More SM Tools for Your Tool Box

Wow, this is only our second post and we are half way through the Beta Class cycle. This month had five weeks so we actually had a little more time which was a benefit. This class included a combination of basic and intermediate instruction. Our last call this past Thursday was a 2 and a half hour call; scheduled that way to make up for a missed class on Tuesday. The first hour was dedicated to PR and in particular the neccessity of having a press kit or an electronic press kit (epk) available. I am not going to go into the details here of the press kit except to provide the basic components that should be a part of your, not matter what form it takes.

Here are the necessary contents for an electronic press kit. I do not know where I originally resourced this information. If you do choose a service like my ppk (which is what I use), http://www.powerpresskits.com/, all of these components will already be a part of it; yet will will still need to supply sufficient information to make your epk robust enough to begin sending.

Components List

1. General Info: Company/Organization, Mission Statement, Company Honors & Awards, Upcoming Events, Fact Sheets & Previous Clippings

2. Create an electronic letterhead template - high resolution design 300 dpi

3. Construct Info in step 1 by formatting in a thorough concise style that is visually appealing. Should include additional links to specific websites or emails of significance.

4. Transfer all to a letterhead template

5. Save and create locked and editable version of all material

6. Compress in a zip folder titled Press Kit

7. Make available by uploading to website and send via email to recipients

*Note- in lieu of step 2 and 6, I created the press kit in Publisher and then save as a PDF using http://www.pdfonline.com/


Additionally, I added this information for the class as well.

Common press kit components (from Wikipedia)

* Backgrounder with historical information on the company or individual
* Fact Sheet listing specific features, statistics, or benefits
* Biographies of key executives, individuals, artists, etc.
* Past Press Coverage
* Photos or other images (high resolution) of key executives, logos, products, etc.
* A press release detailing the current news the media kit is sent in reference to
* Media contact information (usually of a public relations department or spokesperson)
* A CD, DVD, Software title, video, etc. as appropriate for the sender of the release
* Collateral advertising material, such as: postcard, flier, newspaper ad, etc.

The second half of the class was dedicated to Facebook as we revisited our fan pages and saw who had had success in setting up their landing pages. Facebook is now making that process easier by adding a FBLM option at the bottom of the edit page as an additional application choice. Definitely saves in the time it took our class to learn where to find it our their own. Is the better...only as a tie saver. There is a earned reward in being hands-on in your practical application. Still there are many more fb applications that still allow for hands-on learning in trying to apply.