Featuring Content: Our Freshest Newsroom Contest Winner
Congrats to @ProcterGamble for winning our Freshest Newsroom Contest! Find out what makes them so “fresh” –> bit.ly/IPFresh ^MLS
— Intrapromote (@intrapromote) January 26, 2012
Congrats P&G! Freshest Newsroom Award Winner!
We’ve been conducting The Freshest Newsroom Contest for a few weeks now, and while there were many fine entries and two top contestants (Best Buy and CDC) we are bestowing the Virtual Blue Ribbon on the P&G Corporate Newsroom.
Dig just below the surface and P&G offers all of the typical news and multimedia archives a journalist would require. It’s this newsroom’s home page and its distinctive Featured Content theme that’s really worth a long look if your company is designing a newsroom.
- P&G gives busy users and journalists a quick take with their P&G Featured Views mini-slider. This preview mode provides short news snippets accompanied by meaningful images. Clicking through on any of these news previews shows the user a short news announcement with accompanying PDFs and resources provided as separate downloads. Printing, sharing and emailing icons are in plain view at the top of each article.
- On either side of the newsroom home page one finds a clean layout. The left navigation is short and self explanatory, and the right hand side of the page offers an uncluttered column containing a search box, list of media contacts, P&G social media links and the latest P&G tweets.
- Beneath the Featured Views section are the P&G Featured News Releases; presented in a similar format to Featured Views. This is a very user-friendly presentation that allows the user to see a variety of news pieces without scrolling. It’s not necessary to click through on most of the releases as they are succinctly summarized in the Featured summary.
- Completing the newsroom page layout is the P&G Featured Video. It is only 1:12 minutes long which is a perfect length to tell a story without losing the audience’s attention.
Congratulations P&G, our first annual Freshest Newsroom Award Winner!
7 Ways To Protect Your Data & Online Reputation
Resolve to protect your Online Reputation in 2012! 7 Ways To Protect Your Data & Online Reputation by Lisa Santora bit.ly/IPORM1
— Intrapromote (@intrapromote) January 12, 2012
Low Tech Lapses Pose Greatest Threat to Data Security
At first glance you might think that technological lapses pose the greatest threat to your data and online reputation. In reality, insider criminal acts and human error are greater dangers. No matter how many technological defenses a company uses, your ultimate security comes down to the awareness, vigilance and common sense exercised by each and every person in an organization.
No one can guarantee that people won’t make mistakes or try to steal or misuse data; that’s impossible. Everyone in the company has equal potential to safeguard and threaten your reputation.
You can mitigate risk by instituting the steps in this checklist into your security routines.
1) Write and enforce a social media policy. Social Media is not going away and a policy for it is an important first step to ensuring that sensitive and potentially damaging information doesn’t reach the wrong hands and damage your company’s reputation.
2) Discuss with employees how they are transporting and accessing company data. Working on the road and working virtually means your company’s data takes many forms and is present on a multitude of devices. Inventory where your company’s data resides and take steps to keep it secure.
3) Don’t rely on email spam filters to weed out all dangerous emails. If it looks suspicious don’t open it and don’t click any links.
4) IT workers are not the only stopgap for security breaches. Every employee is responsible and expected to contribute to the company’s overall data and reputation protection.
5) Twitter, Facebook and forum posts about company issues: Less is more. Keep company inside information off the social networks. That should be obvious. Use internal communication tools like Yammer for private discussions.
6) If you suspect unusual activity that may threaten the company’s reputation, report it immediately. A seemingly small issue can actually be the tip of a much larger security iceberg.
7) If you wonder if you should; don’t. Keep this statement in mind whenever you aren’t sure if you should open an email, click a link, spread the word — caution is better than regret.
It takes only one small misstep for someone to provide access to sensititve data and start a chain reaction that is much harder to clean up than it is to prevent.
Here at Intrapromote we have experience building and protecting online reputations. We encourage you to make a New Year’s Resolution for 2012 to start a program that can make your company look its best when someone searches for you online.
///
Our Freshest Newsroom Award contest is rapidly drawing to a close! We’re sending out the call for nominations and the winner gets…A Virtual Fresh Blue Ribbon for most user-friendly and creatively designed online newsroom. Send your nominations to lisa@intrapromote.com by January 19. I have one remaining contestant I will nominate, but your recommendations are welcome. Let’s make this final week of the contest rock and get some more newsrooms into the mix!
