The Online Pressroom -
A Requirement for any Company Web Site
By Jon Boroshok
Making a journalist's job easier to do increases your chances of
being covered, and one of the most effective ways to do this is
with an easily accessed, informative online pressroom.
The press is overworked, under-staffed and usually under deadline,
so journalists need facts and figures quickly. When reporters contact
you for information, return these calls or e-mails immediately,
not the next day. Their deadline is near, and as soon as the reporter
leaves you a message, there's a good chance your competition will
be their next call. Top reasons journalists visit a company's Web
site include:
- Finding a PR contact (name, telephone number, e-mail address)
- Checking basic facts about the company (spelling of an executive's
name or date of birth, headquarters location, current financial
data, type of products, etc.)
- Researching the company's own "spin" or reaction to events,
regulations, and economic factors that impact its market and marketability
- Checking financial information, such as the annual report
- Downloading images, such as executive photos or logos, to use
as illustrations in stories
It's appalling how few companies make finding this information
easy. I've seen company (and PR agency) Web sites that don't indicate
where the company is located, and actually require the media to
fill out a contact form to request information! Simply having a
pressroom on your Web site is not enough - it has to be easy to
find, easy to use, and up-to date.
Our 10-point usability test for online pressrooms:
1. Is it easy to find? There should be an obvious "press
room" button/link on your home page.
2. Is it easy to access? It should be plain HTML, with no
flash or other bandwidth hogging technologies. One click from the
home page opens the pressroom. No passwords or registration required.
The media won't fill out forms.
3. Is your PR contact the first item? The name, full street
address, phone number, and e-mail address of your primary PR contact
should "jump out" at a reporter. Your PR contact should check his/her
e-mail several times a day.
4. Is there a "press release" section? There should be,
and that section should only be one click away from the main pressroom.
Releases should be in chronological order (newest to oldest), with
full headline in plain view.
5. Are press releases easy to access? One click should open
the press release on screen. Many reporters work from home on old
computers with dial-up Internet access. They won't download a PDF
or MS Word file. Avoid unnecessary animations, useless graphics,
and irrelevant "smiley" photos. Press releases should open as text
or HTML files, with the option to download a copy in MS Word, not
PDF format.
6. Is there an online media kit? Again, just one click away
from the main press page, your online kit should contain a company
backgrounder (who you are and what you do), bios of key officers,
stock/investor information (if a public company), a Frequently Asked
Questions (FAQ) document, one-click downloadable company logos and
photos of products and company officers. All photos and logos should
be downloadable in high resolution (at least 300 dpi) and low resolution
(72 dpi) formats.
7. Is the pressroom free from hype and buzzwords? This is
not a marketing document. It should be factual and hype free. The
goal is to help the press do their job, not "sell" them.
8. Is it timely and up-to-date? All information should be
current. Do you still list a contact who is no longer with the company?
Do all e-mail addresses still work? The pressroom should be updated
on as close to a real-time basis as possible. If you put out
a press release this morning, it should be accessible on your Web
site this morning, not this afternoon.
9. Does it include links to coverage you've received? The
online pressroom should have links to as much media coverage as
possible, and all links should be checked periodically to make sure
they are still working.
10. Have you included case studies? Nothing tells your
story better than a happy customer. If you've solved a problem for
another company, make sure you tell the story in your online pressroom.
Case studies should be one click away from the main pressroom. For
more about case studies as a PR tool, see www.techmarcom.com/studies.html
With
over 15 years of experience, Jon Boroshok is a marketing communications
and public relations veteran. He is the founder of TechMarcom, Inc.
of Westford, MA
(www.TechMarcom.com), an agency/outsource specializing in value-based
marketing communications for technology companies. An
accomplished strategist and writer, his articles and columns have
appeared in The Boston Globe, Crain Communications, Primedia Business
Magazines, ZDNet, CMP Publications, East Bay Business Times, Mass
High Tech, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, DM News, PRWeek, and more. He
has "ghost-written" many articles and white papers on behalf
of company executives, and is also an instructor of graduate and undergraduate
marketing communications and public relations at Emerson College in
Boston.
Boroshok has a B.S. in communications from Emerson College and an
M.B.A. in marketing from Northeastern University.
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