Building a Digital Press Kit

The sole purpose of a digital press kit is to make it easy for a journalists to write about your product or service. Press kits are most beneficial when your company has a big announcement or anything new and exciting to share. In certain ways your website or blog may already be a place that you use to share this type of information. However, when it comes to getting press coverage, you need one resource that complies all the background information about your company and the news you are sharing. Journalists get numerous emails daily and, in most cases, they are not going to want to take the time to visit every page on your website to get the information they need to write a story. Having a digital press kit is one of the simplest ways to please any journalists when your company wants to share big news.

To build a successful digital press kit you will need to include the following:

1. Company Overview
Your company overview is a must for any digital press kit. If you have an About page on your website, you can take the information from this page and create a paraphrased introduction for your press kit. It is important to avoid using market-related jargon in your company overview because it may confuse journalists that don’t know your industry as well as you do. Your company overview should include the following:

• An introduction to your company
• When your company was founded
• Who is part of the leadership team
• Address of where your company is based (or addresses of your various office locations but be sure to identify where your headquarters is located)
• Any awards or recognitions that you may have won
• A company time-line is a bonus

2. Press Contact Information
This is one of the simplest things you will need to include in your press kit but it is often overlooked. Your press kit should always include the contact information for the person responsible for following up on media requests.

3. Product Information
It is important to keep your information basic when you are explaining your product or service. You need to assume that the reader has no idea what your company does or how you are different from your competition. If you have a features page on your website, you can utilize that information for this section of your press kit. Also if your product or service has set rates you should list those prices in this section.

4. Media (Screenshots, Logo, Videos)
Journalists want to see what you are describing. A press kit that is lacking media assets is a missed opportunity. Journalists normally need to include at least one image with their story so make it easy for them by including a few well-shot, hi-resolution images to choose from. According to HubSpot, press releases with images get 18% more engagement. If you want to take it a step further and include video, HubSpot states releases that include video get 55% more engagement. The media assets you provide will depend on your business but you want to make sure you keep them up-to-date.

5. Past Press Releases and Notable Media Mentions
When you include media coverage in your press kit it makes your company look more attractive to your audience. By including a few clips of past media coverage, you have the opportunity to showcase what others have said about your business. It is also a good idea to include any past press releases that document milestones or other big announcements for your company. By including this media coverage you are presenting a historical perspective of how your company has grown and what you have accomplished. Also, be sure to always link to the original source of the press mention.

The next step is to decide what format you would like to present your digital press kit in. Some companies prefer to dedicate a page of their website to their press kit because it is a quick way to point anyone to it at any time. If you choose this option, you should consider including links to PDF, ZIP, Dropbox and Google Drive versions of your press kit so journalists can view it in their preferred format. Another simple option is to make your press kit into a PDF file that you can attach to your emails. Make sure any files you provide that are available for downloading are all clearly labeled so journalists can easily identify what the files are. It is important to acknowledge that a journalists time is a precious resource and they are often working under tight deadlines. Remember, your overall objective for your press kit is to make it so complete and easy to use that a journalists would be able to run the article “as is.” In some cases, having a well-crafted press kit can also be the difference between a journalists writing a story and not. Take the time to create a digital press kit that will make a lasting impression on your reader, set you apart from your competition and you can ensure will work for years to come.