How to: this is how you create ‘hard news’

An effective PR strategy includes different forms of news, which we also touched upon in this blog. One of these forms is hard news, which revolves around sharing objective and remarkable facts.

Hard news is a proven way to generate media attention, as it stands out because it cannot be refuted and journalists rarely doubt the facts. In this blog, we share some ways to create hard news, of course with practical examples from our own Presscloud users.

Reports about international success always do well. 1KOMMA5° was declared the European market leader in the solar panel industry and naturally announced this with appropriate pride to the public. Hard work, hard news.

Announcing new clients or partners is newsworthy, especially when it involves prominent names. Alright, one less serious example: when rapper Lil Kleine announced a new partner last week, it was widely picked up by AD, De Telegraaf,NU.nl,Shownieuws,Cosmopolitan,Flair,and Panorama. Whether that's really hard news, or something to do with the ‘cucumber time’ we wrote a blog about last week, that's up to you.

Remarkable growth figures are always worth mentioning. The hospitality POS system Mr. Winston grew by no less than 140% in 2023. An important part of this was investing in sales and marketing, after years of focusing on improving the product, strengthening it, and growing organically. They naturally communicated this growth proudly in this press release, where they also mentioned an investment. A nice segue to the next form of hard news: funding.

Funding announcements are popular, especially among startups. To make a funding announcement newsworthy, the following items are important:

• The amount of funding
• Well-known investors, including their quotes
• The purpose of the funding, such as scaling to a new country

Mergers and acquisitions are often newsworthy and exude strength. One of our own users, Ricoh Workplace Technology Center, was positively surprised when, in their own words, their "dry report" about their acquisition of DTD ICT (we prefer the term 'hard news') was published on, among others, Emerce,Techzine,Dutch IT channel and IT Channel Pro.

The arrival of new colleagues is also worth mentioning, especially in media that report on specific industries. For example, Presscloud user David Geens announced via this press release that he would become the new CEO of Proudly. A good way to communicate this hard news, so that entrepreneurs as well as readers in the tech world are informed. Another continuous example is the personalia section in the FD, where new colleagues are always written about.

Hard news offers an excellent opportunity to stand out in the media. By sharing objective and remarkable facts, you increase the chance of publication. Whether it is about international success, new clients, growth figures, funding, mergers, or new colleagues, any of these forms can strengthen your PR strategy. Curious if your content is newsworthy? Then read our blog 'Checklist: is this news?' and start creating hard news that stands out!