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Online Newsroom Blog

Latest opinions, perspectives, links and audio/video content from iPressroom's Online Newsroom experts.

Top 5 PR Steps to Boost Your Clients Online Media Strategy

Friday, March 12, 2010 | 3:30 PM by James Madden
Online Newsroom Strategy with Integrated Social Media
 
While the fundamental principals of PR remain the same, the methodology in achieving PR success for our clients has evolved dynamically with the increased use of new media. With that said it doesn't hurt to take a moment and analyze what we can do to help our clients excel in the critically important new media environment.

1. Talk to your clients - This might seem overstated, but sit down with your clients and assess their web strategy. Some important questions to ask include: Who visits their site? Is eCommerce important for their profit margin? Do they incorporate social media into their business? Do reporters and interested customers obtain info from the site? How often is content refreshed and updated? Their answers will help you determine what the direction of their new media strategy.

2. Establish Web Analytics for your clients- Each and every client on your roster should have an analytics program in place to give a regular report of web position and performance. Keywords relevant to your client, visitation demographics, etc. are important gauges of their internet presence...and your PR success.

3. Develop Fresh, New, Updated Content - Whether it is a client announcement highlighted in a news release, a blog posting from an exec, or a product video recently shown at a trade show, these materials are wonderful examples of fresh content to include on the client's site and on relevant industry sites. The power of your client's web presence is best utilized when news and marketing info is fresh and relevant. Placing stories and articles in print have an expiration date, while web content has a longer shelf life and greater accessibility to reporters and interested parties. So along with posting new materials on their site, find trade sites, news databases and blog posts important to your client and begin posting their highlights.

4. Create an Online Newsroom - A cost effective way to post updated news, pictures, videos, blogs and corporate information is through an online newsroom. Online newsrooms allow reporters to access information while the PR professional controls what is seen and heard on the site. Its a great tool for big product rollouts or even crisis strategy, especially when hundreds of reporters and analysts hound you for additional information. Toyota's recent recall was a testament to the power and effectiveness of the online newsroom, with thousands of reporters visiting their site for key information. With the online newsroom, all the information reporters need is all right there on one easy-to-use page. A good site to visit is iPressroom, www.ipressroom.com, and see the power of online newsrooms.

5. Online Education is Paramount - And finally, Sir Francis Bacon's quote, "Knowledge is power," couldn't be more true for new media. Whether you are a veteran of the web or a rookie to new media techniques, constantly educating yourself, your staff and your clients on the internet and the latest tactics for web success is fundamental to your ongoing success. Their are hundreds of online education resources to consider.
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Staying In Front of the Story in a New Media World

Monday, March 1, 2010 | 4:35 PM by iPressroom
As a veteran journalist and newswire executive, the global reach of the Internet and power of new media is mindboggling.   Where once access to media and the masses was limited, now both are within reach with a few keyboard strokes.   The reverse is also true.  News information about your company and you are easily accessible by the media via the net – good and bad.   All of which makes it even more important that companies and individuals be aggressive and proactive in seeking to manage what is being said or written about them in this “new media" world.   
 
It requires a strategy that starts with an easy-to-use, information-rich website that includes mediums ranging from news releases to blogs to podcasts, etc.  "One size does not fit all" in today’s communications environment, or more appropriately, one communication method doesn't cover all your bases in a sound media strategy.

It is imperative that companies and their communication directors have a detailed and well-thought out media strategy that encompasses all means of communication.    As everyone has seen, the term being “out front” of the news event is more true today than ever.
 
 
Tom Madden is chairman of iPressroom, www.ipressroom.com, a Los Angeles-based communications software company.  He is former CEO of PrimeZone (now known as Globenewswire), a company he co-founded and sold to NASDAQ.  He also is a former newspaper and wire service journalist.
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Ten Reasons Why You Need a Better Online Newsroom in 2010

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 | 2:01 PM by Chris Bechtel
Many of us start the new year with a new set of goals, and high hopes for the successes the new year will bring.  If you are in PR, Corporate Communications, or Marketing, you need to put upgrading your Online Newsroom high on the list of new goals.  Here's why:

Your online newsroom is your home and you want it to be in order when people come to visit. 
 
Toyota's Newsroom Home Page
 
The media relations paradigm has shifted.  Journalists source their information more and more frequently via the web and less and less frequently by direct contact from a publicist (by phone or email).  Virtually all media is working online and many are exclusively publishing online.  PR is measured less by clips and more by traffic and sales.  People control the conversation.  Social media and search drive far more eyeballs than traditional media on a daily basis. 

