The proliferation of new media technology has made media training for the digital world a vocational necessity. Following are best practices for communicating your message via blogs, Web casts and podcasts:
Blogging:
• Examine your corporate blogging guidelines to ensure that employees using digital tools are communicating in a manner consistent with your corporate goals.
• Consider formalized writing training for corporate bloggers to raise the professionalism of the posts. This includes classic writing guidelines, as well as ensuring the appropriateness of language and tone of the posts.
Web casts and podcasts:
• Prepare your Web cast spokesperson as though they were to appear on television (Web cast) or radio (podcast).
• For a Web cast, make sure that the spokesperson is sitting straight, and looking straight into the camera.
• Clothes should be professional, and bright, solid colors. Men should wear jackets (ties are not necessary in most cases); women should dress professionally and keep flashy accessories to a minimum.
• For a podcast, they need to project their voice to convey passion for the topic; consider that this is similar to a traditional phone interview for radio.
• Authenticity is important. Encourage your spokesperson to smile, relax and enjoy the format.
• If the Web cast or podcast is interactive, the spokesperson should be prepared with rude Q&A.
• Make sure that they practice their presentation out-loud in advance of the Web cast or podcast.
This article was excerpted from the forthcoming PR News' 2009 Media Training Guidebook. It was written by Lynn Espinoza, president and founder of Speak! Communications, Inc. To order this or any PR News guidebook, visit www.prnewsonline.com/store.