The news is not just for watching. Instead of following the news as a bystander, your business can become part of the story and work it to your advantage. Or not. Are you curious how to transform a headline into a business opportunity?
Catching A News Wave
If you latch onto an important story in a relevant way, you can grab the attention of your audience, facilitate engagement, and light up the social media channels to both existing and potential customers with your brand message.
Before we get into the how, you need to use your best judgment in this arena. Not every news story will be right or smart for you to put your two cents in. If a story may potentially alienate your target audience, steer clear and stay quiet. The right stories will help you build and strengthen your brand, not threaten it. Once you have the right stories in mind, it’s time to shine.
In her HuffPost article “How to Take Advantage of Trending News Stories,” Catriona Pollard explores some strategies to take advantage of trending news topics, generalized and summarized in snippets below.
Pick the Right Story for You
As stated above, you aren’t applicable to all stories. Actually, your business won’t apply to most stories. It’s not even about volume of mentions. Instead, the importance is being part of one great story that highlights your relevance and your value. If you are in the wrong story, you’ll confuse your brand and your audience.
Stay on Your Toes
Once you offer to be part of a story, you need to consider all possible outcomes. For example, is there a related hot topic you can piggyback off from after this story breaks? Be proactive for the potential domino effect of this coverage and look for other connected opportunities while the iron is hot.
Keep Your Eyes Open
In order to be part of the story, you need to find it first! The best way to do this is keep your eyes peeled on social media. Follow the leading experts in the field and the most relevant publications and bloggers as the first step. Then, pay attention to what they are saying and the conversation that’s happening amongst the public. When you really pay attention, you’ll not only see the stories that matter the most right now, but you’ll also have a great gauge on the best information that needs to be shared and the tone in which to share it.
Don’t Miss the Moment
If you aren’t on time for an important story, the window is lost. As soon as you identify the right story to be a part of, especially when you are providing a critical insight in your industry, you need to get your well-crafted message out there right away to be first on the scene in all your media channels. If you wait too long, you’ll be too far down the line to be noticed.
Provide Value
It’s one thing to comment on a story, but it’s an entirely different animal to provide smart context and information that people actually need. Figure out what crucial puzzle piece has not yet been shared and be the one to deliver it in a prominent way. And, if you have a different angle to shed light to a story, this is almost always a home run.
What News Stories Have You Shaped?
In your business experience, have there been any stories you were part of? How did this experience influence your brand? Is there any advice you feel is important to share?
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References:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/catriona-pollard/how-to-take-advantage-of-_3_b_13737280.html