Looking for ways to improve your relationship with the media? How about starting with your Web site. Following are a few tips offered by Open Books marketing/PR director Becca Keaty on how you can whip your newsroom/press page into tip-top media shape:
• Be organized and archive your news: “We have a long list of events we’ve participated in and all of our news stories are archived on the press page,” says Keaty. “This has helped the media remember who we are in the community and highlights what we’re working on.”
• Update your site regularly. This cannot be stressed enough. If you want your site to be taken seriously by the press, don’t leave outdated information on your home or press page ad infinitum. “It just blows my mind in this day and age how many nonprofits have sites whose landing pages are not updated,” Keaty says. “Often they don’t have the [right name and contact information] of the current executive director. There’s no excuse for it.” To remedy this, Open Books staffers update information themselves using the site’s CMS system.