Posts Tagged ‘media kit’

Do You Need A Media Kit?

Wednesday, August 17th, 2011

Do you have an online media kit? Do you need one?

I think, if you are an expert in your niche and you have a website, then you should have a section of your website that is set aside just for the media. Call it a media kit, or call it what you want. But you should have it. I have one and I call it a media kit.

Your media kit can be as basic as providing a bio and publishing your press releases to something more dynamic that involves video and multimedia presentations. No matter how you do it, you should present information that media professionals, journalists and reporters, and potential publication editors would be interested in as background information on you.

Amy Lynn Andrews does a good job of telling you how to put together a media kit for your small business. And I agree with her that you should keep it simple.

I think another important aspect to a media kit is highlighting your successes. If you look at my media kit, you’ll see that I do quite a bit of that. It’s not bragging. OK, maybe it is, but it’s bragging with a purpose. Successful media campaigns tell the world that you are an expert in your niche more than any other tool. If other media professionals think you’re an expert, then shouldn’t the one that you are pitching to right now?

It takes a little time to put together a good media kit, but it’s well worth the effort.

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Posted in PR for Small Business | 3 Comments »

Inexpensive PR For Small Businesses

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Small business PR doesn’t have to be expensive. Many small business entrepreneurs never take advantage of the opportunities they have to expand their network and marketing opportunities through public relations either because they are under the false impression that their small budget cuts them out of the same benefits that the big companies get or they just don’t have the time to think about it. Let’s put in a nip in the bud of both of these false impressions right now.

First, good PR does not have to be expensive. You are not IBM or Burger King. Focus on the things that you do best and let a PR professional show you some easy, inexpensive ways you can get good PR.

For starters, you can include a media section on your own website (you do have a website, don’t you?). We call it a media kit.

An online media kit is an easy way to invite members of the press to find out more about you. You can include your bio and any positive news stories about your company in your online media kit. If you local media find it easy to contact you then you’ll get more calls from them, more interviews, and more free press exposure.

As far as time goes, if you just take 15 minutes a day to think of ways that you can increase your public relations exposure and devote 1 hour per week for implementation then you can have a solid PR strategy going within just a couple of months. Don’t let lack of time and a small budget hold you back from taking advantage of the benefits that other, bigger companies are getting. You deserve them too.

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Posted in PR for Small Business | No Comments »

What Should You Have In Your Online Media Kit?

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

Good public relations begins with a media kit. And if you plan to do business online you should seriously think about developing an online media kit. But what should go into it?

Your online media kit should make it easy for members of the media to learn more about you and your team. What you do, why you do it, who your target market is, and anything related to community that you do as well. Your media kit is the resource that journalists and other media will refer to when they are looking for someone to interview or gain research and knowledge about a particular topic.

So does a good media kit consist of?

First, it should include your biography. Not a book, but a few paragraphs that say where you’ve been and what your credentials are. Ask the question, “Why am I the expert” and then give the answer.

Next, include some information about what it is you are trying to accomplish. The Small Business Mavericks media kit includes a backgrounder, which is a sort of online white paper that offers statistics and insights into the market that I’m trying to tap into. This can read as an HTML web page or a .pdf download. Something similar for your business that explains what you do and why should also be included in your media kit.

If you have other media mentions such as interviews, quotes in news stories, features articles, op-ed pieces – anything at all – then include those. Media people like to know that you understand what they are looking for and will be sensitive to the news cycle.

Finally, press releases. If you have any press releases that you’ve distributed online or have sent out to media in your local area or nationally then include those. Sometimes, a press release is all a media person needs to answer a question and they won’t have to bother calling you. They can just quote the release.

Other things you can include in your media kit are:

  • Videos
  • Podcasts
  • Articles you’ve written
  • Social media profiles
  • Testimonials or endorsements
  • Photos

Anything that will help a media person do his or her job and find information quickly is a good idea to have in your media kit. Take a look at the Small Business Maverick media kit.

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Posted in PR for Small Business | 9 Comments »