Let's start with why an electronic press kit is so important. An electronic press kit or EPK is a web-based application that allows you to reach your target audience more effectively.
The press kit enables you to reach your target audience by sending a press release of a press release, a video, a podcast, a virtual reality movie trailer, a music video, or a radio show. All of these are available on EPKs.
The main purpose of an EPK is to give your media houses information on your products and services, the contact information of your company, a good cover image, and a thumbnail image of your product or service.
You can also send your clients or customers a link to your website in case they need additional information about your company.
One thing you will need to learn is how to customize it to suit your needs. This is where most of the work is done by a professional designer. You can send them a link to your web app if you do not have any.
The other benefit of having an EPK is that you have all of your clients or customers on one platform. You will also be able to reach out to your customers through this platform. You can provide them a link to their purchase which will help you boost your sales.
A disadvantage of having an EPK is that it might make you lose a significant portion of your audience. You might lose some customers that are not interested in the content. In order to combat that problem, you can add social media accounts on your EPK. If your customers are on social media, you will be able to reach them easily.
Even if you don't want to invite your entire customer list to the social media accounts, you can post a link to a social media account on your EPK.
Another disadvantage is that you have to learn how to build an EPK from scratch. If you have the ability to hire a professional designer, you can save a lot of time.
As a news agency, you'll find it much more cost-effective to gather journalists and media executives to attend a conference.
In addition, journalists tend to see more value in an agency's conference than they do in getting it on the phone.
There is an opportunity cost when you ask a journalist to travel to a conference that they may only cover. In fact, one study showed that conferences are considered less valuable than phone interviews with journalists.
When you receive a request for an electronic press kit, you should take a few minutes to think through the information you wish to include in the kit and how you wish to deliver it to journalists.
Imagine how you could generate media attention and initiate partnerships in the digital age.
The more details and media organizations that you notify of your news, the more interesting and value-added to the story it will appear. In this way, electronic press kits can work as a publisher's marketing tool, as it is the journalists that will reach out to you to see what you have to offer.
So, why would a media organization (or, a journalist for that matter) want to hear from your news agency?
An electronic press kit is a solution to the following three dilemmas:
Electronic press kits offer a more efficient way of distributing the news. The kit will be instantly available to those you have previously reached out to, whether they are industry associations or key media.
You can easily manage and create your media list in the digital age.
Journalists can be reached at their desks, on the move, or on the weekends, all without wasting valuable time on phone calls.
A press kit should be easy to access and follow-up with journalists should be made from a range of media outlets.
Journalists can learn about the brand of your news organization in the newswire.
They can also see all their previous stories, updated in an interactive timeline. A press kit that includes a newswire is a powerful way to do this.
A digital or print press kit is best suited for a traditional news agency because there are few analog alternatives to news wire distribution, and traditional media outlets tend to be overly focused on traditional print/broadcast/digital formats.
However, email is a good choice for media outlets that primarily rely on digital distribution.
Also, choose the right length of the press kit. The less time a journalist spends contacting you, the more likely they are to take you up on the opportunity of an electronic press kit.
A press kit of 3-5 pages is adequate to convey your story. However, a press kit that is more than 7 pages will often create a bit of a buzz, which may lead to a rapid interest in your story.
Don't waste time on distributing press releases on the digital platforms of your competitors.
It is much more cost-effective to distribute press releases to the media instead of producing press kits.
Some agencies may not have the resources to produce press releases as a whole, but it can be a good idea to send journalists a list of media outlets that your press release will be distributed to and include a link to their website.
Let's summarize this article with a list.