Rafer Weigel | Learn How to Set Up Your Media Room and Create a Press Room

Positive media attention is like the Holy Grail for most businesses and organizations—often spoken about but seldom experienced. It is impossible to deny the allure of free publicity to regional or even national audiences. But getting that exposure might be quite challenging. Because of this, you need to be prepared to reel in the media when they do read your press release or simply stop by your website. Your press room can help with that.

Rafer Weigel says that A press room is more than just a repository for news releases from your company. A good press room contains a comprehensive collection of resources to help journalists with whatever story they may be investigating. Additionally, even if it doesn't turn out to have the precise information the reporter is seeking, a well-stocked press room demonstrates your willingness to assist. This frequently determines whether a journalist picks up the phone and calls or moves on to another, more useful source.

What therefore constitutes a decent press room?

News releases. Make sure your press releases aren't merely advertisements for your business. Good press releases should assist journalists in coming up with story concepts and in learning what kinds of articles they can assist with. Consider using press releases to discuss trends, fresh data, lists of advice for your industry, current news articles, and lists of suggestions connected to your business.

Media contacts. According to Rafer Weigel, You should always have a person's direct phone number on hand who is accessible to assist reporters with their needs. You should ideally provide this person with a work phone, a cell phone, and an email address. Don't worry too much about getting a lot of non-urgent mobile phone calls; most reporters are considerate about when to use a cell number.

Photos. Consider hiring a photographer to capture expert-level images of your company's activities, then obtain permission to publish the images. In your press room, make the images high-resolution downloads available.

Executive biographies. Reporters who are deciding whether to interview your executives as experts for a story they are working on may find it helpful to learn more about the training and experience of your senior team.

Videos. Make a brief film of your activities and make it available to the media if your business has a visual component (for instance, if you manufacture things on an assembly line). A message noting that the high-resolution video is available upon request might be posted alongside the video that is streaming from a website like YouTube in your press room.

Fact sheets. Include as many statistics and data as you can about your organization. How many people work for you? the number of offices How much and what do you make? Also, provide information about the relevant industry.

Company history. Give a history in the form of a timeline or a narrative.

Press kit. Create a press kit that includes all the details about your business (bios, fact sheets, a brief history, pictures, media contacts, etc.) in one PDF file that can be downloaded. This is excellent for a reporter who has to evaluate while on the fly while in the field.

Do you need assistance creating the ideal press room? Get in touch with seasoned communicator and published author Rafer Weigel. She offers business writing, copywriting, and marketing communications to businesses and advertising agencies as a skilled full-time freelancer.