By Mickie E Kennedy,  eReleases PR

Do you see your advertising budget going up and up every month with seemingly no end in sight? Many small businesses face this very real situation, and it can be terrifying. Cut down the advertisements and lose business, or keep them going and risk getting in over your head with debt.

But what if there was another solution, one that didn’t involve costly advertisements or lots of stress on your part? In this digital age, small businesses actually have a ton of resources that can put them even with the biggest business out there. One of these is through use of the press release.

That Old Thing?
While the term “press release” may make you think of people in zoot suits talking like Cary Grant about the Titanic sinking, rest assured press releases are still as relevant as they’ve always been. They may not be “sexy” like social media or the like, but they’re still very effective, even with the print industry experiencing a sharp decline.

What’s exciting about a press release is the playing field is even with big and small businesses. If a big business like Wal-Mart submits a terrible press release, it won’t get picked up. If a small business submits a great one, it will get printed. It’s as simple as that – write well, have a good story, and get noticed.

“Sure, but does anyone read newspapers anymore?” Well, maybe not the actual newspaper, but each of those newspapers has an online presence. Most of the content from the paper goes online, where the whole world can see it. If you don’t see how that wide an audience is beneficial to your business, I’m not sure what to tell you.

Other Uses
But getting your press release into the paper isn’t the end all be all for it anymore. There are actually tons of uses you can squeeze out of a release, all of which can expand your brand to whole new sections of the populace without wasting a ton on advertisements.

One way to use a press release is to turn it into a blog post, or series of blog posts. For instance, if the release was about how your new product helps your customers, try to think of a series of blog posts that could go into detail how people could use the product in their everyday lives. Or write a post how innovations like yours are driving the world into the future. Or returning to the past. You know, whatever works.

If you already have enough blog post material, try repurposing the press release into fodder for your email marketing. Separate all the great info you crammed into your release and expand it in email form to your loyal fans.

One last way to get mileage out of your press release is to turn the info into an infographic. This can be shared all over social media and even go viral. This is particularly useful if the release is filled with interesting news, tidbits, or statistics others would be interested in and share. All this and you don’t spend a dime getting it out to your new fans!

What are some other ways you can use a press release?

Mickie Kennedy is the founder of eReleases, the online leader in affordable PR distribution since 1998. Grab your free copy of The Big Press Release Book, a must-read for the PR professional. Follow eReleases on Google+, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.