8 Simple But Critical Tips for Improving Your 'Online Newsroom' A few basic things that can take your newsroom from pretty good to great: mobile optimization, multimedia, speed, and a few other features.

By Frederik Vincx

This story originally appeared on PR Daily

In 2005, Tom Foremski famously stated that "every company is a media company." Fast-forward nine years, and he's been proven indisputably right. According to Hubspot's 2013 State of Inbound Marketing Report, an estimated 60 percent of companies are creating content to attract new customers.

The smartest brands, though, do more than create content. They tell stories, not just for the traditional press, but for consumers, journalists, influencers, and anyone else who's interested in them. When a global brand like Coca-Cola's decides to ditch the press release and build a newsroom and digital magazine, you know there's a sea change afoot.

At the center of this new brand journalism: the online newsroom. Your newsroom should act as a media hub for all your stories, videos, images, and other content you create to engage with your audiences. Here are eight ways to make sure your newsroom stands out:

1. Optimize for mobile. Smartphone screens are one of the primary ways that users interact with content, so make sure your newsroom works on mobile devices. For help, download this free mobile social media press release template.

2. Use visual storytelling. Press releases that contain images, videos, and downloadable files get nearly 10 times more views than those that use text alone, so put visuals center stage in your news releases. On your main page, use low-resolution images that load fast, and link them to high-resolution versions that can be downloaded in one click. Never hide your images behind password-protected image libraries.

3. Make it shareable. Add social media sharing widgets to your newsroom so that it's easy to share your content. Make sure your images and videos are automatically embedded in social posts via Facebook Open Graph and Twitter Cards. Facebook posts with images are proven to get more engagement, and tweets with pictures are 94 percent more likely to be retweeted.

4. Make it easy to integrate into other web properties. Add an RSS or JSON feed, embed widgets, or even an API to your newsroom. This enables your media partners to integrate your content into their digital properties, giving you more visibility.

5. Do your SEO homework. Drive more organic traffic to your newsroom by adding relevant header tags and relevant keywords, helping you get found by search engines. Check out Woorank's SEO analyzer for a free analysis and tips to improve your SEO rank.

6. Build it for speed. Google favors faster sites with faster load times, so take care that all your high-resolution visual content isn't slowing you down. Pay extra for a fast server and make sure your content gets regularly cached. Aren't sure how your load time stacks up? Use a free website speed test to analyze your load time and find any bottlenecks.

7. Build once, use repeatedly. If you work at an agency, you'll need to manage multiple newsrooms for clients, each with their own logos and brand guidelines. Rather than reinvent the wheel for each new client, build a reusable template that can easily be skinned for a custom look and feel.

8. Integrate with a pitching tool. Building your newsroom is just the first step. You still have to pitch your stories to influencers, which is why you need to integrate your newsroom with a pitching tool. Choose a tool that includes automatic media previews so that you can tease your visual assets directly in your emails. Analytics and contact management are good to have, too.

All this may sound daunting, but launching an online newsroom isn't all that complicated. With so many tools available to help you create newsrooms, setting it up is the easy part. Start small, use a good basic template, and most importantly, lead with great stories.

Frederik Vincx is the design co-founder of Prezly. Helping PR teams rock with innovative tools.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Leadership

I Fired My Smartest Employee — and It Was the Smartest Thing I Ever Did

I've seen thousands of impressive resumes over the years, but one important lesson I've learned is that intelligence without emotional intelligence can be detrimental to your team and your business.

Science & Technology

How I Went From Side Hustle to 7 Figures Using These 4 AI Tools (No Tech Skills Needed)

Scale faster, work less and grow a 7-figure business — no team needed.

Health & Wellness

How Mastering Your Nervous System Boosts Leadership Presence and Performance

Discover a modern leadership system designed to boost your effectiveness, reduce stress and bring more clarity and joy to how you lead.

Business News

Here Are the 10 Highest-Paying Jobs with the Lowest Risk of Being Replaced By AI: 'Safest Jobs Right Now'

A new report from career resources platform Resume Genius finds the top 10 AI-proof careers expected to see the most growth within the next decade.

Real Estate

Why Buying a 'Second Home' First is the New Way to Build Wealth — and Enjoy Free Vacations

The dream of owning a home has never felt more out of reach. So, a growing number of aspiring homeowners are making an unconventional choice.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.