Welcome to your new online newsroom! Perhaps you've just finished onboarding and are logging in for the first time, or perhaps you're assuming new responsibility for the platform. Whatever the reason, this guide will walk you through the various features and options available to help you create a vibrant, engaging space for your news and updates.
Use this guide as a checklist to cover all your bases before you start sending your news.
Set up your account preferences
Before you begin with the newsroom itself, make sure all your account settings have been saved as you want them. You can use this quick checklist for new users to cover all your bases.
Explore the PowerUps
This section of the dashboard showcases all of the extra features you can add to your newsroom subscription. They all have different price points, implementation times and purposes though, so click into each card to learn more about any one item.
Right off the bat, we'd recommend you enable the following:
1. AI Assist: This feature will help you write headline and summary text in a flash.
2. Leads or Subscribers: These features allow visitors to sign up and receive your news. More about which one to choose in this article.
3. Accessibility widget: This feature makes your newsroom accessible for everyone, regardless of disability or neurodivergence.
Get started with a PR course
We offer our newsroom users a discounted rate for access to our Pioneer Academy, a series of PR focused courses, ideal for new starters or those looking for a refresher. Access is per user, per month with no commitment. And if you're buying for a whole team, we offer group rates too!
Access more info via the Services section of the dashboard or sign up for your free trial!
Add content to all pages
As part of your onboarding, the PR.co team will add some dummy content to your newsroom so you can see what it will look like once it's finished. Before you start publishing your news, check all the pages of the newsroom to make sure the content is correct and there are no dummy media kits or press releases anywhere. Equally, if you see any empty pages, you can sometimes disable those pages in the settings (Events, Clippings and Media Kits pages), or you can simply add new content.
Press releases: Unless you've bought a special package, we've uploaded your last 10 releases or so. 'Edit' one of them so you can see how we've used the heading types and formatting styles so far. Whichever members of your team who'll be using the platform should be aligned on this so your press release presentation stays consistent. Here's more on how to use the editor.
Media kits: You'll probably find one or two sample kits on this page. Feel free to remove them and add your own. Use folders to separate groups of media kits and password protect those important files as necessary. Finally, remember you can add text introductions on each page! Learn more about media kits.
Clippings: Collect your external coverage (online links or PDFs) and display it on a dedicated page in your newsroom. If you really want to showcase this page, contact us and we'll give it a direct link in your main newsroom header. Learn more about clippings.
Events: Add details of upcoming events to your newsroom.
Contact details: Make sure you've got the right details added as your spokespeople so journalists know exactly where to go. If you're working in multiple markets, you'll be able to add different details for each region.
About information: Read our suggestions for your About page and make your story stand out. Think intro videos, a company timeline or team bios.
Choose your sign up options
When setting up your newsroom, you’ll have two sign up options to choose from, both fully GDPR compliant.
The Subscriber flow allows visitors to sign up to an automated newsletter at the frequency they prefer. You won't need to do anything as the newsletter is generated by us, but you'll be able to see a list of users in the dashboard.
The Leads flow requires the visitor to fill out a form with details of their position and location and is forwarded to you so that you can accept or reject that lead, and subsequently email them at your discretion.
Consider your needs carefully to select the one that best fits your team and workflow. This article on how to choose your sign up options may help.
SEO
Optimizing your newsroom for search engines is crucial for visibility. Check out all the things you can do to improve SEO in your newsroom.
Get a report
Stay informed about your newsroom's performance by receiving weekly or monthly stats reports. If you’d like to receive these reports, please send us an email, and we’ll set it up for you.
Final things to consider
Add a social media feed
You can integrate your social media feeds into any page of your newsroom to keep your content fresh and engaging. Whenever you update your socials, the newsroom will also be updated. To add this feature, please contact our support team, and we'll help you set it up.
Example: Warner Music Benelux
Make your featured release full width
If your brand has a strong visual identity or you have visually appealing content, consider making your featured release full width. This layout maximizes the impact of your visuals and engages visitors more effectively. We'l need to enable this for you so pop us a quick email with your request.
Add Pages
Connect with your audience in new and impactful ways through engaging pages that go beyond press. Showcase your brand values, present your leadership team, share financial reports, or demonstrate commitment to corporate responsibility. With our Pages feature, you can add unlimited custom pages to your newsroom with any content you choose.This flexibility allows you to cater to a wider audience and include a variety of content. Email us for a demo!
Questions? Send us an 📩 at hello@pr.co