Importance of an online newsroom

Almost every PR professional knows the importance of content distribution and in a society accelerated forward via technology, reaching out to the journalists has become a lot simpler. Any business, whether small or large can benefit from the presence of a robust multi-channel content strategy. Online Newsrooms play an important role in not only increasing your brand’s search value but also provide a direct connection between the media and you.

What is an online newsroom?

Image via Lightwell.co.uk 

It is an online media repository that contains all the information journalists require when they work on a story. This information includes a company profile, executive bios, press releases, latest news, multi-media and contact information. What used to constitute the paper press kits has now been replaced by resources in the online newsroom. By narrowing down the time spent by journalist to receive desired information and ensuring quick follow ups, online newsrooms are a cost-effective way for businesses to make information available 24/7. Prospective customers, potential investors, employees, can all benefit from this same information. Online newsrooms have also become centre points for corporate crisis management. (Example: Toyota via ipressroom.com)

Important elements of an online newsroom

• ·      Company profile
• ·      Executive bios
• ·      Direct contact details (Good to include contacts based on expertise as well)
• ·      Press releases in a chronological order
• ·      Links to recent articles published by media
• ·      Frequently Asked Questions
• ·      Search feature (Media specific)
• ·      Financial information that could interest stakeholders, investors.
• ·      If resources permit, handle real-time enquiries via iChat
• ·      Upcoming events, calendar
• ·      Awards won
• ·      Charity/Corporate Responsibility/Sustainability ventures
• ·      Links to social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn)
• ·      White-papers, presentations, company blog
• ·      RSS
• ·      High resolution images that can be downloaded
• ·      Multimedia like YouTube/Flickr, Podcasts
• ·      Twitter/Facebook integration to display latest social media feeds

Best practices for an online newsroom

Search Engine Optimised content

Content within an online newsroom must be search engine optimised. If a journalist types in your ‘brand name’ followed by ‘news’, they should be able to access pages from your newsroom. Rely on keyword tools and closely monitor your analytics to produce search engine optimised content.

Accessibility

Prominent links to the corporate newsroom must be placed on the brand website.

Complicated newsroom architecture should be avoided. The most common issue journalists face is when the PR contact cannot be found. An online newsroom should be user-friendly.

Newsrooms should have a simple, easy to recall URL. Example: news.example.com; newsroom.example.com; www.example.com/press etc.

Sharable

Really Simple Syndication- Ensure your online newsroom is RSS enabled. It is a well-known fact that people prefer to subscribe to your RSS feed than email.

Content should be easily sharable across all social networks.

Apart from being an information portal, online newsrooms do alternate as a soft-selling medium but cannot be considered as a replacement for hardcore public relations. There are plenty free and paid tools available online that can make your task of managing an online newsroom fairly simple. For small businesses, online newsrooms are definitely cost-effective, these pages don’t need to be glamorous, all they need is the right content. In return, investment of resources in an online newsroom also ensures the expansion of your online presence.

Lastly, don’t forget to UPDATE!

Few of my favourite newsrooms are:

Intel -This is one of the best ones out there. Being a massive brand, they have a ton of information to offer yet everything is easily accessible.

Starbucks -Simple layout with a couple links to their communities. Starbucks' online newsroom just like Intel's caters not only to the media but the customers too.

H&M -H&M has a newsroom that is quite different. I like the innovative social media newsroom feature. Their investor relations page is quite in-depth featuring a five-year summary. Great example of how they are balancing the profession and fun-social side at the same time.