Top elements to include in your online news room

TEKgroup International, Inc., an organization that helps companies create online news rooms, offers a list of the top 20 elements to include. A large corporation should consider including all of them; a small business can get away with incorporating about half of them. Here's TEKgroup's list followed by my recommendations for smaller operations in order of importance.

TEKgroup's top 20 elements in their order of importance:

1. Searchable archives
2. PR contacts
3. News releases
4. Background information
5. Product info/press kits
6. Photographs
7. Help/FAQ
8. Crisis communications
9. Events calendar
10. Executive biographies
11. Media credentials registration
12. Financial information
13. Info/interview request form
14. News coverage
15. Video
16. Social media page
17. RSS feeds
18. Audio
19. Blog
20. Twitter feed

Here are mine for smaller organizations, including nonprofits, in order of importance, based on the information I look for when looking for article and interview sources: 

1. PR contacts
2. News releases
3. Background information
4. Product info/press kits
5. Photographs
6. Searchable archives
7. Executive biographies
8. Social media links (not page)
9. Blog
10. News coverage

Why did I select "PR contacts" as the top item? Because more often than not, I'm at a company's online  news room because I need to schedule an interview and I'm looking for somebody to help make that happen. And yet, surprisingly enough, this information can be hard to find (and some companies make it impossible to find by not offering it at all). If it takes too long to find a media contact, I'll move on to your competitor.

 

TEKgroup also recently released results of its survey on how journalists are using digital media, online newsrooms, and social media to write, researchn and report on news stories. Not surprisingly, the 1,500 journalists surveyed want access to helpful information at a company's website. Download the report here.  

Avoid These Common Online Press Room Mistakes

Does your company have an online press room -- a repository of news and background information -- for the media on your Web site? If you're looking for media exposure, you have to be (a) found online and (b) offer appropriate information to journalists. They aren't looking for sales literature and hype. They're seeking news, facts, details, background information, and graphics.

Here are the most common online press room mistakes and how you can prevent them on your Web site so that you maximize its value and impact:

• There is no online press room. Every business that isn't trying to dodge the media needs one.
• Press materials are available only in PDF format. You want journalists to copy and paste your press releases, fact sheets, backgrounders, executive bios, etc. As soon as you make them available only as PDF files, you've seriously inhibited this process. And anytime you make it harder, you risk losing the media opportunity because none of us wants to work any harder than we have to. Don't put up roadblocks and force us to give exposure to your competitors instead. Make all of your press materials available in a format that lets people copy and paste easily.
• Press releases aren't dated. I've found some news on your site -- but is it really news? Did you post the press release last week, last month, or last year? I can't use it if I don't know when you released it.
• There is no media contact listed. Let's say an Oprah producer discovers your Web site and wants to talk to your CEO about appearing in a segment related to your business, but you have no media contact listed and the only contact information on your site at all is a generic fill-in-the-blanks Web inquiry form. No names, no phone numbers, no e-mail addresses, and no media contact name and information. Do you think you might miss out on that opportunity to appear on Oprah? Possibly.
• There are no media graphics. Include photos in your press room -- executive head shots, product shots, application photos, your logo, etc. -- and include both high- and low-resolution versions.

Large companies usually do it the right way; visit the Xerox newsroom to see an effective example.

What's the best online press room you've seen? I'd like to compile a list of good examples.