The world of public relations is evolving at a rapid rate, with new tools and resources always right around the corner. But that doesn’t mean we should forget about the practices we’ve had in place for years, as it could actually cause companies to miss out on media opportunities. According to recent research conducted by Business Wire, 93 percent of reporters go to company websites to do research, while 77 percent use online newsrooms as a research tool. Both of those numbers are well above the choices of social media (42 percent), trade publications (41 percent), blogs (34 percent) or Wikipedia (32 percent.) What does this mean? Updating and maintaining your online content and newsrooms should be a top priority.
Make time to audit what you have and how you manage those assets. To get started, ask yourself a few questions:
- When was the last time you updated your “About Us” page?
- Do you have an easily found page designated for media?
- Do you post news releases and media coverage online? And if so, do you do it in a timely manner?
- Do you offer facts, backgrounders and resources that are relevant to media looking for more information about your company or product?
- Do you offer other assets to help tell your story such as photos, graphics, infographics or video? If so, when was
the last time you updated them? - Do you clearly offer contact information for someone who can answer a reporter’s questions?
The Business Wire research offers a full account of The 5 Definitive Rules to Media Relations in 2014 online but PR Daily
also sums it all up nicely in a post by Matt Wilson. It’s worth a read!
