You need a media kit, no matter the size of your business. A well constructed media kit is a powerful tool for effective marketing. In ancient days we called them press kits. They were used to hype our company at events where we announced new products, changes in management, new buildings, and so forth. We would invite newspaper, magazine, and TV reporters to attend in hopes that they would say something nice about us, and the media kit was used to provide background information, photos, facts, details, and the like. Well, things haven’t changed, but we have added new tasks for our media kit. Here’s what might be in a modern kit and how you can best use one to increase sales.

Company History This is the basic building block. Tell the story of your firm. Keep it short, but complete. One page back and front is plenty, but if you have tons of information and deep pockets, construct a small booklet with a table of contents, cover, and the whole works. Answer questions before they are asked. How, when, and why did your business begin? What was your first product or service? How have you grown? How many people were there at the beginning? How many now? Who started the firm? Why? How? What is your current focus and why? Pick out the highlights, briefly tell their importance, and describe how they led to where you are today. Include a humorous start-up or growth story from way-back-when if you have one. End by bringing your reader up to date. Keep this document light, you want it read.

Biographies
Include one page biographies of all top people (include others when they are important to a specific function). Bios need to be short and to the point, they are not resumes. Include a high quality head and shoulders glossy photo of each person (both black and white and color), and be sure to affix a sticker to the back of each photo with name, position, company, address, phone number, email, and web information. (Don’t write on the front or back of a photo, it shows through in print.) Don’t date these materials!

Quotations
Every time someone writes about your firm, get a copy of the material and add it to your media kit. What others say about you carries a lot more clout than what you say. Clearly and prominently indicate the source and the date of each.

Brochures-Photos
Add brochures to your kit only when you are announcing a new product or service, and limit your brochures to the targeted product or service. Leave the others out. Include a photo that clearly explains a new product, service, building, or shows a new piece of equipment, etc. that directly relates. Leave the other brochures on your shelf. Photos should be 8 X 10 glossy, black and white or color, and should be clearly identified with a label on the reverse side.

News Release
This is an event-specific document. The media person attending your event may not have time to write a comprehensive story. Be ready for this contingency by preparing an “already-written” piece which can be used by the media person either as a “stand-alone” piece or as a basis for developing their own article. Your stand-alone should provide all pertinent information about the event, and is best written in the inverted pyramid, five Ws news style (Who, What, Where, Why, When, and How). A public relations firm can write this for you, or you might just ask your friendly reporter how to do it! This is a critical part of your media kit and needs to follow the rules of news release. Any good PR person has this down pat. Follow the rules.

The Media Folder
This obligatory folder is usually trashed six minutes after leaving your office, so don’t spend big bucks here. A simple folder with a logo, name, address, and such prominently displayed is sufficient. The traditional folder is a lousy advertising tool, and even when you use it to deliver material to a customer, your recipient will take the material out of the folder, file it, and round-file your folder.

Using Your Media Kit to Make Money
The purpose of marketing is to get someone to buy something or do something that benefits you. Don’t confuse a media event for marketing. Yes, marketing does happen when your event is written-up or reported, but the event itself is advertising, not marketing.

With that in mind, think up uses for your media kit that will generate revenue. For example, most of the stuff in your kit is excellent material to hand to new prospects. Use the whole kit when you address the Rotary or similar club luncheon. The cost is minimal, and you just might pick up a new client or customer. If you are a salesperson, include your own bio, photo, and other information that will humanize you to your prospect.

Another great idea is to co-op with a charity where you donate X% of all sales in the month to the charity. Both of you will win. Put up the money to add the charity’s info to your media kit, and have enough printed to supply the charity for some period of time. You will get attention.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.)
Paul Tulenko is a Small Business Success Consultant based in New Mexico. Additional tips and suggestions are available at www.tulenko.com or call (toll-free) 1-866-TULENKO.