Choosing the Right Picture for the Media
If you are not sending pictures out with your press releases,
you are missing a vital part of your PR campaign. As any editor will tell you,
a release with a photo has a much higher chance of being used and could elevate
your story from a few column centimeters on an inside page to a more prominent
position and possibly the front page.
Here are a few tips that could help:
As an absolute minimum, ensure you have headshots of all people mentioned in
your press releases and spokespeople representing your organization, before you
are asked for them by a journalist. Avoid white background studio shots.
Your main spokespeople, CEO, directors, VPs, etc should have a small selection
of images taken which picture them in a natural working setting representing
your specific business, both with your company logo and without. Make sure you
get landscape and portrait orientated shots.
If you are 'telling a story' in your press release, make sure the photo also
tells the (same) story. Ensure it has enough impact to immediately grab the
attention of firstly the editor and secondly the reader.
Supplying a feature picture instead of a simple headshot is the biggest single
thing you can do to bring your story to the top of the pile. Sometimes the most
mundane story can be published as the lead story on the page thanks to a superb
photo. (This is known as a picture led story).
Have some generic shots taken that represent your business and industry sector.
Both internal and exterior shots should be produced showing your business at
work. Sometimes having these generic shots available when a picture editor is
looking for a photo to go with an existing story can result in your
organization being asked to comment. (Make sure you are told what the basis of
the story is before making the pictures available).
Make sure all your photos meet the media photo specs so you they can easily be
sent by email and will not overload the mailbox of the journalist you are
sending them to. (This wouldn't help your cause!)
Tune-Up: Journalists go to company sites and visit the press area with different expectations for different reasons and wanting vastly different things. You have to aim to satisfy them all. Do not surrender control of the site to the IT department simply because you are in a rush to get media delivery online. Joseph Reriani - PR Consultant
This article is part of Joseph Reriani's "PR Tune-up Blog" newsletter posted to over 6,000 subscribers weekly. The newsletter was first published in 2002 at http://www.Reriani.com. For more articles and PR tune-up tips, please visit www.PrudentPressAgency.com and www.SkyNewswire.com. Joseph Reriani is a Media Consultant and Fellow with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations- United Kingdom. He is the President/CEO of Prudent International Inc and Executive Editor of Prudent Press Agency. He is also an Assistant Editor of SkyNewswire.com directed by Jackie Mugambi . He is a trained journalist and specializes in helping businesses, organizations, and individuals improve their public image by effectively employing the power of public relations. Mr Reriani can be reached at admin @ Reriani.com. You may freely copy and re-publish this article without altering any part in the body.