Best Online Newsrooms: Contestant #2
Newsroom Awards! By @Intrapromote‘s own Lisa Santora! bit.ly/vJpqOF
— Intrapromote (@intrapromote) December 21, 2011
Before I announce our next contestant in the Freshest Newsroom Award contest, let’s re-cap: Contestant #1 is Best Buy based on their comprehensive and easy to use newsroom which operates like an efficient and vibrant mini-site, highlighted by its easy access to the CEO’s contact info.
Contestant #2…super drum roll…CDC Online Newsroom. The CDC does a terrific job categorizing and presenting hundreds of pages of current information; from podcasts, to RSS feeds, to news releases. This comprehensive newsroom is easy to navigate due to multiple quick link sections; especially the prominent Staff Contacts, Newsroom Site Map, Newsroom Library and Media Kit quick links on the newsroom home page. While providing multiple ways to view and navigate the newsroom, the CDC still provides a visually appealing experience that loads fast and is seamless in every respect.
Starting at the top of the newsroom home page the user is presented with both an alphabetical index search function and a typical search box. The index rapidly brings the user by topic to specific areas within the CDC site. Each page on the CDC site loads amazingly fast and the user is always provided with educational, no fluff charts and images that support the text, plus a variety of associated publications and data sheets.
While most web sites you visit today have the usual image slider with 4-5 large images that scroll horizontally, the CDC’s newsroom slider is small and functional; it’s almost like a mini-navigation element with quick links and bite size information that’s easy to scan.
Everything the CDC newsroom does makes a journalist’s life easier, right down to the archive of formatted press releases that are ready to print and insert into articles. They even include a Story Ideas section to spark ideas which is an excellent way to introduce journalists to the variety of information this newsroom has to offer.
My impression of this newsroom ratcheted up a few more notches when I viewed its site map. The CDC’s site map is well-formatted and while most of the hyperlinked section titles are self-explanatory, they include a summary phrase beneath each link so the user will be able to accurately predict what they will see when they click through. This site map allows for real self-service vs. the frustration one often experiences using newsrooms on large web sites. They even include key sections such as Hispanic Media Resources and multiple quick link sections to quickly route the user to her destination.
Overall I am really impressed with the CDC’s newsroom. It and the entire CDC site is masterfully designed. The user does not feel overwhelmed with an incredible amount of data, but instead is invited into a superbly crafted gateway to everything you always wanted to know about diseases and conditions, disasters and emergencies, safety, healthy living and much more. All of these attributes make this newsroom a very worthy contestant in our Freshest Newsroom Challenge.
Why Video Marketing is Fresh, Really Fresh
In my last blog post, I talked about re-purposing content as press release attachments. As promised, in this post I’d like to discuss embedding video into your press release; and it is very easy. We also are going to discover how to take advantage of Google’s new “Freshness Update.” (Can you tell I like the word “fresh”? I’m just getting started!)
Did you know that eMarketer reports that 68.2% of the US Internet audience are online video viewers? Check out this graph:
Your target audience needs a compelling reason to share your press release. Adding video to your release is one way to make this happen.
There is never a “perfect” time to start adding video to your releases. Next week, next month…well, you’ll always be too busy to get started, so why not now?
I suggest you create short (around 2 minute) videos that complement your release. For example, if your release is focused on your newest product, create a short product demo video. Keep it relevant and really newsworthy; as you want your release to be attractive to journalists. Consider adding some humor to your video if possible. Also if you can get multiple people to appear in your video, it will have a more social tone.
Embedding a video into a release you plan to syndicate via PRWEB is easy. Simply choose the $369 syndication level and grab the “embed code” from your YouTube video and add it to your release. There is a special section in the release submission form on PRWEB to do this. Here are the instructions for obtaining the embed code from your YouTube video (courtesy of YouTube):
- Click the Share button located under the video.
- Click the Embed button.
- Copy the code provided in the expanded box.
- Paste the code into your blog or website.
Now tie it all together: You’ve created some killer videos and you’re featuring them in your releases. You tweet the releases, you link to them on Facebook; but this is just the start. Google’s new “Freshness Update” is a big opportunity for you to refresh your online newsroom so it’s timely and engaging. Your video supercharged press releases can live there (remember to add the “original author” tag to your HTML code) along with all the components of your media kit.
The Freshest Newsroom Contest
Drumroll…..
Today I’m announcing the Freshest Newsroom Contest. In each of my next few blog posts I’ll examine one really fresh newsroom that combines great usability and frequently updated content. With Christmas approaching, images of electronic gifts may be dancing in your head. Those of us who eat, drink and sleep PR are also thinking Best Buy; but for different reasons.
