Make a Mighty Media Section for Your Website To Bolster Attention For Your Brand

One of the most ignored sections of a website is the media section. Many times it is often an afterthought when mapping out a site’s architecture.  However, the media section can be one of the most valuable tools in your media activities. So, what should be included in a media section on your website? Here’s a list of different things that should be included to ensure that the media section of your website is working to gain your brand the attention it deserves.

Backgrounder

One thing that should be included is the company history or an overview. The press and public relations professionals call it a backgrounder.  It gives an editor or a producer a quick education on your company: how it started, where it came from, and how it has evolved.

Annual Report

If our organization issues an annual report and has it available as a download such as a PDF (portable document format) file, including it in the media relations section is a good idea.  This is especially important for public companies. This gives even more background information to the press, and provides additional information on financial standings.

Press Releases

Include current and previous press releases. Display them in a couple of different ways.  Show the current press releases at the top, most visible place. Also have an archive. Most companies archive it by year and have links to different previous years: 2009, 2008, 2007, etc.

Links to Stories

If you have them, include links to placements. For example, if you have a television channel that has posted a video include a link to that.  If there’s an online newspaper or magazine that has done an article on your company, provide a link to that. These are always good because the press likes to know that your company has buzz around it. If they see other members of the press are talking about you, then they may think that perhaps they should do too. If you don’t have links, no worries.  You can include these in due time.

Bios

There should be links to bios for your spokespeople, executives, board of directors, and directors of sales and marketing.  At minimum, the President or Chairperson’s bio should be included in the media relations section of the website.

Photos

Have photos of the company’s executive teams, board of directors, spokespeople for different product lines, or sales and marketing directors— anyone interacts with the media. Product photos should be included along with photos of product installations or demonstrations.  For example, if you sell software, show someone working with it at a computer screen. Action shots are what the press likes the best. Make sure all your photos are high-resolution (at least 300 dpi or dots per inch), downloadable, and at a size of around five inches by seven inches.

Logo

Be sure to include your company logo in a high-resolution downloadable format, in case an editor decides he or she wants include it in an article in some way.

Video

With today’s interactive and multimedia environment, it’s also great to include videos. If you have videos of your key spokespeople, events, or product demonstrations, these are great. Many companies are not necessarily hosting these on their own websites. They are uploading them onto a video site such as YouTube and having links or apps on their websites for them.

Media Relations Contact

Always make sure that contact information for your media relations person is included on the website. It’s very frustrating for someone in an editorial or production role to want to get a hold of someone so that they can feature a product or a service, but are unable to get a hold of the right person to make those arrangements.

Key to all of these suggestions is to make sure that the media section of your website is searchable. If possible, use a database management system versus straight static web coding. This makes it very easy for the trade press. Including these items in the media section of your website will bolster your media relations plans.