The secret to designing a useful online media kit is to think like a journalist. Put everything a reporter requires to write about your company within a single mouse click
of your digital kit's home page.
Do so and no longer will the press hound you to fetch photos, recite your URL for the umpteenth time, or fax backgrounder information of your CEO to them before their
3p.m.deadline yesterday.
Of course, an argument could be made that a traditional press kit offers the same salvation from those duties. But the Internet raises the bar of reporters' expectations for
receiving data. And overnight delivery is no match for the Web's immediacy.
"It's not just a press release, it's a whole tool kit online for reporters," says Dave Walton, marketing communications manager for JVC Professional Products, a distributor of
broadcast equipment that helps companies get their media kits online. "If a reporter sees something he wants to write about, the online press kit should help him do that job. The
kit should include the product's brochure, a variety of photos the reporter can preview and use. There should also be links to white papers and anything else that helps a reporter
do his job immediately."
It's Their Baby
Online press kits need no fanfare to draw reporters in. They are information providers, that's it. Rarely does a writer log on to one for kicks. With that in mind, the kit
should be fashioned to their liking.
"Journalists are not interested in a lot of bells and whistles, just in content," says Don Bates, manager of new media for Media Distribution Services, a company that designs
online press kits. "A design that is simpler is better."
Forget about the flowery hyperbole, fancy wallpaper or Shockwave animation and cool graphics. Reporters want straightforward, concise information. They don't want to do a lot
of reading to find what they are looking for and they don't want to have to download a bunch of files.
"A lot of writers work off modems," warns Walton. "They are not sitting in an office with a T1 line. You have to realize that some of your target reporters are getting their
information by the slowest means possible, on an AOL connection that is overloaded, for example."
Also, even though you may beam with parental pride that your online press kit is the best on the block, don't send the entire package to every reporter in your Rolodex.
Unrequested email is spam, and spam received with a huge attachment is infuriating, especially since reporters receive a ton of them. Instead, send a short email with a link to
the press kit that sits on your company's Web site.
But remember, emails are a personal thing, making your homework on targeting your audience even more important. You also must continue to grab the reporters' attention right
away in the targeted email. "Your work begins in the subject line," says Walton. "If it looks like another piece of junk mail it's going to get deleted."
Avoid deletion by reminding the reporter he wanted the email. Messages like, 'requested information' in the subject line work well. Also, don't blather on in the body of the
email message. One short paragraph summing up what you two spoke about and the link to the press kit will suffice.
Omnipresent Options
The best illustration of how an online kit should be designed is to take the contents of a traditional press kit and spread it on a desk so everything is visible. Reporters
should be able to see their information options all the time, even while in the bowels of a particular file.
"Once a reporter clicks on a specific file it should not take up the entire screen," says Patrick Pharris, president and CEO of emc, electric media communications. The most
useful online press kits are ones where part of the screen is static, allowing the kit's options to always be visible.
Say, for example, your press kit contained two press releases, three photos, background information on your CEO and links to other sites. These options are constantly on the
left side of the screen while the right side displays the file contents the reporter has open.
"The page doesn't totally refresh, only part of it does," says Pharris. "This allows the reporter to switch to a different file without having to back up through the file to
return to the options page. In one click he can go from reading one of the releases to seeing a photo of the product."
Some of the more popular omnipresent options for an online press kit are:
- Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- Photos
- Video & audio, including links to the sites that will download the needed software.
- Contact information
- Links to tangential news
The best approach when deciding what options your press kit should display, it's best to remember what message you are trying convey.
(Bates, 212/279-4800; Pharris, 949/852-3999; Walton, 973/315-5135.)
Password Gaffe
Forcing reporters to endure a registration process to gain access to your online press kit is one hurdle they may not jump, unless the information is absolutely necessary to
complete their article. Reporters rarely have the luxury of waiting half a day for a company to approve their registration. Yet there are extenuating circumstances.
- If the information is embargoed.
- If your company is concerned mean-spirited publications will download company's information and use it in a derogatory fashion.
But blocking the general public can work against you. If the press does a bad job of covering your campaign, by going into your press room the public can see for themselves
what the media overlooked or misquoted.
A Penny Saved Is a Penny Earned
If emc were to go the traditional route with its client tourandtravelnews.com and print its press kits, the cost breakdown would be:
- Printing a 1,000-word press release: $0.45
- Duplicating two photos: $4.00
- Putting it into a folder: $2.00
- Total price per kit: $6.45
- Total number of targeted demographic: 11,000
- Potential cost (excluding shipping): $70,950
- The same press kit only online: $550