That means if you want people to come over, you need to be a hospitable host AND you need to be able to spread the word across your neighborhood and the neighborhoods of your friends and other neighborhoods where you think new friends might live and want to come visit you.  But why would they want to come visit you?
  1. Does your newsroom spread frequent, authentic, relevant and engaging content?  Or, do you have mostly just press releases?
  2. Does your newsroom consider all of the various audiences (journalists, consumers, investors, shareholders, members, etc.) that might visit your home?  Or, are you thinking mainstream media only?
  3. Does your newsroom offer those audiences content in all of the various forms/types of content expected today (e.g.; text, photos, video, audio, pdf, blogs, podcasts, news feeds, etc.)?  Or, do you mostly have press releases?
  4. Does your newsroom enable those people who do come visit to tell others, share, and discuss and even use some of the content within your newsroom to spread the word to others for you?  Or, can you just print?
  5. Does your newsroom allow search engines to find, use, and tell others effectively about who you are and all of what you are doing? Or, are you pretty low in the rankings for most of your main search terms? 
  6. Does your newsroom utilize modern web design principals and best practices and allow people to easily find their way around, not get lost, and save, search, and sort the content they need from the rich collection you are providing?  Or, do you have mostly just press releases?
  7. Does your newsroom prominently refer traffic back and into your main site and additional product, service, organization, and mission and allow people to take immediate action to get more deeper involved with you (e.g., write a story, buy a product, donate, invest, sign-up, comment, refer, etc.)?  Or, do you have mostly just press releases?
  8. 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 spam?
  9. Does your newsroom help you to easily distribute your messages across the channels your audiences frequent (e.g.; search, email, facebook, twitter, blogs, YouTube, etc.), so you can get your content there and invite people to come back to your home?  Or, do you have to go through IT to get anything published?
  10. Does your newsroom track who comes to visit, where they go, and what content they consume, share, comment on, write-about, or sign-up for?  Or, you've been asking IT and can't get an answer?
If you're in PR, you've likely worked with an online newsroom, media center or pressroom of some kind or another in the last 12 months.  How did that go for you?  Was it easy to use?  Part II of "Why You Need a Better Online Newsroom in 2010" discusses this issue next.
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The City of Calgary launches new newsroom

Monday, January 11, 2010 | 3:26 PM by Chris Bechtel
newsroom 011110The City of Calgary is launching a multi-media newsroom today which will provide a user friendly environment to view news with links to applicable City content.

“We believe that this newsroom will make The City of Calgary a leader among municipalities in North America - there are very few municipal governments who have a newsroom of this quality,” said Jacob George, The City’s manager of Corporate Marketing and Communications.

Click here to read more
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Guantanamo PR Chief on Gov 2.0, Social Media Engagement and Mainstream Media Relations

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 | 12:00 PM by Eric Schwartzman
Lieutenant Commander Brook DeWalt, U.S. Navy
Handling public affairs at the detainment facility operated by the Joint Task Force at GTMO “Gitmo,” the efforts of the Office of the US Secretary of Defense in establishing an umbrella social media policy and whether the US Dept. of Defense will publish data sets at www.data.gov, featuring Guantanamo Public Affairs Chief, US Navy Lieutenant Commander Brook DeWalt, APR and 2009 PRSA International Conference Honorary Co-Chair.
 
01:12 – Brook talks about his role as the liaison between US Armed Forces public affairs and the Public Relations Society of America, as the honorary 2009 PRSA International Conference Co-Chair.
 
03:18 – The controversy surrounding the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, preparations to close the facility by Presidential Executive Order on Jan. 22, 2010 and the mission of the joint task.
 
07:51 – Accommodating media at Guantanamo, who visit almost weekly to observe the conditions the facility and the treatment of the detainees.
 
10:27 – Managing public affairs maintaining transparency, providing access to information about the facility, the detainees and the personnel who serve there.
 
13:19 – Lt. Commander DeWalt responds to former Asst. Secretary of Defense Robert Hastings’s claim that Brook DeWalt was the brainchild behind the Department of Defense’s entrée into social media communications in his former role as Director of New Media for the US Department of Defense, and the Lieutenant Commander’s response that he was part of team with retired US Navy Captain Roxie Merritt, who is currently the director of community relations for the Office of the Secretary of Defense and Jack Holt (@jack-holt) and others.
 
