The growth of the internet and online news outlets means that the realm and everyday work for journalists is becoming increasingly web-centric. According to a recent survey, around 97% of journalists use online corporate newsrooms to keep up to date with company portfolios and company information.
Comnicate believes that without an online newsroom, your company is potentially missing out on crucial media coverage and publicity that it could be much more effectively leveraging. By ensuring that your public relations contact details are accessible around the clock means time saved for your company and for journalists, who will not have to wait for opening hours to call and request these details.
It is important that your newsroom also speaks volumes about your credibility and professionalism. Added published media articles will give journalists a complete overview about what other journalists have said about your company and provide a solid company synopsis.
Our newsroom is a good example of a media room which gives journalists and PR professionals access to a number of multimedia and company information including, videos, PR contact details, images and press releases.
With many things, not just journalism, moving online it is important that your company has a positive and impressive online presence.
You could be forgiven for losing track of the ever-changing social network world. With this in mind, we thought we would put out a quick summary of the changes and what it means for user and Comnicate customers.
Twitter recently announced it had reached 100 million active users and meanwhile, Google+ has leapt from 54th most visited social networking site to 8th in just a week. On top of these developments, Facebook has rolled out (yet another) change to its interface, as well as adding a timeline service as a new way to express who you are.
With the phenomenal growth of these platform, social media should be an important part of your online strategy, if you are unsure how to incorporate it, check out our past blog posts.
Comnicate believes it is important to understand the true value of social media, and how it can work for your business. Here are a few interesting facts:
- More than 50 million Twitter users log onto their account every day, yet around 40% of all users are listeners only.
- Since removing its invite-only status, Google+ has grown 1,269% and now has over 40 million users.
- Facebook will soon allow users to nominate exactly what they are doing or reading, or listening to, without endorsing it with a like.
- 87% of the Billboard Top 100 musicians of 2010 are active on Twitter and 40% of the religious leaders, like the Pope and the Dalai Lama use Twitter.
So a critical logical conclusion is to ensure your Newsroom links to the external social media resources such as Twitter. Click here for our Twitter account.
We all know that Twitter is successful for its real-time, micro-blogging qualities. In an age where immediate gratification is so highly sort after, the constant and seemingly endless stream of information that Twitter provides is invaluable to many.
With the hope of tapping into this idea, Twitter has just launched #TfN or Twitter for Newsrooms. It is the idea that journalists use Twitter as a one-stop-shop for researching, reporting, engaging and publishing their news.
But with so many journalists and media outlets already doing this, what is the point of #TfN? Perhaps it is Twitters attempt at being a more serious news platform? Or at least regulating the current plethora of online conversations?
At first glance Twitter could be assumed a sort of instant news platform, minus the editor. The fact that the information tweeted is neither edited or even filtered brings the idea of a free market and the dark side of social media to one dangerously far-reaching arena. Over the weekend the Twitter account of Fox News was breached and hackers broadcasted false allegations that the President Obama had been assassinated, it took a further 10 hours for the tweets to be removed. The truth is that Twitter, like Facebook is an amazing forum for promotion and coffee shop-type chitter-chatter, but the conversation cannot be controlled. Comnicate believes that for a newsroom to be successful, it must be always based on fact and never a hint of fiction.
We are obviously passionate about supplying the right platform for companies and their press releases, so here are some of our best tips for creating a successful press release.
Face Time
Comnicate really believes in going that extra mile and ensuring that it your story visible to all parties. Assume that your press release is like a poster of your lost dog. By only sticking your poster on your front door, it is unlikely to be seen by the people that matter or anyone at all. Further assume that journalists and shareholders do not want to work too hard to get their story, so make sure your release is accessible. Release your story through every relevant channel possible.
Picture vs. 1000 Words
Traditionally press releases are text and information heavy, but with online press releases you are not limited to traditions. Adding images, videos and sound bites will really make your story stand out, catching the attention of editors and consumers alike. Videos can be both informative and engaging, plus it entices bloggers and journalists to embed the clip into their own site. So be creative!
Keyword Success
We have talked about the most overused buzzwords but it is important to think about using keywords to represent your brand, services and products as it will build recognition with your customers. If you want your clients to know you offer a quality service, ensure that this message is consistent in your release. Strategically place these keywords in the most apparent places of your press release, for example, the headline, sub-headline, first paragraph and hyperlink text. And remember, if your keyword-rich titles are alluring, readers are more likely to click through to read the release.
Get a Newsroom
These days the media is looking for more than just press releases. By having an online newsroom you can incorporate photos, case studies, social media updates, annual reports and more. Comnicate suggests having an easy-to-use online interactive system that enables your users to access the information they want with a single click. You will not only be able to increase your media distribution, but promote brand awareness, and capitalise on the new social media opportunities.
At Comnicate we are often asked about pitching basics.A new business owner asked that he had sent out a media pitch to four different publications which were his target market but has not heard any response.
I took him through the following media relations fundamentals:
- Understand the media perspectives. These are the different ways or angles the media approaches issues.
- Reading and understanding the media; listen to them before engaging them identify the appropriate reporters who can cover your space then read their articles.
- Engaging; this is best achieved by enjoying the articles the reporter has written and having something of value to comment, one should try as much as possible to follow the reporter on social media such as twitter and add them to your list, watch and read what they tweet, if you find compelling article send them a note of positive feedback.
- Pitching a story; one should pitch a story and not the product, reporters are after the story, something compelling for their readers for example pitch them on how your product solved the problem
- Keep the story short and relevant; reporters usually receive vast volumes of pitches, so one should be relevant and brief. Generally include a reference to something they have written. For example tell them what they wrote about certain product.
