Most press releases don't get used. The same thing is true of op-eds, posts on Facebook and tweets on Twitter.
It's worth thinking about why.
It's hard to look at press releases and opeds and see why they're getting used or not.
Social media is simple. You can see how many people clicked "like" on a Facebook post or responded to a tweet.
If you look at anybody's Facebook or Twitter feed, you'd notice that the majority of posts and tweets are floating out there in the world, alone and unloved.
I know college kids who have more than 1,000 Facebook friends. If they tell the world something, and not even their mom clicks "like," there's something wrong in Mudville.
Let's say the college kids are an anomaly. Maybe they have so many friends compared to the normal person (130 friends) that their connections are casual and weak. Maybe with so many people posting updates, they can't keep track of it all.
But that's unlikely. I know public figures who are in the newspaper and the TV news who have more than 1,000 friends.
These are media-savvy people. What they say and think is typically news.
But even posts and tweets from these public figures get mostly ignored.
This is because people tend to treat Facebook and Twitter -- along with press releases and op-eds -- as a one-way street.
I have literally seen people use the most powerful social media tools known to man to tell the world that they are "making a pb & j" or "doing some late-night laundry."
The best communication isn't one-way. It's not a monologue, a lecture or a self-centered diary of your daily activities. It's a dialogue.
If you look at what gets attention -- at what press releases and op-eds get used, and what Facebook posts and tweets get attention -- you'll notice that a lot of them ask questions.
Asking a question is the easiest way to start a dialogue. It's an effective way of communicating, because you're treating your audience as equals. You don't just want to talk to them. You want to listen to what they have to say.
If you look closely at what gets attention compared to what gets ignored, you'll also see some common themes. People who use narrative tools in their messages get attention. This is what fiction writers use to keep you turning the page.