Run this audit on your website to see if your company is ready for journalists.

In this episode, I share tips to ensure that your company is prepared for media enquiries. Many websites are focused on sales and ignore the 5 key elements which will enhance your chances to get media coverage. I list them and then include how to review your social media channels too.  It's a short episode but one packed with useful and free guidance to make your business ready for journalists.

Prowly - the media relations platform
Prowly has everything you need to get your PR work done.

Vidyard - Use Video In Your Emails
Vidyard is the easiest way to record and send videos that build personal connections.

Graphic design toolbox - Visme
Visme is an online form builder specifically built to optimize for better conversions.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

0:00

Hello, and welcome to this episode of the unnoticed show. My name is Jim James. I'm here just to share some thoughts and some tools and tips. For you to get your business noticed. So I want to just talk with you today, about how easy it is for a journalist to even reach out and find you and contact you. That seems like an obvious thing to say, but. If you just have a quick look at your website and do an audit. Do you have a few of the following items on your website or not? Because if you don't. Does it matter how much the media want to find you? They're going to find it difficult to get hold of you. So I've done this this week for a client. An audit really of how approachable. They are to the media. And this is what I want to share with you. So you can do this on your own website and on your own social media as well. So, first of all, On your website. The first question is, do you have a media center? Do you have a place where the media can contact you? Now you may or may not have press releases and you may have just a contact form on your website at the minute, which is a simple contact us, but the journalist is probably not going to want to just fill out a form. They're too busy and it's going to go into your sales pipeline probably. So first thing to think about is, do you have a dedicated press contact on your website? It doesn't matter how big or small you are. As we're seeing these days through, for example, the helper reporter out or the journo requests website. Companies big and smaller being asked to contribute to articles. And it's very, very easy for you to get that kind of coverage. If you're looking for it, but if people come looking for you, how will they find you? So if you have a website and you don't have a press contact, I really suggest that you put that on there. You can have an alias late PR at and your company name and have that go to you or whoever else, or maybe two people. That are managing that. So, first of all, do you have a press contact on your website? Secondly, do you have a press room on Europe website now? Some companies will embed some of the larger platforms like Cision, which can have a pro a hosted. Press center. You may or may not want to go through the expense of that. But even if you just got a WordPress site, You could at least put your press releases. Up online. It doesn't take much to do, to have one page. Which is all dedicated to your press releases and to your news. And these are different and separate to your blog. The blog can be an industry piece, an article that your press releases. Should be on your website and it could be as simple as the appointment of a new person. It can be about a new customer when. It can be about a new factory or a new product. These are pieces of news that you have that you'd like to share, but which really are company specific. This is a blog for example, which is probably going to be a thought leadership piece. So if you don't have a press room, Doesn't have to be too fancy. But to have press releases on your website, ideally. One a month. Doesn't have to be very long. Can even just be 500 to 800 words. So half a page to a full page in length. And that will then also help you with your SEO. Also on your website can be a media. Images. Database. So. Upload the logo. The photographs, for example, of the key spokespeople. Uh, fact sheet. And also then links that you might have to any of your social media. So every website that wants to have correspondence with the media should have those very simple. Uh, media contacts. An archive of press releases. And a directory that people can download. So you can have them as vector files and you can have them as JPEGs. Had them in color and black and white. So all the assets. That you would like the journalist to be able to use so they can drag and drop. For a story. The other thing you want to put in there for example, is going to be your company fact sheet, which has got the history of the company. The names of the founders, for example. So that's the beginning there that we want to get that on your website now. The next thing to do is to look at how easy it is for people to find you. Now, there are news websites like PR Newswire, for example. If you send out a press release using PR Newswire. Then it will be listed. On some of these websites. And some of these websites like PR Newswire go directly to the big feeds, like for Reuters, for example, or they also get hosted on some websites like zoom info.com and zoom info is a website that collates information. And collate competitor information. So grieve very useful for journalists. And also analysts, for example, that might be looking to file a story. And they want to find a company. And I'll find all the other companies that are related to that particular industry or topic. And the zoom info.com. We'll be one of the sources that they'll go to, to aggregate. Which companies they might want to talk to. And you can get on those by having an account and filling them in with your updated details. But also the services like PR Newswire. Uh, directly picked up by zoom info. And so the press release it's on your website. Would then get picked up by zoom info. Yeah. The next thing you want to think about is. The keywords on your website. Are they being picked up by your industry websites. So if you have some SEO work done in your website, you'll have some key words, some key terms. Those should then be words that are in all of your press releases. And those should then be sent to all of those different trade press websites. Now you can use a PR Newswire. You can also use some of the smaller IE releases. For example, at Mickey Kennedy that came on the show. There are now a large number of if you like boutique press release distribution services. That are as another 50 pounds to send them to, for example, a set of trade press for you. The reason for using those news-wise is because. Those have feeds that are often aggregated and published almost verbatim. By many of the trade show websites and the trade portals. That are just looking to aggregate large volumes of content. These websites will have articles. They'll have interviews. They also take this content because it's really low hanging fruit for them. And frankly it helps them move the SEO and it gives them real estate for their. Uh, banner exchange and for advertising. Now, one thing to also look at is whether the name on your website is the name and your press releases. It's very easy to have. A full company name. On your website, for example, and then use it as a shortening. And your press releases, but that may affect whether it shows up. On the search functions. On these trade portals and trade websites. And other, for example, news websites. So make sure that the words and the names that you use, the naming convention that you have on your home website. And your press releases. And your directory submissions are all the same seems obvious. But actually it's very easy for the brand to get diluted. If you don't do that. Now. The next thing to think about is, do you have any awards or patents, for example, now? The, uh, boost awards have got a global list of awards that you can enter everything from the Queen's award for export in the UK. For example. I found fast company in America has got awards. Manufacturing Asia from child media group has got a manufacturing maiden, Singapore award. For example, there are awards all over the world. Run by. Governments. Bye associations. By publications. If you haven't attended any, then I encourage you to do so. I've just in fact entered. The think Fest. Book of the year award with my unnoticed volume one. So Eva I'm entering the awards business. Cost me four books, 75 pounds. And. You know, nothing, ventured, nothing gained. But enter the awards because those awards can go onto your website. The other place that you want to try and get your company into some research reports. I did a podcast on analysts, just a few episodes ago. And if you are not currently. Talking to analysts. This is really one area that you want to address because those AMAs produce reports and those reports appear. On their websites like Gartner and Forrester and open for example. And that can then track back. To you. So here are a number of places that you should be thinking about. Building signposts and content for journalists, for analysts to come and find you. The other is social media. Out. What about LinkedIn? Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. You want to have all of these platforms owned with your own branding, your own name. Even if you're not tending them. Religiously yourself, you can automate the distribution to them. So you should have. Your LinkedIn and your Twitter and Instagram, maybe Pinterest. If you're in the consumer space. Tick tock. There are some argue. Um, arguments there about the demographic of who you're selling to. But if you're a B2B, LinkedIn and Twitter. Absolutely. If you're a consumer, an Instagram, Pinterest. YouTube for example. All these channels need to have your content on them because that's where the journalists are going to find out about you. As they're doing their research. And if you're not on those channels, You're going to undermine the sense of credibility that they have about you because. These days, your presence to some degree. Translates into the impression of the reputation of your business. And that's why some big old sluggish companies. I'm not getting the kind of media coverage that some of the new upstarts are just because the journalists are living. In these places like social media, especially Twitter. And if you're not on those, then you're not part of their current conversation. And looking for the kind of stories that they're publishing. So.

