Tom GubbinsSales DIrector North America / Senior Newsroom Consultant

t.gubbins@presspage.com@TomGubbins

The role of an online newsroom in press release distribution

What is an online newsroom?● Simply put -- it’s where your company’s news lives.

● An active source of press releases, executive info, photos, videos, etc.

● Your newsroom should be a reporter’s best friend!

What are the benefits of a newsroom?● Allows the creation of a branded press releases (owned channel)

● Makes your website the origin and destination of your press releases

● Allows more effective distribution and amplification

● Stores your full press release archive, including digital assets

● Reduces distribution costs and increases ROI

Some examples...

Grabbing media attention

● Dynamic stories to tell, but little to no luck in interesting the press.

● "We're actually in a media desert, and we have very limited resources. We have a very small staff."

● Within 3 months, the newsroom has enabled the communications team to successfully interest media and measure the success of the stories.

● “Spinning gold out of hay”

● Read full article.

Governors State University, Chicago, IL

Grabbing media attention

● After six months with an integrated newsroom:○ News readership quadrupled ○ Facebook page grew by 16 percent, with a

52 percent increase in reach.

● Newsroom strategy○ “Our online newsroom is the hub for our PR and

marketing efforts. The newsroom allows us to promote our various forms of content – press releases, articles, photos, videos, infographics, SlideShare presentations – via the channels where our audiences are spending time. It brings readers back to the newsroom and often to our hospital’s general website for even more information.”

● Read full article.

Shepherd Center, Atlanta, GA

Crisis situations

● Speeds up editorial formatting, adds photos and videos to press releases in seconds, and shares campus news on social media networks instantly.

● Quick response to crisis comms…○ Fast and efficient uploading of press

releases○ People know where to go○ Quick peer-2-peer dissemination

● Some results:○ 182% increase in new visitors○ 27% increase in social media referrals○ 82% increase in unique page views

● Read full article.

California State University, San Marcos, CA

Reducing costs

● Traditionally press releases were sent out over the wire services

● Wire services are not that effective anymore; press release conversion > earned media

● Press release in newsroom versus wire:○ No brandjacking○ Traffic driver○ SEO○ No related industry news○ Easier peer-2-peer distribution /

sharing

● Costs

Wabash National & TransUnion

Building your social base

● Traditionally press releases were sent out over the wire services, excluding all but journalists.

● With a newsroom, distribution horizons can be expanded due to social sharing.

● Examples:○ Shepherd Center: Facebook page

grew by 16 percent.○ CSUSM: 27% increase in social

media referrals.○ Marathon: Newsroom assisted in

garnering 3,000 followers on Facebook, and 34,000 LinkedIn users.

Shepherd Center, Marathon Petroleum, CSUSM

Improved ROI

● Marathon PetroleumNewsroom analytics show that 15-20 percent of the people exposed to a given post follow through to the newsroom, and they spend an average of 1.5 to 2.1 minutes reading the press release. Plus, people are going on to explore the rest of the site.

● H&R BlockIn January this year, overall sessions were up 12.35 percent compared with the same month in 2015. All engagement numbers have increased, among them sessions, page views and time spent on the site.

Marathon Petroleum, H&R Block