| Alexa Hoffman 
Spring is sprung, the grass is riz, do you know where your multimedia is? Savvy PR and marketing professionals know the answer: accompanying any content they produce and distribute. As spring heats up into summer, topics turn to popular leisure activities typically associated with the warmer months, such as travel and adventure or food and drink – areas where visual content is especially powerful and easy to create. Open most Instagram feeds and they're filled with sweeping vistas, crystalline oceans, plates overflowing with decadent food and drinks of all shapes and sizes. Joining these conversations is simpler than you think. In my distribution guide Driving Audience Awareness by Targeting Your Press Release, I examine how using a content distribution service allows you to not only reach mainstream media interested in these topics, but also consumers and influencers eager to get lost in the story of a summer adventure. "When someone at a blog or a website signs up to receive PR Newswire's content, they always ask about multimedia," says Jeanette Jirau, manager of online content at PR Newswire. "They want images. They want people to click on the content." The best way to ensure journalists, bloggers, influencers and their audiences engage with your content is by including compelling multimedia – visuals that inspire and stand out from the crowd. We’re here to help, with a few visual storytelling ideas to get you started. Share a how-to video. If you've ever watched a video on social media of someone mixing ingredients to make a grand drink or some delicious dish, you know how mesmerizing it can be. Don't just distribute the recipe for a new drink at your resort or the latest appetizer to feature your ingredients. Show audiences how it's made. If you're making something that's especially appetizing, your audience will not only be more likely to engage and watch it, they'll be more likely to share it as well. 
Take background into account with your headshots. Personnel announcements and similar content about your brand's people can benefit from a headshot. However, don't feel obligated to follow standard grip-and-grin protocol. Take a photo outside, against a backdrop of a blue sky or palm trees, like this content from Visit Anaheim. Or have the photo taken on the job or in the office, but away from the blank walls. Check out the CEO of The Casual Pint in one of his stores. Incorporate user-generated content into your message. Whether you include a photo or video created by a consumer of your product, or you use your content as a call to action to inspire others to create content, it all works. Asking for content is a solid way to inspire your audience, especially when the topic relates to travel or consumer goods. Check out this great example from LifeProof of incorporating user-generated content into their message to promote both their company and the photographic talents of the couple who won LifeProof’s summer adventure contest. Showcase vibrant colors. The use of eye-catching colors can spice up multimedia and attract viewers to your content, especially with consumer and lifestyle topics. Take this photo from Three Bridges, which effectively and simply includes a dish consisting primarily of boldly colored vegetables. If the dish looks good enough to eat, the text in the content should complement the photo by telling your audience where they can find how to make or buy that recipe for themselves! Of course, we could always hearken back to our first suggestion and pair the photo with a how-to video. When it comes to writing about the travel, food and beverage industries, it's important to note that multimedia is not a 'nice to have' component of effective content, it's absolutely essential. Just like variety is the spice of life, variety in your multimedia can bring new life to your brand story. Make sure, though, that the distribution method you use to promote your visual content reaches niche influencers in the most compelling way possible. Download Driving Audience Awareness by Targeting Your Press Release to learn more about selecting a targeted distribution option that delivers the most value. Alexa Hoffman is PR Newswire's senior product manager for US distribution, which reaches the broadest group of US-based journalists, consumers, bloggers and investors in the industry. Follow her at @PRNlgbt, where she co-curates PR Newswire's Twitter channel dedicated to LGBT news and culture. | 
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