A media kit is an important tool for any small business, with this basic tool being sought by prospective advertisers and media publications alike. Still, many small business owners neglect to construct a quality small business media kit and their outreach suffers all the more for it.
Why Build A Small Business Media Kit
Let’s start with the basics – what is a media kit used for?
A media kit is a collection of information about you and your business, and about aspects that you’d like highlighted to different individuals. The primary use of the media kit is to supply media professionals – magazines, eZines, trade publications, local newspapers and media sources – with the information they’re interesting in, with the hopes of getting exposure for your business by being featured in various media outlets. Another popular use of the media kit is to show prospective advertisers and sponsors or supporters who you are and what you do so that they can decide whether it’s worth their while advertising with you or sponsoring your business or events.
It is in your best interest to build a strong media kit so that you have this “go-to” resource at the ready for when it’s required, and so that you can easily pull together information for distribution purposes. You should build the basic media kit ahead of time, and then personalise it for specific publications or parties as need be.
What Goes Into A Quality Media Kit?
Many small business owners are reluctant to build a media kit because it seems like a complex and overwhelming task. In reality, it’s quite a simple process. The contents of a small business media kit are basic, and once done, require only minimal maintenance and upkeep.
In your media kit you should include:
- A cover letter on company letterhead that introduces you and your business, and tells the recipient why they should be interested in you (this can be personalised for different publications or sponsors)
- A business card paper clipped to the top of the cover letter
- A packet if information about your business and specific products, events and so on. Include a few individual pieces such as press releases or product information pages each of about one to two pages in length
- A CD of good quality images to accompany articles and information, such as product photos or photos of you or staff at your place of business (make sure they are of high quality or they are useless to media publishers)
- A one to two page outline of your business, its function and your customer-base; this can also include stats for the business, particularly those of interest to prospective advertisers and supporters
- Complete contact information including phone, email, postal and physical addresses (unless you operate an online business where a physical address might be your home address)
- It can help to have a media section on your website too. This could be somewhere you keep online versions of your media kit documents, making it easy for media outlets to download the necessary information
All of this should be neatly compiled and arranged inside a high-quality folder that bears your logo (this can be printed or add custom stickers to office-quality folders).
The point of the media kit is to supply enough relevant, interesting information about you and your business to gain the attention of editors and others looking for leads or companies to do business with. The small business media kit is a tool that provides that quickly and easily, making it simple for interested parties to learn about you and write features about you.
Keep this in mind… make it simple for others to learn the most important things about you and your media kit will become one of the most useful vehicles for promotion that you have.