15:30 – The Department of Defense Bloggers Roundtable program, which DeWalt’s team launched, and other activities including working with the Pentagon Channel and www.defense.gov.
 
17:13 – A discussion of the umbrella social media policy, as discussed recently in the news media,  that is being developed by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Offices within Joint Staff and an acknowledgement that technology is always in advance of policy.
 
19:29 – Whether the lack of social media policy a benefit or a detriment to implement social media communications within the U.S. Department of Defense, and importance of having policy moving forward.
 
21:31 – How public affairs within the US Armed Forces has changed in the age of the digital native.
 
22:20 – The unique demands of serving in a public affairs capacity with digital immigrants as opposed to digital natives.
 
23:40 – Applying the standards of responsible communications, which in the US Armed Forces means “staying in your lane,” to the business of social media communications.
 
26:10 – The absence of data provided by the US Dept. of Defense to www.data.gov, particularly given Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen’s speech at the 91st Annual American Legion Convention, in which he said that since the US presence in Afghanistan, 8 million children are in school, 2.4 million of which are girls, up from 800,000 prior to the US incursion.  Couple this with the fact that the Citizen’s Briefing Book presented to President Obama said that in the area of Homeland Security, 38,250 people say that they do not support “wars on abstract concepts,” making it the number one issue in this area as far as the public is concerned.  Whether or not the US Dept. of Defense will start providing more data about the impact of their efforts, and which government agencies should be responsible for making that data available. (NOTE: As of Dec. 10, 2009 DoD is currently offering six raw data sets at www.data.gov.)
 
29:54 -- End
 
RECOMMENDED PODCASTS
 
Eric Schwartzman (@ericschwartzman) is an independent new media and social media communications consultant, the creator of the top-rated New Media and Social Media Boot Camp, which has been attended by more than a thousand public relations and marketing executives from the private, public, government and nonprofit sectors. In addition to advising clients on best practices for online newsroom design, deployment and management, Schwartzman offers a portfolio of social media training courses to accelerate the acquisition of social media communication skills, as well as social media strategy and campaign support.  Schwartzman is also the founder of online newsroom software as a service provider iPressroom.
 
On the Record…Online is the Official PR Podcast of the 2009 PRSA International Conference.  Subscribe via RSS or follow us on Twitter @ontherecord and get them as soon as they’re released.
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Rising to the Top of PRSA with Chair-Elect Gary D. McCormick, APR

Monday, December 21, 2009 | 11:58 AM by Eric Schwartzman
PRSA Chair-Elect Gary D. McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA and Director, Partnership Development at HGTV, Scripps Networks [CC] www.ericschwartzman.comHow to become a  PRSA board member, inside PRSA’s prestigious College of Fellows and judging the PRSA Silver Anvil Awards with PRSA Chair-Elect Gary D. McCormick, APR, Fellow PRSA and Director, Partnership Development at HGTV, Scripps Networks at the 2009 PRSA International Conference.
 
02:14 – What it takes to be inducted into the prestigious PRSA College of Fellows.
 
03:52 – What goes into vetting and recognizing PRSA a new Fellow.
 
05:04 – What does it take to rise to the top of a member-based organization like PRSA?
 
06:28 – What is the value of being active in PRSA?  What do you get from being a member?
 
08:26 – What’s the benefit of judging the PRSA Bronze Anvil and PRSA Silver Anvil Awards?
 
10:03 – What does it takes to earn a seat on the board of directors and be elected the chair?
 
13:05 – How does PRSA control the quality of the professional development programs at the chapter level against those at the national level?
 
16:09 – What is PRSA’s biggest challenge moving forward?
 
17:40 – End
 
 
RECOMMENDED PODCASTS:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Eric Schwartzman (@ericschwartzman) is an independent new media and social media communications consultant, the creator of the top-rated New Media and Social Media Boot Camp, which has been attended by more than a thousand public relations and marketing executives from the private, public, government and nonprofit sectors. In addition to advising clients on best practices for online newsroom design, deployment and management, Schwartzman offers a portfolio of social media training courses to accelerate the acquisition of social media communication skills, as well as social media strategy and campaign support.  Schwartzman is also the founder of online newsroom software as a service provider iPressroom.
 
On the Record…Online is the Official PR Podcast of the 2009 PRSA International Conference.  Subscribe via RSS or follow us on Twitter @ontherecord and get them as soon as they’re released.
 
