By Wendy Watkins, VP/Corporate Communications, Delaware North Companies
Corporate Web sites offer the best snapshot of your organization, especially if your newsroom is optimized. In many cases, it's the reason visitors stay on your site and seek
out information--or blow right by it. Some pointers on maximizing your online pressroom:
- Analyze audiences and usage: Include country access, language, trade and consumer usage. The newsroom's purpose is often to provide ideas and insight, not only to
the media but also to end users like business partners, clients, employees and consumers. - Keep your message and your method simple: Journalists herald easy-to-use sites and they gripe about poor sites--a bone of contention that can make or break a
relationship. The best sites are those where information is accessible with simple navigation. Novels are in bound books for a reason. - Make the newsroom available from the homepage: Proudly display your news. Amazingly, some newsrooms are buried under layers of clicking in a corporate site, making
them dreadfully hard to locate. Hang out a welcome sign--you want visitors to come in. - Brand, brand, brand: Sometimes, the most innovative companies have the dullest Web sites. It usually stems from who controls the Web site in your organization. Ensure
that your communications and marketing departments are driving the content. And to guarantee brand consistency, be cautious of outsourcing newsroom components. - Don't forget the basics: Some newsrooms omit contact information, as if reporter calls are discouraged; others hide it deep in the site at the top of random releases.
Highlight basic contact information, and make it easy to find. Remember other basics, like news-release archives, bylined articles, clips and media kits. Use print-friendly
formats by avoiding large tables and files. Be sensitive to bandwidth requirements. - Allocate space on your site for news feeds, videos and streaming Web casts: News is more than just print. Consider downloadable B-roll and digital sound bytes to
enhance the user experience. - Allow for image browsing, with consideration to copyright: Some companies allow for free-access downloads, while others institute password protection. Another option
is to post low-resolution images for visitors to browse; direct those high-resolution requests to your marketing team. - Think of the newsroom as an evolution, not a revolution: Technology makes it easy to create a dynamic newsroom that is a true reflection of your corporate brand. With
dedicated resources and a commitment to welcoming the journalistic world, the online newsroom can be one of your organization's most powerful communications and marketing
assets.