Many press experts, including Dan Gillmor who published “We The Media,” told small businesses, large businesses, and even lone entrepreneurs that they could be the media. Thanks to digital technology, you could have the reach of a multi-national corporation with a promotional budget of billions.
For some of you who have been early adopters of websites, webinars, blogs, podcasts, videos for YouTube, photo-sharing, setting up a Facebook fanpage, and tweeting, that has worked out well. Your outreach converted into actions such as more guests at your restaurant and more emails to your state senator to lobby for or against such and such a regulation
. In addition, since attention gets attention, the external media started coming to you, particularly your special events.
For those of you who haven’t taken that digital leap into being the media, there’s urgency. More constitutencies, ranging from prospects and current customers/clients to elected officials and local and regional media, are coming to your website. There they now expect you to have a “Media Center.” For some that is their first stop instead of “About Us.” In addition, if there is a crisis, your own Media Center provides one of the platforms from which you will handle it.
What should be in your Media Center? Everything which tells your story. That includes videos you put on YouTube, external coverage by the press, press releases, announcements, case studies, clips of ads, white papers, podcasts, webinars, speeches, earnings reports, blog posts which have gone viral, live-tweeting, and photos. The beauty of the Media Center is that you tell your story in your own voice, on your schedule.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultants on Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Partnerships, Advertising, and Special Events kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.