Steve Momorella Talks Online Newsrooms

Is it possible for brands to communicate during a pandemic or crisis without coming across inconsiderate? Steve Momorella says the answer to branding during this time isn’t to sell or remain silent but communicate and the best way is through an online newsroom.  In this episode of the Social PR Secrets, host Lisa Buyer spoke with Steve Momorella the founder and owner of TekGroup International. Steve and TEKGroup International provide advice and services to different brands to establish and develop online newsrooms for over 20 years. Steve said during a crisis having an area on the website for an online newsroom that can be enacted quickly is very important to the brand. Although online newsroom can be seen as a generic term, for brands online newsrooms are a central communications center for all content including press relations and community relations. During the episode, Lisa and Steve discuss the meaning of an online newsroom and the importance of a company implementing them on their website or creating a separate domain for them. Steve shares how journalists today are looking for both big and small companies to have newsrooms with fresh content to use for research and not just breaking news. He said many companies believe there is nothing breaking happening, so they cannot create news stories. However, Steve said companies can create news regarding any new developments in their company as well as information they believe will help people during a crisis. When asked if online newsrooms are still possible or important for e-commerce websites, Steve said they are an important addition to give the company a voice and that each product is an opportunity to tell a story.  Beyond giving a voice to a brand, Steve adds an online newsroom benefit the SEO aspect of a website because the separate site or URL allows for crosslinking. He said the amount of content you post traditionally is limited, but an online newsroom creates the opportunity to create daily fresh content and allow the company to increase in Google appearances.  What kind of stories should a company be sharing during a crisis or pandemic like this one? Should your company have a separate blog or keep the content with the newsroom? Tune into this episode to hear more about the hows and benefits of establishing an online newsroom for your company. “You cannot be pushing, marketing and selling to people during this time but going completely dark is also not the answer” - Steve Momorella Some topics discussed in this episode include: Online newsrooms SEO and online newsrooms Company blogs Social media during a crisis Contact Steve Momorella: Steve’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/momorella?lang=en Steve’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greenbusinessdaily Steve’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeirdreBreakenridge/photos/a.140114666029701/3780316458676152/?type=3 More from Steve Momorella:  Steve’s website: https://www.stevemomorella.com/ Tekgroup.com: https://www.tekgroup.com/