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On the Record…Online with Deirdre Breakenridge

Friday, December 18, 2009 | 11:55 AM by Eric Schwartzman
Deirdre Breakenridge goes On the Record…Online at the 2009 PRSA International Conference in San Diego [CC] www.ericschwartzman.comManaging social media engagement, the impact of social media on our intellectual development and what’s next with author and social media professional Deirdre Breakenridge (@dbreakenridge), president of PSFMarketwyse, recorded at the 2009 PRSA International Conference in San Diego.
 
01:17 – Deirdre discusses the controversy surrounding her most recent book “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations,” which she and her co-author Brian Solis discussed with Neville Hobson and Shel Holtz on For Immediate Release.
 
02:34 – Deirdre discusses her other books, her personal brand, listening and becoming a social media resource.
 
04:48 – The cost of being a social media influencer, and balancing the time one spends using social networks against parenting.
 
05:49 – Being a committed mother and making a conscious effort to spend time off of email, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr as a way of rejuvenating.
 
07:44 – The impact of social media engagement on our intellectual development, and the potential drawbacks of living in a constant state of partial attention.
 
08:59 – How ready is public relations to inherit the social media communications mantle, engage with bloggers and start leveraging emerging online channels Google Wave?
10:18 – Does it make sense for public relations to lead in social media engagement at most organizations, or should social media be the domain of another department?
 
12:08 – Should PR oversee social media governance inside the organization, and is social media a horizontal business function?
 
13:32 – Deirdre talks about a panel of social media specialists she assembled for the 2009 PRSA International Conference which includes Joe Jaffe, Ariel Hyatt, Kami Huyse and Brian Solis.
 
14:30 – Now that so many organizations have Twitter accounts, Facebook fan pages, YouTube channels and Flickr feeds, what’s next?  Looking ahead at conversation monitoring versus conversation mining, real-time collaboration and the shift of power from brands to communities.
 
16:25 – How will younger generations regard social media and online communities technology?  Will they grow up with an inherent understanding of how to effectively apply these channels?
 
 
17:51 – What kind of information should public relations practitioners be looking to pull out of the mountains of online data being created that is relevant to their business category?
 
18:43 – End
 
RECOMMENDED PODCASTS:
 
 
About the Podcaster:  Eric Schwartzman (@ericschwartzman) is an independent new media and social media communications consultant, the creator of the top-rated New Media and Social Media Boot Camp, which has been attended by more than a thousand public relations and marketing executives from the private, public, government and nonprofit sectors. In addition to advising clients on best practices for online newsroom design, deployment and management, Schwartzman offers a portfolio of social media training courses to accelerate the acquisition of social media communication skills, as well as social media strategy and campaign support.  Schwartzman also founded online newsroom software as a service provider iPressroom.
 
On the Record…Online is the Official PR Podcast of the 2009 PRSA International Conference. 
 
Subscribe via RSS or follow us on Twitter @ontherecord and get them as soon as they’re released.
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Our New Social Video Features for Corporate Websites

Monday, July 27, 2009 | 3:44 PM by Chris Bechtel

A lot of thought went into our new set of features enabling organizations to effectively and efficiently add Social Video Communications to their organization’s website. As always with iPressroom, we had to offer industry-leading tools that anyone could use without making any significant changes to their web hosting infrastructure.

Currently a lot of organizations are content with using third-party video for their website. I think YouTube drives a Faustian bargain. You get free social video on your site and they get to siphon off your traffic. We all know intuitively that it’s easier to watch than it is to read - which is one of the reasons why online video is becoming the premium online engagement channel. What we wanted to do at iPressroom is make it easy for non-technical people to use online video on their websites without any of the downsides.

The new social video service (available in select packages within the Online Newsroom, Podcasting or Microsite product offerings from iPressroom) combines plug and play online video hosting, a brandable flash video player, embed codes to allow visitors to embed your video on their web pages, commenting with or without moderation to encourage conversations about on your video, HD and widescreen video formats, automated distribution via YouTube, Revver, MetaCafe , and Yahoo Video, among others.

Here’s the list of features we were able to offer:

  • Capable of delivering HD video to any computer
  • Full-screen capable
  • Not water-marked, enterprise level solution, player can even be modified to match client branding
  • Built in embed and link codes and Email-to-a-friend for sharing
  • Integrated social sharing (post videos to Digg, Reddit, etc)

We’d love to hear your feedback on these new features and what you think the future holds for online corporate video sharing. To learn more about the social video communications service or any of the product packages that this service is a part of, or, to learn about adding just the video platform to your website or a client's website, contact us for a demo or consultation.

