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Making a Web Content Site a Media-Friendly One

BY: Mary Ann Carolyn Dalangin-Tordecilla
Words: 951

It has always been a very tough competition among PR pros to get the attention of the media. In Public Relations, often, professionals are faced with the awful truth that no matter how relevant and good their stories are, many ended up in trash, or worst, others were turned down before they could even start introducing their pitches. In this kind of profession, everyday seemed to be a struggle. If PR pitches are rejected by journalists, the message to be conveyed dies out instantly no matter how important and beneficial it could be to the target public.

However, in online PR, being on the Internet could be advantageous. Instead of doing door-to-door visits for supplying pitches to journalists, PR pros could set up their own site, making this a haven for journalists to seek a great story to write. This, too, is one way of introducing the company to the media. But, it should also be noted that establishing a good website is not an ordinary job to do. It must also be thought out wisely to achieve the proper publicity needed. Below are ways to do this:

The Planning Stage

Every well-thought site must pass a “planning stage” before any actions are to be done. Look forward for long-term plans. Do not make a content site that will only be use for posting information. Be specific on what will the site become for the years to come. For example, do you want your site to become educational? An e-commerce site? Or a site for marketing purposes?

Leave the construction of the site to the professionals. Talk to the IT department and consult to them whatever plans in mind. Also, during the consultation, integrate the website design and writing to balance the message to be communicated. Integrated text, database, and graphics result to an affective content that will make the message accurately communicated.

The Construction of a Web Content

The very thing to remember when constructing a web content is to make the website user-friendly, or in this case, media-friendly.

When making a content for website, make sure to stick to standardization. Be consistent and accurate to contents. Develop a specific style keeping short paragraphs and making use of bullet forms as possible. Journalists could comprehend more if contents are crystal clear.

In addition, avoid making the homepage of the site as if it has the entire latest web design innovations. Restrain from downloading techy softwares. Sometimes, these things overwhelm the media and could reduce the reading comprehension.

As much as business is focused to the target audience that many websites now leave a special page for their clients, try to include a page for the media. It is a “must-have” for one of the navigation bars on the home page to be called News, Media or Press.

Of course the newsroom contains not only information regarding the company, its business, products, or services but also other items that could be essential for journalists such as speeches, presentation, photos, executive biographies, etc. These things may not be found on the newsroom section so try to make a link on these things.

Another important thing that should never be forgotten is the site’s own keyword search. All of us know that importance of this: it saves time. And journalists are always on a hurry because of the deadlines they have to beat. Provide options for them to choose on, either by date, product category, or by keyword.

Featuring the sites spokespersons legitimates a very good site. Include biographies and photos of executives and senior management that are both authorized and capable of speaking to the media. If no one meets this standard, have the initiative to hone the possible people to become the company’s spokesperson. Below are ideas for cultivating a representative to effectively speak with the media:

· Try to cultivate the person’s charisma. Personality is the number one asset that journalists are looking for.

· To make journalists care on the company, the representative should say sensible things, particularly things that are newsworthy. A strong knowledge on the company’s finance, technology, etc will have the attention of journalists.

· The company’s representative should try to make bold opinions like predictions on the company’s industry.

· Standing up and voicing out issues and other relevant matters about the company will leave a notion that the spokesperson is of high authority.

· Become a leader by sharing to the media one’s knowledge about the industry.

· A representative should also know how to interpret news events. Try to have an image that the authorized spokesperson is worth talking to.

Lastly, media kits should be accessible on the website. Important items in a media kit are corporate backgrounder, industry backgrounder, corporate fact sheet, frequently asked questions (FAQ), executive bios, recent press releases, company brochure, product data sheets, annual report, and photos.

Other Things to Remember

Try to make a list of personal contact details to establish good relationship with the media. Contact details should include name, title, email ad, and phone number.

Also, encouraging journalists to register may take good effect for journalists need to follow up issues that remain a constant public interest.

Before going live, the website should be approved first by senior managers, who will look for the site’s objectives and contents. Moreover, ensure to measure the site’s visitations. The more knowledge on how it is being used, the more ways there are to capitalize on what materials to post