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By Drew Gerber
Include media coverage already received. If you or your organization has appeared in the media, use anything from audio clips, video clips, and links to media outlets’ Web sites in your online press kit’s “In the News” page. Be careful about copyright issues when reposting articles, though. Check with the media venue for reprint permission.
Include media contact information prominently. If the person handling media relations is not an employee of the company/organization, be sure that the contact info in the online press kit directs reporters to the person who is. If a reporter reaches out and his/her request is lost in cyberspace, chances are that they won’t come back.
Online Press Kits should not:
Combine info for both the public AND the media. Ideally, the information provided for the media should be separate from content intended for the public or consumers. One reason is that it makes it more difficult for the media to find what it wants, and another is because it reduces your control over the info provided.
Require a reporter to make numerous requests for additional info. There are always going to be things that you do not want to provide online on a constant basis. This could include certain photos or ebooks. Keeps these instances to a minimum! In cases like these, it is fine to say “please contact us for photos of this event,” or “please contact us for a sample ebook.”
Be out of date. Update press kit materials as needed, and try to keep a current press release available – even if it wasn’t distributed on the wire or to reporters directly. By keeping a timely supply of “news” in your online press kit, it will be obvious to the media that it receives your attention.
Some other tips
Use links – not e-mail attachments! Online press kits with media libraries should allow you to upload your documents and create a URL to their location online, which you can provide to the media instead of an e-mail attachment. When was the last time you opened an e-mail from a stranger that had an attachment?
Have a blog? Link it to your online press kit. Blogs are a great way to discuss your company, cause, or industry and are often used by members of the media when researching someone/something for a story. If you have one, add the link to your online press kit. If you don’t have one, consider getting one.
Right now, there are a variety of online press kit services available that range in price from about the same cost as a PR firm’s monthly retainer (five figures) to less than a couple hundred dollars a month. With a little guidance and the same tools the publicists use, small business owners can add “media relations guru” to their ever-expanding collection of skills as well as a few extra inches to that bottom line.
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