Creating Your Online News Room: How To Build a Site The Media Will Love
By Bill Stoller (c) 2005
Publisher Free Publicity, The Newsletter for PR-Hungry Businesses
http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp
From time to time, people ask me how public relations has
changed during the two decades in which I've been seeking
publicity. My answer: technology. Twenty years ago, the fax
machine was a newfangled novelty. Our primary means of
communicating with journalists was the telephone and the US
Mail. The advent of e-mail and the web has made life easier in
many regards and tougher in others - namely, thanks to hordes
of clowns with money making schemes and software that "blasts"
press releases indiscriminately to reporters, it's become very
hard to get your e-mails through to spam-weary reporters.
But there's another great advantage provided to publicity
seekers by the Internet -- the ability to create an "online
news room". In the "old days", the press kit reigned. Big bulky
folders loaded with press releases, glossy photos and slides
were standard. They were expensive to design, costly to
reproduce and required lots of manpower and postage to assemble
and distribute. Today, you can simply direct a reporter to a
web URL, where all your press materials and high definition
artwork awaits, ready to be used. It's a huge time and money
saver.
A quick note: the traditional press kit isn't dead. It's still
handy to create some physical kits to use with key journalists,
as the very novelty of printed material can give you an edge at
times. Also, some journalists still prefer a physical kit.
Press kits are an important tool at trade show booths & press
rooms, and special events. However, gone are the days of
sending out large press kit mailings. Keep the kits for
targeted use only.
Creating a useful online news room is really pretty simple. One
of the main things a busy reporter wants is easy access to
press releases, corporate and executive info and artwork. A
well put together media room should provide a seamless
walk-through.
Where Should the News Room Go?
There are two schools of thought on where to put your online
news room. Some companies prefer to have it as a section on
their main site, visible to all as a link on a menu bar or
other navigational element. Others build entirely separate
sites just for the media.
There are pros and cons to each. Putting it as part of your
main site allows a journalist to "poke around" your site,
absorbing more of the feel and culture of your company and its
products. It also makes it easier if the reporter wants more
information about a particular product than can be found in
your media materials. Of course, since you'll need to provide
clear links to the online news room to help such reporters find
their way back, anyone visiting your site can access your press
materials. This is probably not an issue but, if you feel
potential customers may become confused if they wander into the
online news room, this could be worth considering.
Creating a separate site allows you to tailor everything to
suit the needs of the reporter and prevents the possibility of
confusion for potential customers visiting your main site. The
reporter however, will be unable to quickly "poke around" the
main site as described above, so you may consider that in your
decision. If you do choose a separate site, give it a name that
incorporates your company (if you're the Acme Company, go for
acmepress.com or acmeonlinenewsroom.com). Also, provide clear
links to your main site throughout, and code them so that they
open in a new window, allowing the reporter to see your main
site without having to backtrack to the online news room.
Some Do's and Don'ts
DON'T force journalists to register or sign in for access.
They're busy folks and may very well decide not to bother.
Make life as easy as you can for them.
DO offer the opportunity for journalists to enter their e-mail
address if they wish to be kept abreast of the latest news from
your company, but don't link it in any way to the ability to
access any portion of the site. DON'T confuse non-journalists
who may wander into the site. Make it clear at the top of your
main page of your online news room what it is and who it's for.
DO provide a link to your consumer FAQ page and an e-mail link
for customer service to give non-journalists a place to go to
get their questions answered. This will save you a great deal
of time responding to messages from non-journalists asking "why
am I looking at a press release? How do I download a new
driver" or some such thing. Here's what Gateway says, "Gateway
press contacts are only able to provide assistance for
qualified members of the news media. They are not qualified to
respond to product or technical support needs...If you are not
a member of the news media, please feel free to visit our pages
for Product Service and Support."
DON'T try to lay out the online news room if you're not a
talented web designer. Don't use flash, heavy java-scripts and
other doo-dads. The face you put forth to the media must be
highly professional, and the ease of navigation and logical
flow of the news room is vital.
DO hire a professional designer who has a portfolio that
includes simple, easy-to-navigate, clean-looking sites.
What To Include in Your Online News Room:
Personal Contact Info. The name, address, e-mail, phone number,
fax number and cell phone number of your primary media contacts
must be front and center. If you have an Instant Messaging ID,
put it in there, too.
Press Releases. Place press releases in chronological order
(most recent at the top). Keep traditional press release
formatting and use easy-to-read fonts.
Executive photos, product photos, charts, graphs, and other
appropriate artwork. Provide multiple versions -- 72 dpi
(lower resolution) for online publications and websites, and
300 dpi (higher resolution) for offline publications. Put
instructions such as To download, right-click and choose "save"
next to the graphics. Make sure your pitch letters and press
releases provide links to the appropriate artwork on your site.
Backgrounders, executive bios, white papers, investor relations
info (if applicable), fact sheets, speeches, awards, streaming
media of: press conferences, product demonstrations,
president's speeches, etc.
Search Tool. Make it easy for journalists to find just what
they want, by making all your press materials fully searchable.
Online News Rooms to Study:
The best way to learn how to put together an online news room
is to see how some very smart folks have done it. Here are
three outstanding examples....
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/default.asp
http://www.google.com/press/index.html
http://www.crayola.com/mediacenter/
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Bill Stoller, the "Publicity Insider", has spent two decades as
one of America's top publicists. Now, through his website, eZine
and subscription newsletter, Free Publicity: The Newsletter for
PR-Hungry Businesses http://www.PublicityInsider.com/freepub.asp
he's sharing -- for the very first time -- his secrets of scoring
big publicity. For free articles, killer publicity tips and much,
much more, visit Bill's exclusive new site:
http://www.PublicityInsider.com
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