If you've ever wandered around a company's web page in search for
an address to send a press release or article off to, chances are
you've stumbled across the elusive Media Kit link. "What's a
media kit?" you might ask. Good question.
A media kit is a kind of prepackaged PR tool that most large
corporations use, but that can come in handy for small businesses
as well. The materials within a media kit are standardized,
prewritten documents that can be printed up or pulled out of a
file for those inquiries that happen along when you least expect
it.
There are a few essential items that should be included in your
media kit: the media kit cover, a set of press releases about
many aspects of the company (including individual products),
short biographies of key individuals, copies of articles, photos,
and some types of product literature, such a data sheets or
brochures. You can put whatever else you think is relevent, but
these are some of the most common items.
A media kit cover is really just a pocketed folder for you to put
the rest of the information inside of. However, it is generally a
glossy, colorful folder with your company name or logo printed on
the front. Embossing the logo is another effect that can be a
great attention grabber. The standard size for the media kit
cover is 9" by 12", so that 8 1/2 by 11 inch documents can easily
be stored inside.
Your media kit should include more than one press release. One
should be focused on the company's background, providing an
overview of the history, accomplishments, markets, products and
services offered. Don't overly dramatize your story. Most
editors will only use the information found here as a reference
for articles written about other aspects of your company. You
should also include a press release for each individual product
that you market, unless you produce an abundance of different
items. In which case, three or four of your main products
should get individual releases. If you think it's necessary,
a combination release can be written about the others.
If you're not sure how to write a press release, check out
http://www.InternetWriters.com for their free press release
builder. There are also examples of what a press release should
look like. If you're still wary of the world of press releases,
find a service to write one for you professionally.
Individual biographies should be focused on those people that
would most likely be interviewed by the media as a resource for
articles. Include their full name, job title, responsibilities,
and some personal information, such as their educational
background, about their families, and certain accomplishments.
Large, black and white photos of these individuals should be
included, along with photos of products, facilities, or anything
else that might be of interest to the media. Typed captions
should be affixed to the back with a non damaging adhesive.
Including archive articles in your media kit shows that the press
has found you newsworthy before, and also gives them a good
example of how they could base their own article. Any other
literature you include should be very important, and
not too intimidating. Many editors avoid media kits that are too
full of information, or too heavy.
Public relations can sometimes depend on how well your media kit
is put together. If you send off your initial press release and
an editor requests additonal information, you should get your
media kit to them immediately, in order to help them meet their
deadlines. Also, if the information they need is not in your
media kit, they might decide to pass the story up all together.
Having a media kit is probably not going to be the life or death
or your business, but it will save a lot of time when you're
dealing with media people.
About the Author
Ana Ventura specializes in helping businesses, organizations, and
individuals get media coverage. She is a PR expert at DrNunley's
http://FullServicePR.com , a site specializing in affordable
publicity services. Reach Ana at mailto:ana@fullservicepr.com or
801-328-9006.