Online Media Rooms Save the Media Time and Frustration
Today is my first post at our new blog home on the Speakers Community server.
Sam Levy, the NETMAN, made the move for me. We are still working on a few fixes however I think it is good enough to show off. Sam has been my webmaster for many years and is a delight to work with and very patient with me. Do look him up at http://www.thenetcave.com
Here’s some of the ways he can help you. The NET MAN provides Business Integration Consulting for the Internet as well as database driven sites, shopping carts and E-Zines. Business Websites That Work! Consulting - Management - Production - Hosting - Marketing - Development.
I mentioned the Speakers’ Community and that is a membership site that Sam is building for me and it should be ready to launch I think at the end of October.
There is a link underneath the banner that says Speakers’ Community clcik on that which will explain my vision for this ambitious project.
Today we are talking about Online Media Rooms and their importance. We were discussing online media rooms on our last teleclass call with Jill Lublin and Nita Vallens. Listen to the audio replay. Jill will go into more detail about this topic at the MediaSpeak Symposium in October.
To reinforce the information Jill shared with us I asked Marcia Yudkin for permission to reprint her article on Online Media Rooms. Marcia is a brilliant marketer and I have been la fan of hers for years.
She is one of myRecommended Resource She offers creative solutions for marketing and PR and has many special reports, CD’s, E-books and books on her website for purchase that will be helpful for your marketing and PR concerns.
Take a look at her offerings and she is always adding new iitems. http://tinyurl.com/3xyfu9
Take it away Marcia
Online Press Rooms Save the Media Time and Frustration
by Marcia Yudkin
When web site usability guru Jakob Nielsen tested how well major corporate sites met the needs of reporters last year, he gave them a “D” grade. Journalists who tested sites for him located basic information such as the companies’ financials, management team, commitment to social responsibility and a phone number for a PR contact only 60 percent of the time.
An excellent way to meet reporters’, editors’ and producers’ needs is online press room, collecting what they need to know about your organization in one place. Some sites offer this as a subchoice under “About Us,” while others have a major link called “Press Room,” “For the Press” or “For the Media.” By providing press-friendly materials on demand 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, you increase the odds of someone writing about you, using photos you’ve supplied and doing so with accuracy.
Your online press room should contain, at a minimum:
- An organizational profile
- Names and bios of principals and executives of your organization
- A PR contact with name, email address and telephone number
- Press releases, presented with the most recent first
Optional extras for your press room include:
- Online versions of recent annual reports or white papers
- Downloadable photos of products or key personnel
- Statements about relevant controversial issues currently in the news
- Suggested angles for feature stories including your organization
- Sample questions for talk show hosts
- Links to pertinent studies, statistics and news stories
- Links to previous coverage you’ve enjoyed
- Prewritten use-as-is stories or tips
- Audio or video clips, especially for music performers
The more lively the style in which all of the above comes across, the more likely you are to get journalists passing through to stay awhile and start thinking about how they can use what you’ve provided. Corporate-speak may please internal bosses, but it gets in the way here and may even provide fodder for the many sites that make fun of pretentious marketing blather.
Keep in mind that on the web, media from all over the world and from outside of your industry can access your press room, so avoid acronyms and insert the kinds of background explanations that would be found in a quality news story. Dates are especially important to present unambiguously. Jakob Nielsen reported a case where a European reporter dismissed a company’s news as old because it was dated 10-3-2000, which to him meant March 10 rather than the intended October 3.
Nielsen also pointed out that the journalists, whom his team observed in their actual work environment, often were using old software or hardware which crashed when trying to access PDF files or Flash sites. Remember that despite the apparent convenience of downloadable files, some media folks may for many reasons still prefer to receive a physical copy of your photos or your product - or a traditional all-in-one-folder, expensive-to-mail PR kit.
An online press room meets some needs, but not all, so be prepared to fulfill old-fashioned requests as well.
If you find this information helpful or you have a comment we would like to hear from you.