This Week’s Freshest Newsroom Nominee: Best Buy
What’s Fresh About It:
- Content is broken down into easily scannable chunks
- Slider provides short, digestible (yummy) news and notes
- CEO page link is highly visible (Great page, too, the CEO really wants to communicate with consumers.)
- All media tools (links to releases, Twitter feeds, RSS feeds are in one box above the fold)
In early 2012 I’ll announce the contest winner. The prize? Why the Freshness Blue Ribbon of course!
Yesterday’s Tactics Can’t Stop Tomorrow’s Data Breaches
Posted by James Gunn and Lisa Santora
Big brands use modern methods for their search and social marketing campaigns. Yet many data breaches are due to reliance on outdated methodologies; brands are literally relying on the horse and plow when it comes to securing their assets from cyber criminals.
Give these guys a rest.
Accelerating cyber threats demand greater attention and vigilance than many companies are able to allocate, even if they can commit internal resources to the effort. Twitter and Facebook represent only a fraction of the networks and sites available for sophisticated online data mining. Potentially sensitive data is also being viewed and shared now on social networks, forums and sites that make it easy for people to rapidly transmit this information across the globe in a matter of seconds. Small pieces of data can be assembled into a surprisingly detailed target profile:
Targeted Web Searches + Google Earth + YouTube + Internet Images + Social Networks = Complete Profile Of Your Brand
This didn’t have to happen:
20,000 Patient Records Leaked in Stanford Hospital Breach
Neither did this:
Sensitive University of Georgia employee data posted online
And it will be a long time before people forget about them, since they’re constantly reminded every day on the first page of Google search results.
Over the last few months we’ve studied the increasing incidence of online data breaches. Short of the standard reputation management services, we discovered that companies were mostly cobbling together solutions to protect their sensitive data. We also noted the frustration of administrators who all face these same four problems:
1. How to lock down and exclude sensitive data from the search engines
2. How to discover where their data already resides online
3. How to find out who in their circle of employees and associates has access to this data
4. How to monitor sensitive data’s transmission across the Internet
In 2011 alone the number of data breaches and hacker attacks has skyrocketed. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency and chief of the Central Security Service, recently stated that more powerful safeguards are needed than reactive cyber breach repairs and computer firewalls. That’s why new methods need to be developed to track where data is stored, limit who has access to it, and ultimately protect your brand’s reputation.
Let us know if this subject concerns you. We can discuss data visibility and access prevention options that fit your needs.
Dress Your Press Releases for Success
We’ve all heard that optimized press releases are a great way to keep your company top of mind and drive traffic back to your site. Today I’m not going to get into online PR’s SEO value as much as I’m going to talk about how to dress your press releases for success.
This is where you get to put on your Sherlock Holmes cap and do some digging. Take a look at all of your existing content, and see if you can find a fit for it as a killer press release attachment. Comb through your slide shows, PDFs, images, charts and Word docs. Be creative with re-purposing this content so you leave your readers with a key takeaway that’s shareable with friends and colleagues. A cleverly chosen attachment can leave a lasting impression long after your press release is yesterday’s news.
Infographics are enjoying a rise in popularity, and Adrienne Young’s post, “The Rise of Infographics,” on Information Experts explains the different types of infographics and why people find them compelling. Don’t have any infographics to illustrate your company’s data? Makeuseof not only tells you how to design a great infographic, but lists some free tools to help you, such as Creately and Stat Planet.
Make your attachments highly relevant and colorful. Keep in mind that you want them to enjoy a second life on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Flickr. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Did you take a trip recently to check on a supplier or partner company? What key points from that trip would resonate with your release’s readership? Write a one page diary of the trip; you could even add a map of the region you visited. See Brian Hicks’ account of his trip to Brazil in U.S. Funds’ Shareholders’ Report/2001, Vol. 3, pg. 7.
- If you are a healthcare provider or hospital system you surely have a wealth of consumer information you could attach to your releases. Consider sharing graphics and images that promote healthy living, like Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Weight Pyramid.
- And if you want some inspiration on how to create infographics that do more than squeeze a lot of information into a square space, look at this from Edmunds.com on “How Fast Does My New Car Lose Value?“
Hint: Tag your attachments with the keywords you are targeting in the release to give yourself a boost in search results.
These are just a few ideas for dressing your press releases up with .ppt, .jpg, .doc and .pdf attachments. Next time we’ll discuss embedding videos into your releases. And yes, there are such things as Infographic Videos.
