Photo by Corey Fariello under Creative Commons.
by Megan Jonas
This is the second in a series. Miss the first post? Read it here: "Digital Press Kits: The New Essential"
Digital Press Kits: Where to Start
Alright, so you are convinced that you need a digital press kit. But where do you start? Fear not, you’re already farther ahead than you think. You probably already have a printed press kit that you provide to community members and the news media at events you host or send out when you are hoping for a little press. This kit means you are more than half-way there! (If you don’t have one of these kits, we’ll have a little more work to do, but it’s still worth it). Key decisions to make:
HTML or PDF
- Even if all you do is upload a PDF of your current print media kit to your website and provide a link to it in your navigation menu, you’re making strides towards getting your company noticed. But PDFs have some serious drawbacks, including that search engines treat them like images and do not index the text on the page. A fully coded HTML press kit increases SEO and allows more flexibility than a simple PDF upload, but the best option is to use both, a PDF for downloads and a HTML site for web use.
Social media links/widgets
- Most companies are already using social media to increase brand awareness and communicate with customers and other businesses in your area/category. The ability to use these social media accounts in your digital press kit is a key differentiator. Providing links to the accounts is good, displaying account activity in a widget or feed is better.
Information to include
- One of the key decisions you will make when it comes to your digital press kit is what information to include. The temptation to include EVERYTHING is high. Resist this urge, but resist also the urge to only include what is in your print portfolio. In addition to social media, you also may want to post recent press coverage, company news, and other items in a digital press kit that would quickly become stale in a print kit.
Remember, you have the ability to update the digital kit for low or no cost. While your print kit may get an annual refresh, your digital kit can be updated as often as you like, ensuring that you get the most relevant and most current information to your audience.
