Submitted by Katie Hellmuth on | 0 Comments
We love Wednesdays! Every Wednesday at 12pm EST Tin Shingle has a member-only virtual meet up. During this online chat not only do we do some chatting, but everyone else is encouraged to turn on their web cams or chime in via their phones or the "chat box" and connect. Still others (who are feeling shy or listening in from a busy place just dial in on a phone and stay on mute and listen. During these weekly #TuneUps we answer biz owners questions in real-time, discuss and lay down some education and tips on a hot buzz-buidling topic from the worlds of PR, social media or online marketing, and simply talk small biz shop. These calls are not recorded, which means that business owners and staff can bring up their questions in a safe place with no judgement. For those hoping for a recorded podcast, check out our vast list here, should you want to download some buzz-building education of your own. However, these Wednesday meetings are not recorded so that members can speak freely. But we'll give you some deets here of subjects we covered.
This week on our #TuneUp we discussed media kits, what they are, how to use them in 2014 and when you should (and shouldn't) send them. Pictured here is Sabina stressing the point: "do not send a media kit randomly to the press". She went into why, as well as what goes into a media kit, and what the point of a media kit is for all businesses. What else did we talk about? Below are some other quick tips about media kits. Find more in-depth information (including what should go into a yours) here!
- A media kit isn't a "set it and forget it" type piece of PR/marketing material. You are going to want to do two things with them: regularly update them (with on press, products, news, images, etc.) and you also want to consider modifying their content depending on what type of media you're reaching out to, from the cover letter to what the fact sheets and "one sheets" in them highlight about your business.
- Don't forget to include some buzzworthy press moments (especially if you're using the media kits to go for a big feature story or pitch from one type of media to the other) but don't think you need to include all of your full press articles, posts etc. A hard copy (or virtual) page with logos will suffice, they can visit your website for more information.
- Be sure your contact information (phone number, website, email) is always included in the PDF version of your media kit of on the pages of your hard copy media kit. Sure, include your business card in the folder, but it may get lost, so include information on other pages as well. This is especially important for any linesheets (for product people) or suggested story ideas (for experts) - so that if those sheets get separated from the pack someone can still find you and contact you.
Hope to see you at the upcoming #TuneUp next week! Not a member yet? Join Tin Shingle to be included!
