Your Gateway to Online Audiences

Ten Reasons You Need to Upgrade Your Online Newsroom

in 2011

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If you’re like most organizations, your online marketing communications and public relations goals include:

Increased web visibility and brand awareness Reputation management Traditional mainstream media coverage as well as online, blogger

and influencer relations Sales or stock price increases Member or donations growth Community involvement/support Event participation Word of mouth/referrals

Online Marketing and Public Relations Goals

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In an age when the next communications crisis could strike at any time without warning, while traditional media channels shrink and new online channels emerge continually, upgrading your organization's website and Online Newsroom should be high on the list of goals.

Here's why:

Your website is your home - make it a place people will be able to find, hear about, discuss, and share (your news and content)… and come back to visit, again and again, as a trusted, engaging resource.

Your Website Is More Important Than Ever

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Survey: Social Media Integration #1 Priority 2011

• According to Altimeter Group Survey, “Social integration with your website allows readers to stay on your site longer. This also encourages social sharing and community in a location (your website) that you have more control over (versus external social channels like Facebook and Twitter).”

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The media relations paradigm has shifted. Journalists source their information more and more frequently via the web and less by direct contact from a media relations representative.

Reason #1: The Shift

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Reason #1: The Shift (cont.)

Virtually all media is working online and many outlets are exclusively publishing online. PR is measured less by clips and more by web traffic and sales. Social media and search engines drive far more eyeballs than traditional media on a daily basis. The audience now controls the direction of the story.

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Reason # 2: Content is King

Does your newsroom spread frequent, authentic, relevant and engaging content? Or, does it only serve up press releases without much else?

We've come to find that content is most effective when it's updated frequently, can be seen as relevant and authentic, and engages the audience while maintaining the highest possible level of professionalism.

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Reason #3: Address all visitors to your site

Does your newsroom consider all of the various audiences (journalists, consumers, investors, shareholders, etc.) that might visit your home? Or, are you thinking mainstream media only?

Today, it is a search-driven world and Google delivers content to everyone. Ensure your newsroom content is diverse and relevant to all of your site's potential visitors.

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Reason# 4: The Multimedia Matrix

Does your newsroom offer content in all of the various forms expected today (e.g.; text, photos, video, audio, pdf, blogs, podcasts, news feeds, etc.)? Or, do you mostly have press releases?

It is important to understand how your audience consumes online information and how to create and publish the various content types.

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Reason # 5: Social Media and Hashtags

Does your newsroom enable visitors to tell others, share, discuss and even use some of your newsroom content to spread the word to others for you? Or, can site visitors just print information?

Social media is now an integral component of driving traffic to your site, distributing information about your company, improving customer support and client relations, and increasing your search engine position. Ensure your newsroom content integrates with your social media channels.

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Reason # 6: SEO and SERPs

Does your newsroom allow search engines to easily find your site, then tell others effectively about who you are and what you are doing? Or, are you pretty low in the rankings for most of your main search terms?

Filling your press release with keywords will not improve search results. Improved search rankings come from a well-researched relevant keyword strategy applied to your entire site.

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Reason #7: Clean and simple template designs

Does your newsroom utilize modern web design principles and best practices that allow people to easily navigate your newsroom and search for information? Or, does your newsroom only feature press releases and make it difficult for visitors to find what they need?

Use landscape effectively, display content consistently, and be careful of visual clutter.

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Reason #8: Drill Deeper for conversions

Does your newsroom prominently refer traffic back to your main site and encourage people to take immediate action to connect with your PR team and your company? Or, does it only display content without a face or user interaction?

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Reason #8: Privacy and Security

Does your newsroom protect your contact information from unwanted guests (i.e. spam bots) and also make you easily accessible via multiple platforms and channels (e.g.: landline, email, mobile, social media)? Or, is your email address consistently getting hit with unwanted

To combat against spam bots, consider adding a CAPTCHA code that asks for simple letter and number codes prior to revealing media contact information.

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Reason # 9: Increase distribution channels

Does your newsroom help you to easily distribute your message across the channels your audiences frequent (e.g.; search engines, email, facebook, twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc.), so your content reaches these outlets and invites people to come back to your site? Or, do you have to go through IT to get anything published?

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Reason #10: Web Analytics

Does your newsroom track who visits, where they go within yoursite, and what content they consume, share, comment on, write-about, or sign-up for? Or, have you've been asking IT and can't get an answer?

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Deliver on Your Goals

To re-cap: Your website is your home – and if you make it a place people will be able to find, hear about, discuss, and share… they will come back to visit, again and again, and you’ll be seen as a trusted, engaging resource, enabling you to;

Turn site visits into relationships and convert those relationships into desired outcomes:

News coverage Increased online engagement Greater brand awareness Higher measures of favorable response Revenue growth and sales

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Learn More

To learn more about how to add the above best practices to your organization's online newsroom, contact iPressroom to request a demo and we'll show you in under an hour how you can easily upgrade your online communications capabilities.

www.ipressroom.com

1-800-514-1897 Ext. 500