributes to the realization of sales!
Pointing out that the concept of news value has been forgotten, Ediz Tokabaş said: “We follow dozens of press releases sent to the press every day. Unfortunately, the picture is not encouraging at all. While many PR agencies prioritize the products and services of the client, they put the public interest in the background. It is not right to expect these press releases, which do not go one step further than promotional and advertising texts, to take place in the media as news. However, we experience every day how effective a content study that will attract the attention of the reader because we do data mining just like a journalist. This is the main difference of B2Press…”
Stating that producing newsworthy contents and distributing press releases contributes to increasing the reputation of brands in front of the target audience, Tokabaş said, “With online PR, brands gain a digital presence. One of the most important contributions of this to the brand is that users’ searches on search engines can be responded to with this presence on digital platforms. Online PR strengthens your keyword cloud in search engines, supports your SEO efforts and allows you to rank higher in search engine results. In this way, social marketing and sales processes are supported in the long term.”
Three tips for creating effective press releases
“Brands often ask, ‘When should we do PR?’ Our answer to this is ‘Always!’ Because continuity and stability is essential for PR. Unless these are provided, it is not possible to convey the desired messages, and the perception created cannot be strong and permanent,” said Ediz Tokabaş, and touched upon three important points to write a newsworthy press release and to obtain significant results:
1. The basic element of preparing an effective press release is to create news value. For this, it is of great importance that the press release is constructed from the reader’s eyes rather than the brand.
2. Follow the agenda and do data mining like a journalist. By capturing the points that can be associated with the brand or the subject to be communicated, it is possible to increase the news value with content supported by data and statistics.
3. Stick to the news language in the press releases you prepare. The press release should not talk to the consumer but should be supported by information, evaluation, analysis and comments that may benefit the public. It should be noted that a promotional text is not a press release.
B2Press offers end-to-end PR services
Offering PR services online, B2Press contributes to the online visibility of brands by blending original newsworthy content with the power of SEO and PR efforts.
Press release services:
B2Press offers press release writing, distribution, media monitoring and reporting processes as an online service with “PR packages”, which are the fundamentals of any PR activity. Moreover, unlike the traditional operation, it provides a highly influential cost advantage with a pay-as-you-go approach, not a commitment with a monthly fee or annual contract. B2Press carries out its press release distribution services in 23 languages in more than 30 countries with its teams located in Istanbul, Utrecht and Athens.
Advertorial / branded content:
B2Press offers media collaboration opportunities to brands in 17 countries with its advertorial content studies as well as press releases. In this way, it enables brands to reach their target audiences by being present in the most important territories from Germany to Qatar, from England to Brazil.
Media monitoring and competitor analysis reports:
With its media monitoring reports, B2Press examines the news of brands and their competitors in online and print media, and presents a comprehensive analysis with data-driven concrete arguments. B2Press services can also be used for the follow-up of the media coverage of news distributed to the media, and for the semantic analysis of the news about competitors’ brands on an annual basis.
