From The Editor’s Desk (September 2021): Back to School with Education Press Releases

September was back-to-school season, and it brought a slew of press releases with an educational bent. But education has changed drastically these last few years. This wouldn’t be a blog about education press releases in the 2020s without mentioning COVID-19.

Despite the uncertainties, educational software producers and institutions have found growth opportunities in their field> despite this annoying reality.

Education technology (edtech) is an industry that was steadily growing before the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, it’s set to explode, in a good way. According to a report from Government Technology, the ed-tech market is looking to hit a value of US 285.2 billion dollar mark by 2027, increasing the need for PR professionals in the education services field to get their news through to readers.

 PR Newswire’s Senior Editor Nathan Brown shares press release writing tips on 2 hot education topics – ed-tech products and services, and university rankings.

1. Ed-tech Releases: Show the ‘How’ and ‘Why’ of Tech Benefits to Users  

If you’re going to get buy-in from your press release, you’re going to need to ensure readers can see how the product or service has helped others. This means demonstrating the trust in your product or service from end users. We often tell our press release writers to answer the 5 W and 1 H questions in the first paragraph of their releases: What is the news? Who is involved? Where does it happen? When does it happen? Why does it happen? How does it affect the readers/how can the readers use this information? 

In ed-tech, the last two questions are the most important to answer in your release. You need to demonstrate how users can utilize the software at home or how it will affect their learning experience and why they should utilize it.

In announcing their new distance learning offerings, Wondershare lists out the means with which their software will alleviate various pain points involved in the learn-from-home process. In-class scenarios such as organization, presentation, and collaboration are shown to be made simpler for the teachers and the students, and access is gained through clear, highlighted URLs. As a result, learning from home is made easier for the teacher and the student.

Good Notes takes their announcements, and the premise of a social online classroom, and incorporates the “why” in a way that demonstrates the value of their product. One of the biggest complaints over the past year about work and learn from home has been the breakdown of the social atmosphere.

Good Notes’ release shows why their product is good: it helps provide a social outlet for the online community. Sharing notes becomes a collaborative, fun, and engaging process that would normally take place in a classroom. Even though we’re still reeling from the last year’s pandemic, it doesn’t mean we have to sacrifice our norms of socializing in the classroom.

Related Read: From The Editor’s Desk (August 2021): Showing a Company’s Value Through ESG Press Releases

2. University ranking Releases: Write with Young-Adult Readers in Mind

Individuals aren’t the only beneficiaries of making education online. Institutions are also in a renaissance of learning thanks to technology that makes learning more accessible.

Besides accessibility, students and parents factor in prestige when it comes to selecting which universities to attend. Rankings, more than ever, are pertinent to universities. With the world at the learners’ fingertips, universities, colleges, and other higher learning institutions have to set themselves apart.

September marks the beginning of the school year, but for seniors in high school and college, it’s also the beginning of the undergraduate or graduate school search. They’re looking for universities that stand out and they need clear differentiators to understand how one university ranks against another. In order to make this easier for them, it’s important to focus on a few key factors in your rankings press release.

• Explain who ranked your institution: Be sure it’s either a well-known ranking organization or provide the context for readers to understand why their ranking your institution matters
• Provide accessible data points: Give your readers numbers (“We ranked #1 in medical and healthcare professional studies”), percentages (“67% of our graduates went onto post-graduate degree programs”), and comparisons (“Our ranking rose 7 spots in the last two years, from number 10 to number 3”)
• Focus on what comes next: One of the most important reasons for going to an institution of higher learning is to get a job. Readers need to see how your university or college will help them do that.

Hong Kong Baptist University makes sure the readers of its release understand how the Financial Times’ Masters in Management ranking worked.

Most press release readers will know who the Financial Times , so they don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining that. They, instead, dive into the details of the data from the ranking, so that readers, especially students, can have a better idea of how Hong Kong Baptist University compares to other universities, thus seeing the value of the University.<

Likewise, Taylor’s University in Malaysia goes straight to the heart of the purpose of higher education – employability. The release shows how an education with them can lead to jobs, and how they rose in the rankings from previous years, and demonstrates how employability rankings, more than ever, are important to education seekers.

Bonus Tip: Taylor’s University shows how they fit in with other famous universities without boasting. 

Cardiff University, Lancaster University, the University of Notre Dame, and Universite de Montreal are all world-renowned institutions. Showing how Taylor’s University ranks right beside these universities without going on and on about it gives the university more prestige. 

So, whether your company is developing software for individual users can use to level up their learning or your university has ranked amongst the top in fields such as management, medical/healthcare, or employability, it’s necessary to show how and why readers will benefit from your services. It establishes buy-in that will, hopefully, establish stronger relationships with the media and end-users.

Related Read: Education press releases on PR Newswire Asia

Other Top Press Release Topics in September 2021 

In September, PR Newswire saw a 71% increase in the volume of ESG-related press releases, as compared to August. With travel gradually easing in the APAC region, the volume of Travel-related press releases increased by 54% compared to August. Other hot topics include AI and Tradeshow News.