Things You MUST Include In Your Online Newsroom
An online newsroom can best be defined as the hub page at your site that serves as the gateway to all of your public relations work, including your press releases and your media pitches. It is a page specifically designed for media representatives to come to see all you have to offer.
Your online newsroom can be a real business asset, provided you include some key elements journalists will be looking for so they can do their jobs more easily.
If you haven’t already created an online newsroom for your business, now is the time to start planning one. Here are some of the most important things you need to include in your online newsroom:
The facts about your company
Who are you, and what do you do? Where are you located, who are your top staff, and how can journalists get in contact with you if they have any questions about your company?
Think of a good About Us page and Contact Us page, and you will have an idea of everything you need to include in the first section of your online newsroom.
A list of your most recent press releases, with links
Every press release you issue should also be published at your site so you will get credit from the search engines. Copy the headline of each release, and the date, onto your online newsroom page. Then link to each page. Use an open new window command so journalists can flick through all of your releases without losing their place on the page. List them with the most recent first—this will show how up-to-date your page is. It also makes it easier to just add your newest link to the top of the list whenever you publish a new press release.
A list of your media pitches that have been picked up
Include the headline, date, and periodical that accepted the pitch. Hyperlink to each pitch.
A list of the pitches you have created which have not been accepted
Include the headline, date and a brief summary of what the pitch is about. Hyperlink to each pitch idea. Hopefully, your media pitches can serve as the stimulus journalists need to come up with for their latest columns, and pass along your information to their wider audience.
A list of experts available
Some of your staff might have a great media presence and be perfect for TV, radio, video and in-person events. List their names and their area of expertise under a clear headshot of them. Journalists are always on the lookout for experts who can help provide context for their stories, quotations, and more.
Your image gallery links
Create one page for your high-quality images, and another listing your videos. Don’t put your images on the online newsroom because they will cause it to load slowly. Don’t publish your videos on the page for the same reason, and because the playback can be quite clunky. Post the videos on YouTube instead, and then copy the embed code onto each page for each video. Then link to them by hyperlinking the name of the video.
Upcoming events
Live events can really create buzz. If you have any online or in-person events coming up, include a link, date, and venue. Link to a separate page that will offer more information about the event, including how people can register for it and attend.
Free information
If your press release goal is to build your list through offering a great free incentive such as an ebook or white paper, link the title and date of the item to the landing page where they can sign up for the item.
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