The Whys and Hows of Adding Multimedia in Press Releases

Every day, newsrooms and inboxes are flooded with hundreds of press releases, and most of them look exactly the same: a headline, a few paragraphs, a quote, and a boilerplate. Journalists skim, and text-only announcements are often the first to be passed over. The releases that do get noticed tend to have one thing in common: they give the reader, and the journalist, something to look at.

Multimedia in a press release is not about making an announcement look pretty. It is now an important technical aspect of press releases and a functional tool that helps a story get read, understood, and shared. Read on as we go over why multimedia has become essential to modern press releases, and how to use it properly so it strengthens a story rather than distracting from it.

Why Do Press Releases Need Multimedia?

It is a simple fact that a press release with strong visual content is more likely to be picked up, read to the end, and passed along. Industry data shows that releases featuring multiple images can generate up to six times more engagement than text-only versions, while a single well-placed video can drive roughly three times more engagement on its own.

The reasoning behind this is straightforward: people process visual information far more quickly than blocks of text, and a long, unbroken paragraph is easy to skip past. A relevant photograph, chart, or clip gives the eye somewhere to land and gives the reader a quicker route into the story, which matters enormously when most releases only get a few seconds of attention before a decision is made to read on or move away.

The Numbers Behind Multimedia Engagement

The engagement gap between multimedia and plain-text releases is well documented and fairly consistent across sources. As a general benchmark, a release with one image tends to perform around twice as well as a text-only version, one with video performs roughly three times as well, and one with multiple images can reach up to six times the engagement.

The effect is even more pronounced on social platforms, where visual posts generate close to 94% higher engagement than text alone. These figures are directional rather than guaranteed; the quality and relevance of the asset still determines whether it converts attention into engagement.

Why Do Journalists Prefer Press Releases With Visuals?

Journalists are working through an overwhelming volume of releases every single day, and a large share of them simply do not get opened, let alone written up. Multimedia gives a story an immediate advantage, because it hands the journalist something ready-made to illustrate their piece, rather than requiring them to source their own imagery on a deadline.

On top of convenience, journalists are also selective about where their visuals come from. They tend to favour multimedia that is clearly credible, comes directly from the organisation making the announcement, and is timely enough to still feel relevant to the current news cycle. A well-chosen visual asset also gives an editor more flexibility to adapt a story for print, web, or social—three formats that often need different treatments of the same news.

A Quick Guide to Multimedia Formats

Most press releases draw from a fairly small set of multimedia formats, each suited to a different kind of story. 

• Images

Photos remain the most common: professional headshots for personnel news, product photography for launches, and event photography for conferences or openings.

 

• Video

Videos are typically used for interviews, product demonstrations, or short behind-the-scenes footage that brings a story to life in a way static images cannot.

• Infographics 

These are the go-to format whenever a release is built around data, statistics, or a multi-step process, since they turn numbers into something a reader can absorb at a glance. 

• Audio clips 

Although less common than the others, they are still useful, particularly for executive statements or short interview excerpts. 

Beyond these core formats, organisations occasionally use charts, timelines, animations, GIFs, or downloadable PDFs, depending on the complexity of the announcement and the platforms it will be shared on.

How Do You Choose the Right Multimedia for Your Press Release?

The safest rule of thumb is to match the format to the type of information being communicated, then adjust for where the release will be distributed. Images work well for straightforward visual impact, video suits stories that benefit from dynamic storytelling or demonstration, and infographics are the clearest way to present data-heavy content.

In practice, this plays out differently depending on the announcement. A product launch is usually strongest with high-quality product photography and a short demo video. An executive appointment typically only needs a professional headshot. A funding round or partnership announcement often benefits from a brief interview clip with a company spokesperson. A survey, report, or annual results release is a natural fit for an infographic. 

Matching the format this deliberately also signals professionalism, since it shows the multimedia was chosen to serve the story rather than added as an afterthought.

Knowing When to Leave Multimedia Out

Multimedia should always earn its place in a release, not simply fill space. A single strong, relevant image or short video will consistently outperform several mediocre ones, so it is worth resisting the temptation to attach everything available. Overloading a release with too many images, videos, or charts can slow load times and overwhelm the reader rather than helping them.

There are also situations where multimedia is best kept minimal or left out entirely. Examples include routine regulatory filings, brief personnel updates where no genuinely new or relevant image exists, or sensitive announcements such as crisis communications, where a heavily produced visual can come across as tone-deaf rather than reassuring. In these cases, restraint is itself a form of good judgement.

