If you are a PR professional who has been hearing a lot about PR 2.0 recently, then chances are that you may have also heard about the buzz words like social media kit and social media press release (also referred to as SMPR). But if you ask around nobody seems to have an authoritative answer on what it really means and how it really helps.
The good old solution to every problem 'Google' also does not throw up any conclusive or definitive answers to SMPR and how one should go about using it. So I decided to check with the people who are at the receiving end of all this material - the journalists and the bloggers and find out if they have actually received any social media press release in India yet. The answer is big clear NO - NOT YET.
Even in evolved online markets like the US, there is no definite answer to SMPR yet. There is a community of PR professionals who are experimenting with it, while others are keeping an eye on the buzz, waiting for it to emerge as a formal media tool.
All in all the core objective of SMPR is the same as the traditional press kit - to help a journalist or a blogger to file their story. SMPR though is a lot more than just a press release.
There are early versions of SMPR available online and there are some early examples of it too - and to me they seem quiet practical. Ford for example has taken the lead in SMPR, they call it digital snippets, which is essentially an online media kit with all the possible details about the FORD cars complete with tags, photos, videos, blogs, quick links, community links, quotes, bookmark tools, sharing tools, basically the works.
Given below is the currently acceptable and popular SMPR format. While I am unsure how journalists in India will respond to it, the online journalists and bloggers that I spoke to said anything that helps them in filling a story is a welcome move. So while you don’t really have to worry about their reactions, it always helps to check if they would prefer to receive an SMPR along with the standard press release.
A typical SMPR includes the following:
If you know of any other examples, or simply have a view or comments to share, feel free to get in touch with me.
The good old solution to every problem 'Google' also does not throw up any conclusive or definitive answers to SMPR and how one should go about using it. So I decided to check with the people who are at the receiving end of all this material - the journalists and the bloggers and find out if they have actually received any social media press release in India yet. The answer is big clear NO - NOT YET.
Even in evolved online markets like the US, there is no definite answer to SMPR yet. There is a community of PR professionals who are experimenting with it, while others are keeping an eye on the buzz, waiting for it to emerge as a formal media tool.
All in all the core objective of SMPR is the same as the traditional press kit - to help a journalist or a blogger to file their story. SMPR though is a lot more than just a press release.
There are early versions of SMPR available online and there are some early examples of it too - and to me they seem quiet practical. Ford for example has taken the lead in SMPR, they call it digital snippets, which is essentially an online media kit with all the possible details about the FORD cars complete with tags, photos, videos, blogs, quick links, community links, quotes, bookmark tools, sharing tools, basically the works.
Given below is the currently acceptable and popular SMPR format. While I am unsure how journalists in India will respond to it, the online journalists and bloggers that I spoke to said anything that helps them in filling a story is a welcome move. So while you don’t really have to worry about their reactions, it always helps to check if they would prefer to receive an SMPR along with the standard press release.
A typical SMPR includes the following:
- News Summary:
- Quotes from the spokesperson:
- Pictures or links - embedded on popular photo sharing sites:
- Videos or links - embedded on popular video sharing sites:
- A good list of tags for the release - this will help in the news discovery on a particular blog or site
- Bookmarks, RSS feeds
- Links to Community pages that you may have created
If you know of any other examples, or simply have a view or comments to share, feel free to get in touch with me.
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