This blog post is based on some communications tips that I shared on the show on Eagle Waves Radio today. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here: Media Madams
You could say that Facebook and Twitter are the new office water coolers. People are just as likely to have discussions about news and events on social media as they are around the office water cooler. While social media has grown in popularity the news and information cycle still exists, people still talk about news whether it’s online or in person and there are opportunities for savvy small business owners to jump on the bandwagon.
My media background shapes the way that I think about communications. It has taught me that to break through you have to keep your content and message topical. If you tie your marketing or promotional message into current news and events you are already connecting with your audience because the media has already done the hard work for you.
So, here are five tips on sourcing and developing messages that cut through using published news and information:
1. Set up RSS feeds that are related to your industry. Start a Feedly.com account and you can monitor what’s happening without trawling through countless websites. Download the Feedly app to your phone so you can have a quick scan for relevant articles at any time. A lot of news and government sites have new and topical information.
2. Once you have found a relevant article you can automatically share it across a number of social media channels and make a quick comment. You can share this information across Facebook, Twitter or Google+ with the click of a button via the Feedly app.
3. Why not develop the article into a blog? Tie the issues raised in the article into a blog that directly relates to your business and what you are trying to achieve. Remember to put a link to the original article and a call to action at the bottom of the blog.
4. If you are designing a new website or have a WordPress site, make sure that you have plugins that will share your blog post across multiple platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter automatically.
5. I have found Slideshare to be a great resource for sharing information and improving SEO. Take the information from the blog and break it down into slides. Remember to include a call to action slide at the end of your slide presentation.
There are many more tools to promote and communicate your message but the news cycle still drives conversations. It’s hard to create news, so it’s easier to use news that’s already been created to tie in with your brand. If you can link in with what people are already talking about and solve a problem or issue that has been highlighted by the media then it’s the perfect tie-in.
If you would like to discuss this topic further please get in touch via email: contact@infodec.com.au or Twitter: @jo_anneryan