So my peaceful afternoon of catching up on some writing projects yesterday was interrupted by a call from a cranky journalist/reporter/radio host/friend. He’s from a major news outlet and we’ve kept in touch over the past five-ish or so years since I was a guest on his show in D.C. He was looking for a few senior care folks to talk with about the idea of continuing care communities without walls.
Imagine his surprise, Mr. Cranky Pants goes on to tell me, that after he’s spent almost an hour prowling the internet looking for a few good folks to interview, he has come up empty. He’s visited a plethora (his word not mine…I know just using that word would knock down my readability score!) of company websites. The few sites that had a Newsroom on them HAD NO MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION LISTED. Most sites didn’t even have a Media Center or Newsroom, he relayed to me in a tone riddled with shock and horror. Would you send out a news release without contact information (??) he asked me. (Hint: Journalists don’t consider your on-page contact form or an info@yourcompanyname.com true contact information because, let’s face it, when have you ever received a timely response from one you’ve submitted?)
I was able to hook my disgruntled friend up with a few clients to talk with and soothe his over-caffeinated self down. But it seemed like a good time to share what journalists look for in a Senior Living Newsroom or Home Care Newsroom with our senior care and aging services colleagues.
What Your Senior Care Newsroom Needs
We’ve established that you need a newsroom now right? It is a necessary part of your Inbound Marketing strategy. In addition to archiving current and past new releases, positive PR videos, and company publications, here’s the low down on what else your Senior Care Newsroom should include:
- A real person’s real contact information. It should be someone who can answer questions and represent your organization well.
- A Fact Sheet. This should include some basics on your brand. Added bonus is to include leadership bios and industry insights. Here is a good example from Brookdale. And an even better one from Asbury.
- Story Tips & Ideas. Help a reporter out already! They might be interested in aging related issues and need a little helping bringing that interest down to the story level. OPRS masters this on their Story Ideas & Tips page. They take it a step further by providing specific, quality ideas.
- Digital Media/Press Kits. Visuals are processed in the brain 60,000 times faster than text. That’s why we are giving these Digital Media Kits from Sunrise and Asbury top honors. This one from Home Instead is also intriguing. (If you are one of our media pals reading this, shoot me a note on what you think of this ok? Reporter-friendly? Or too time consuming? Really interested in reporter feedback on this one.)
- Feed from Your Social Channels. This is a great way for journalists to really understand your brand. Have your most recent Facebook stories pop up, the first paragraph of your blog articles appear and share your Twitter feed. Here is a good example from Asbury and another from Brookdale.
We hope this gives you the motivation you need to develop a Senior Living Newsroom or Home Care Newsroom of your own. If you have questions or need some help, just let us know!
Happy Almost Friday!