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How long has it been since you updated your online newsroom? Or do you even have one?

As business owners, it’s easy to overlook the critical role that our newsroom plays as we’re busily dealing with social media, press, and more on a day-to-day basis. An online press room is going to be one of the first stops for media or bloggers who are looking for information for a post or story, trying to find a corporate contact, or checking facts.

Having a fully featured online press room isn’t just the domain of big companies. It is a great asset to build for any company looking for press coverage. The goal of your online press room should be to make it easy for media, bloggers, and other key stakeholders and to provide the most up-to-date information. But what should go in your online press room outside of your latest press releases?

Here are 5 must-haves for your online press room:

#1. Background Information

The goal of most PR outreach is to help establish the company and its executives as thought leaders, so you want to include as many resources as possible to back that up. In your online press room, this means you want to include corporate information, backgrounders on issues/trends, fact sheets, biographies on key executives, upcoming events, and more.

Additionally, a key part of providing background is ensuring that there’s a full view of what your organization is doing; this is why you want to include:

• Links or social media feeds
• Link or feed to your blog
• A collection of your latest press coverage
• Customer case studies

Try to tell your story, at least briefly. Stories on why and how people start businesses always travel from blog to blog, so you get that exposure.

#2. Image Gallery

There’s nothing worse than a reporter on a deadline looking for an image and they can’t get what they need. If you want to keep a consistent look and feel for your images, you want to provide access to images that can be used by media and bloggers.

Curate a collection of the best possible images that represent your brand, including:

• Photos of key executives
• Photos of products
• Company logos
• Graphics, infographics, and charts

With the image gallery, you want to ensure they can be easily downloaded and provide details on how they can be used.

#3. Product or Service Information

Typically, information on products or services is already included on our site, but this information is written with your end user in mind.

For your press room, consider including information on each product/service so it can be easily found and used. This could be information such as:

• Product specs, features, and benefits
• Associated white papers or industry backgrounders
• Images or videos related to the product or service
• Customer use cases or case studies
• Press releases

Keep in mind the type of media that may be using this information. For print, they will need higher-resolution files, and they will want different types of information.

If you’re selling something technical, they may desire screenshots, while if you have a consumer product, they’d want a product shot that can be placed on various backgrounds.

If you have video content, make sure to provide some here. There are many options when it comes to video, most of which will depend on your type of organization. A few options include:

• Video case studies
• Product demonstrations or webinars
• Presentations or executive speaking engagements

If you have done solid interviews elsewhere around the web, share these videos here. Not only will it let potential reporters learn more about the story behind your business, but it will also show them that you have been featured before. For example, Hari Ravichandran talks a lot about his business and the problems his products are solving, and there’s always a story behind those talks. Things like this make a great addition to a press room.

#4. Rewards, Milestones, Trust Signals

Think of this page as your business card: By looking at it, people need to feel tempted to trust you and know more about your company. Visualizations and badges can make that necessary positive impression, urging more people to feel your story is trustworthy and authentic.

If your company has won any awards, got featured in great publications, or worked with great people, here’s a place to mention that.

#5. PR Contacts

Last but not least, you must include PR contact information. This should be prominently featured on your press page so it can be found in a matter of seconds. For a smaller company, this may be a single point of contact, while with a larger one, you’ll want to include in-house contacts or PR agency contacts by region or division.

Don’t just include email addresses. You’ll want to include local phone numbers so they can get the information they need quickly. Rapid response is a must, so don’t just have everything go to a single inbox and check it every three or four days. Using CRM software will help you organize your press contacts and build stronger relationships with them.

Take some time in the next few weeks and audit what you may need to update or add to your online press room. Having a robust online press room may be the difference between PR success and failure as if you’re the one who makes it easy, you’re more likely to garner media coverage.

Image by Michael Zimmermann from Pixabay

Image: Depositphotos

This article, “5 Components of Your Brand’s Newsroom” was first published on Small Business Trends