Jim James 11:11

Very easy. All of these platforms are free to own. To have your own space. I've talked before about automation platforms. Like buffer, Zoho, ask Edgar, like, Hoot suite. For example, there are plenty of them. So use them. So just in summary, A quick audit. How available, how accessible, how find-able are you? For the media, because you might think you're doing a great job on your website, but it may be really focused on sales. And that community that you also want to talk to are the journalists. I just encourage you to have a quick look, worst case. It's just an email saying reader inquires. A welcome. And an alias, you know, media at and your company name. If you could put some press releases up on there. And I've talked before about some products, like, um, iWriter for example, an AI writer. That are out there to help you to write those articles. But if you. At least have your media contacts and a phone number, ideally because most journalists are operating on a deadline that it gives you a much better chance of getting your story into the media. Thank you for listening to this episode of the unnoticed show. I hope that these short snippets, these little pieces of experience that I have sharing with you. We'll add value. And we'll help you to get noticed for what you do. Because we're so focused as an entrepreneur on the sales and the cashflow and the, uh, compliance and so on. That sometimes we let the opportunities to get noticed, pass us by. Just for the sake of a small tip or tool. And that's what I'm hoping to share with you on this show. Thank you so much for listening. If you've enjoyed it. Do subscribe. If you can see in the show notes, there's a place to even rate the podcast at really, really helps for apple and for Spotify to know that this is a show that's adding value. So. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the unnoticed entrepreneur. And until we meet again, I wish you all the best and that you keep on communicating.