Why is a Web site an essential part of my public relations outreach?
The Internet has changed everything. Professional business
communicators cannot afford to ignore the Internet. Consumers,
investors and clients can now find information themselves without
waiting for the traditional media or a PR person to tell them about
it. They turn to the Net for information. Their first port of call
will be your website. A growing company with a small or non-existent
PR or media relations budget needs to pay even more attention to their
online presence.
Each and every day small businesses weigh decisions that cost hundreds
to thousands of dollars so each individual marketing or PR decision
has to have a significant Return on Investment (ROI), impact on sales
and impact on the bottom line. Often, without a full time PR
specialist, the decision maker finds himself or herself wearing many
hats. The value of a press hit, even one, single coverage is
immeasurable. It could make the company. So how does the company get
that coverage?
One, well written, well-targeted news release can capture the eye of a
journalist who happens to be writing about that particular industry.
That business may only put out 2 or 3 releases a year, hoping to pique
the interest of a business or feature writer somewhere.
When you're able to get the interest of a journalist their first step
is most likely your website. The 9th Annual Middleburg/Ross Survey of
Media Professionals found that over 70% of working journalists list
the company website as the first stop when researching a breaking
story or a feature. If they go to your website and find very little
compelling or current content, that opportunity has passed you by.
In this Internet era, the most important and cost-effective PR tool
that a small to medium-sized company of any kind can have is its
website. "It is clear that today's website is yesterday's storefront.
If you don't have one that is compelling and up to date, the traffic
will walk right on down the street. Most companies today are
recognizing that. What they're missing is that the website is also
their PR department. The content needs to be completely accurate,
reliable and up-to-date for journalists and potential customers. Why
would even the smallest company allow an IT professional or Webmaster
to control their website content today? It just doesn't make sense."
Jason Keller, MediaRoom Specialist, PR Newswire, speaking at Bulldog
Reporter's Media Relations 2005 in San Francisco.
Small businesses now have the ability to manage web content for their
clients using a variety of easy-to-use content management software
tools. Without having to learn any programming or technical skills, a
business communicator can bypass the IT bottleneck, control and manage
their PR content, give journalists what they are looking for online
and get better results, faster. PR Newswire's MediaRoom Communicator
is a complete content management system allowing for real-time content
control of the entire website.
The PR Newswire Communicator MediaRoom is an affordable cost effective
solution for small businesses ensuring that they have the ability to
capitalize on any and all opportunities. Regardless of the strategic
and budgetary battle that the decision maker might face within his or
her organization, he or she is sure of one thing, if a journalist
happens upon their website for whatever reason, they will be presented
with a professional, industry-leading website designed specifically
for that purpose.
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