Press Releases benefit from having an author

[WebRiverGroup]

We just started doing some Press Releases and want to maximize the benefits of them to our full potential.

Would it be beneficial for our PR to have an author? We know Google likes real people and was wondering if attaching the author to the PR will provide more strength to that particular author?

[crackingmedia]

Typically, press releases are issued by companies not people, unless the person is representing their own brand.

So in the case of a company, I would say no, because whilst you may have written it a press release is really a statement and not something you would consider as 'authored'.

For blog articles however, definitely yes. Link the article to the individual's Google+ account in the page code by using the rel=author tag in the page to do that.

I hope that helps,
Peter

[EGOL]

Would it be beneficial for our PR to have an author?

Maybe.

Depends who is the author.

Although most press releases are written for an organization that is not a law or a requirement.  Imagine a press release written in the first person by Chris Christie on bridge traffic... or by Dr. Richard Besser on a new measles vaccine... or by Pope Francis on "Who am I to judge".  Those would get awesome attention.

Now, if Joe Schmoe is writing about any of those topics... people will not care about it.

So, if you have somebody who is somebody who will be doing the writing it might be to your advantage to use them.

And, if you are thinking about this from a google authorship perspective a sleepy press release written by a schlepper might have negative value compared to something inspiring written by the nameless author.

[Christy-Correll]

Adding on to what Peter said, a press release is not a news story, it's a statement about a newsworthy item. The purpose of a press release is to grab the attention of journalists/bloggers so that they will want to to contact you (the press contact) for the information they need to craft their own news and feature stories.

A press release should be concise and scannable. Leave out the details. They will get those after contacting you.

While I agree with EGOL that distributing content authored by Christie Christie on bridge traffic would definitely garner a ton of attention, I would consider that an article meant for syndication if widely distributed to publishers --- not a press release.  Including a direct quote from Chris Christie would be one way to grab attention with the press release, as would mentioning an opportunity to interview Chris Christie in a press conference, for instance. And yes, press releases are often released solely to let journalists know about press conferences and other PR events.

I hope that helps!