- Consider other story angles. These are the different perspectives from which a story might be covered.
- Try reaching reporters by other channels if they have not responded to emails. You can try a channel like snail mail.
- Call the reporters. Have the key points you would like to get across their minds before dialing.
- Focus on building professional relationships. This is built on trust, relevancy and courtesy.
- Be persistent. If you know you have got a story to tell do not shy from being persistent.
- Ensure that you have a well organised and current Newsroom.
Always remember that reporters are very busy and if you do not hear back from them, do not take it personally. Keep in mind that no response does not mean that your ideas are not good. Good pitches and good contacts tend to get saved in folders for future reference.
RSS feeds are being used by many companies to open dialogue and keep its audience notified of current information.
I recently received an email from the Reserve Bank of Australia that they are now using RSS and the following RSS feeds are now available on their website: Daily exchange rates, media releases, speeches, research discussion papers and freedom of information.
Most companies have implemented RSS because of client demand. RSS makes company content readily available to the audience. It is also one of the cost effective online strategies. Creating excellent content and syndicating it in RSS feeds reaches a bigger audience and can also build back links to increase web awareness.
Offering content in RSS feeds has many benefits for companies.
- RSS feed syndicate your company content and make it available to other news outlets, websites and blogs.
- You can reach a big audience by syndicating your content in RSS feeds.
- RSS feed is secure and cannot be spammed.
- The audience, users or subscribers can control the information they receive.
- Subscription to RSS is anonymous and do not involve privacy issues.
- RSS feeds are compiled according to the choices of users.
- RSS is good for passing urgent information which is time sensitive and needs to be delivered to the audiences immediately.
RSS use is very important to companies and should not be ignored. Syndicating content builds up back links and it improves your company search engine rankings. Higher search engine rankings increase your company online visibility. More visibility online will bring new visitors to your company website who will build a relationship with you and trust you. This serves as a very important public relations function for the latest news on brands, executives and external content.
Creating RSS feeds so that you can syndicate content is highly recommended for each and every company. Sharing content online is one of the fastest growing trends. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have shown that there is power in the sharing of content and syndication. Ensure that you make RSS a part of your company online strategy.
Members of the Reserve Bank attend many forums. To ensure the transparency of the banking system these speeches are presented also as Podcasts making speeches readily available to all sectors of the community.
Naturally Comnicate can deliver these critical features so if you would like to discover more we welcome your enquiry
Most organisations spend a lot of money on Public Relations and yet their press sections or their corporate newsrooms fail to meet the very basic journalists needs.
To garner good media coverage is a goal of many company communicators but many do little to achieve this goal. The best way to increase chances of your organisation being covered by the media is to make it easier for the journalists to easily get the information they want from your corporate newsroom.
Recent research indicated journalists get 95% of information or news from the internet. According to research from web usability guru Jacob Nielsen on media use of the web to access corporate information, most journalists start their research by visiting a company website or using search engines.
Journalists are always working under pressure to meet deadlines and do not have the time to scroll here and there in your newsroom looking for information. They need an easily identifiable pressroom which is easy to navigate and where they can easily access the news.
According to Jacob Nielsen, the top-five reasons journalists gave for visiting a company website were to:
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Find a PR contact (name and telephone number)
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Check basic facts about the company (spelling of a name, headquarters location, etc.)
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Discover the company’s own spin on events
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Check financial information
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Download images to use as illustrations in stories
This basic information must be easy to find in a corporate newsroom. Companies that want accurate and higher chances of media coverage should design their websites with the need of journalists, specifically their need for fast access to facts and figures as well as a simple way to contact a live person in the PR department.
These are commonsense steps that are rarely taken by most corporations.
Well it started with a idle comment… I wonder if we could replicate the newsroom of one of the world’s largest computer company. their Newsroom is complex with a diversity of products, technologies and operating regions.
Initially our objective was not even to do it quickly but rather achieve the same level of functionality with our offering Newsroom Plus. The design criteria included:
- The same look & feel
- The same menu structure
- Full social media integration
- Video and Podcastsupport
- Multiple news regions
- RSS feed support
Since we are mentioning it, there is no surprise, the outcome was successful. But what really surprised us was just how easily it was done. Completed in a matter of days. So if you would like to see who’s newsroom it was and Comnicate’s implementation, fire us an email.
Hello and welcome to the Comnicate blog where you will get all the latest opinions, perspectives and information on what is going on in the media and communications world. Blogs and the social media have changed the media landscape for the good and there is still more to come and you are welcome here to get the latest in all the news and developments.
About Comnicate
Comnicate Media Group works in partnership with PR/Media firms and their clients in providing the most advanced systems environment for delivering news and media to journalists and other stakeholders. Comnicate provides the systems platforms and tools that PR professionals can use to run an efficient newsroom from any location.
A Comnicate hosted NewsRoom solution is for those companies wishing to optimise every aspect of their online engagement. This includes a template driven NewsRoom, proprietary and open news distribution network, online reputation, industry and competitor monitoring and analytics.
The Vision of Comnicate is to make it more efficient, effective and measurable to use the best media channels for your message, in one simple, affordable and powerful platform.
Comnicate offers sound advice and thought leadership on this rapidly changing landscape to help your organisation leverage the commercial benefits to the maximum.
On the Blog
The blog will cover a range of issues ranging from serious to conversational. It will be informative, engaging and interesting . Enjoy the blog and come back soon.
Cheers.
