Online press rooms 2

Making an online press room a valuable and worthwhile asset to your web site will pivot on whether the media view it as useable and relevant.

But the media visiting your site have to find it first of all. A link signposting your online press room should be clearly visible on the index page. Press rooms are described variously, but the most common and most widely understood text links are press room, newsroom, media, or media relations. It’s probably best to stick to one of these since your site is accessible to journalists from all over the globe.

Having now got them inside, what next?

Remember that journalists are busy people and are often working to very tight deadlines. What they want is up to date information that’s clear, concise and pertinent. It should also be well laid out and easy to access and search. The goal of any press room therefore should be to give journalists an accurate and well rounded overview of the company. The press room’s reason for existence, after all, is to make it easy for the media to write about you and your company.

Most press rooms lead with a summary of the latest press release linking to a full version, then linked headlines of other recent releases and links to release archives and a search tool. Top right is where you will normally see contact details for a named individual who deals with media enquiries.

Bear in mind throughout the planning process that journalists don’t surf, they trawl. They don’t arrive on your site by accident, they are there with a specific task in mind: to find out more about you and your company. Make the most of this showcasing opportunity.

The press room is, then, an online press kit. The sort of background information you may already be familiar with supplying in paper form as backgrounders at exhibitions, trade fairs or other special events. If it’s comparable to anything, though, an online press room is the equivalent of showing an important prospective client round your business premises, only with less potential for shooting yourself in the foot.

Conventionally, the type of content supplied in most press rooms is outlined below:

Having spent time, money and effort on your press room you will want to see the Return On Investment optimised. For in the game that is business, the rule of thumb is that one column inch of editorial is worth five times the equivalent space in paid for advertising. Consider, then, some of the following press room features to help win extra free publicity:

In implementing an online press room, weigh up whether you want your media centre as part of your main site or as a separate standalone site.

If the former, clearly state in the press room that it is intended solely for members of the media and that PR contacts only deal with enquiries from accredited journalists. Include a link back to the consumer index page and/or consumer FAQ and contact details.

Alternatively, some companies, who do not wish to run the risk of confusing customers, set up dedicated media sites on a separate domain, often appending press to the end of the company name, e.g. anycompany-press.com. The drawback here is that journalists may go directly to the press site rather than first absorbing your main site and picking up on its look and feel.

Next time – find out what bugs journos about online press rooms