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Online Newsroom Best Practices with Toyota Social Media Supervisor Scott Deyager

Monday, June 22, 2009 | 11:15 PM by iPressroom Editorial Staff
Online newsroom best practices, online newsroom design and social media communications with Toyota Social Media Supervisor Scott Deyager, who discusses online newsroom strategy, online newsroom software, online newsrooms and social media, online newsroom PR and the future of social media communications.
 
Show Notes:
1:45 – Online newsroom services from iPressroom can be used to help public relations practitioners generate more news coverage for their clients. Insure online newsroom best practices by using iPressroom to distribute press releases, biographies, fact sheets, publicity stills, video, audio, and more, and how to measure downloads and generate activity reports. Plus, how to get free access to iPressroom’s online newsroom SEO wizard. For more information tweet @chrisbechtel or contact cbechtel at ipressroom dot com.
 
2:48 – Toyota Social Media Supervisor Scott Deyager shares his experience as a member of the Toyota family and his transition from traditional media relations to the social media communications team.
 
4:18 – Online newsroom access to the 2010 Prius reveal at the Detroit Auto show which was simulcast live without password protection in Toyota’s online newsroom, and how live video streams are becoming an online newsroom best practice.
 
5:47 – The importance of maintaining open access as an online newsroom best practice, why Toyota chose not to use password protection for its online newsrooms, and why the loss of password protection has become an online newsroom best practice.
 
7:55 – How Toyota decides what press releases, press kits and other press materials goes in their online newsroom and what press kits and related content go on their social media sites and how Toyota uses different channels for different purposes.
 
9:17 – Toyota Social Media Supervisor Scott Deyager on people and process, on how Toyota decides who does what, and how the decisions to post content that insure online newsroom best practices are made.
 
10:53 – How Toyota evaluates online newsroom best practices and the success of its social media outreach efforts.
 
11:47 – Toyota’s rationale for outsourcing its online newsroom to an online newsroom software provider instead of building a custom content management application or skinning an open source platform and having to instill online newsroom best practices autonomously. He talks about why Toyota selected the iPressroom online newsroom software.
 
12:57 –Toyota’s experience transitioning to the iPressroom online newsroom service
 
13:41 – Twitter integration in online newsrooms, Toyota’s communications objectives for Twitter, managing corporate and personal brands responsibly as communicators, and online newsroom best practices for Twitter integration.
 
16:28 – Putting the Toyota brand first, the use of signatures in tweets, and Toyota’s Twitter strategy of maintaining branded communications without sacrificing personal transparency.
Snap3
 
18:00 – Toyota’s decision to establish branded Flickr and YouTube accounts instead of personal, employee accounts, and still maintain the peer-to-peer influencer advantage, and integrating these account into online newsroom best practices.
 
20:17 – The rules of engagement for social media interaction at Toyota.
 
21:10 – Eric Schwartzman brings up his past experience with podcasting and how thinks having last word as an interviewer is inappropriate. He asks whether or not Toyota is comfortable letting its critics have the last word in their online pressroom or social media sites.
 
22:20 – What’s next for Toyota in terms of social media communications. He talks about how the company is now “waking up” to social media technology.
 
23:01 – Scott Deyager advises job-seekers who would like to secure a position in social media communications at a major organization like Toyota.
 
24:31 – The future of Toyota hybrids. He talks about the 2010 Toyota Prius and when it will be available. He gives insight on why now is a good time to buy a car. He mentions that more information can be found on Toyota’s online newsroom, youtube.com/toyotausa, Toyota Flickr and Toyota on Twitter.
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Are you Digital Ready?

Thursday, May 7, 2009 | 9:38 AM by Eric Schwartzman
After teaching hundreds of PR and communications professionals all over the world social media communication skills, I know there is huge demand for digital fluency in the workplace. But which skills are the most important to employers and how are those skills demonstrated to hiring mangers during the interviewing process?
 
To find out, iPressroom, Trend Stream, Korn Ferry and PRSA Job Center are teaming up to conduct the first Digital Readiness Study.
 
If you’ve hired public relations or marketing personnel in the last 12 months, or plan to in the next 12 months, help us help you by completing this survey.
 
We intend to reward participants by making sure they’re among the first to receive the resulting research at no charge.
 
Thanks in advance for participating in this important industry research. What digital communications skills do you think are most important in the workplace?
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