Best Practices for Using Images and Video

For images, the general recommendation is a minimum resolution of around 2,400 pixels on the longer side, which keeps the photo usable for both digital platforms and print media. Common, widely supported formats such as JPEG are preferable, and files should be compressed to keep load times fast without a noticeable drop in quality. 

Stock photography is acceptable when it is high quality and genuinely relevant, but generic stock imagery that adds nothing to the story tends to undermine credibility rather than support it.

For video, brevity is essential. Clips of five minutes or under are generally recommended, and engagement tends to peak around the two-minute mark, so anything longer risks losing the viewer before the message lands. 

Hosting video externally on a platform such as YouTube rather than embedding large files directly helps with loading speed, search visibility, and how easily the clip can be shared. For releases aimed at social-first platforms, a vertical video format tends to perform better than traditional horizontal video.

Making Infographics and Data Visuals Work Harder

Infographics earn their keep whenever a press release involves numbers, statistics, timelines, or a process that would otherwise take several paragraphs to explain. Converting that information into a single visual makes it far easier for both journalists and readers to absorb the key point at a glance, rather than working through dense text.

To be effective, an infographic still needs the same context as any other visual asset—a short caption explaining what it shows and why it matters to the story. Accuracy and clear sourcing of any figures used are equally important, since a data visual that looks polished but is difficult to verify can do more harm than good to an organisation’s credibility.

How Do You Optimise Multimedia for SEO and Accessibility?

Alt text and captions are not optional extras; they directly affect both how a release performs in search and how accessible it is to a wider audience. Every image should carry descriptive alt text, and every video should ideally be accompanied by a transcript or captions, ensuring the content can be understood by readers who are unable to view or hear it.

These same elements also support search visibility, since search engines rely on alt text and surrounding metadata to understand what an image or video contains. File sizes should be kept as small as possible without sacrificing visible quality, since slow-loading assets frustrate both readers and journalists working against a deadline. A well-captioned, well-optimised asset also helps a journalist grasp the context of a visual immediately, without needing to read the entire release first.

Multimedia Mistakes That Undermine Your Release

A handful of mistakes show up repeatedly in press releases that fail to land. 

• Low-resolution or obviously generic stock visuals are one of the fastest ways to make an announcement look unprofessional. 
• Attaching too many assets, rather than a few well-chosen ones, tends to slow the release down and dilute its impact.
• Ignoring mobile optimisation is another common oversight, given how much news consumption now happens on a phone rather than a desktop screen.

Smaller details matter too — missing captions, missing credits, and inconsistent branding all chip away at how polished a release appears. Organisations that issue releases regularly also benefit from keeping a centralised media kit of approved images, video, infographics, and logos, so journalists have quick access to everything they need.

Turning Your Next Announcement Into One People Actually Notice

Multimedia has moved from being a nice-to-have to being one of the clearest differentiators between a press release that gets covered and one that gets deleted. The organisations that treat their images, video, and infographics with the same care as their written copy are consistently the ones earning more engagement, more shares, and more journalist pickup.

None of this needs to be complicated. It comes down to choosing the right format for the story, keeping quality and relevance ahead of quantity, and following a few consistent technical standards for resolution, length, and accessibility. If you would like support putting these principles into practice on your next announcement, don’t hesitate to reach out to us and we will help you build a press release that is ready to be seen, not just read.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every press release need multimedia?

Not necessarily. Multimedia should support the story, not pad it out. A short personnel update or a routine regulatory filing may not need any visual asset at all, whereas a product launch or data-led announcement almost always benefits from one.

What is the ideal image resolution for a press release?

As a general guide, images should be at least 2,400 pixels along the longer side. This keeps them usable across digital platforms and print media, where lower-resolution images can appear blurry or pixelated.

How long should a video in a press release be?

Five minutes or less is a safe upper limit, though engagement tends to peak around the two-minute mark. If a longer video is essential, it is generally better to host it separately and link to it from the release rather than embedding the full length.

Can I use stock photography in a press release?

Yes, provided it is high quality and directly relevant to the announcement. Generic stock imagery that could apply to any company or story tends to look impersonal and can weaken, rather than strengthen, a release.

How many multimedia assets should one press release include?

There is no fixed number, but quality consistently outperforms quantity. One strong, relevant image or video will usually do more for a release than several average ones, and overloading a release with too many assets can slow it down and overwhelm the reader.

Does adding multimedia actually improve a press release’s SEO?

Yes, when it is optimised correctly. Descriptive alt text, clear captions, and reasonably sized files all help search engines understand and index the content, in addition to making the release more accessible to a wider audience.