These days we’ve all been forced to do more with less, and the mass media is one industry where this trend is in full effect. This has, however, paved the way for finding new ways to operate more efficiently using the power of the social web.

What are you doing to make it easy for the media to find you?

When you think about the way in which you get your news, connect with your customers, or do research, how much of it takes place online and in social networks? Many of those in the news business are turning to the social web for the same purposes – to uncover new stories, conduct research, find sources and connect with their audience. With the changing newsroom and social media shaping how journalists find news and sources, it’s increasingly important for you or your brand to become searchable and make it as easy as possible to be found online.

Content-rich online newsrooms, blogs, social networking connections, and social and multi-media press releases are a few ways to get your information out there. It’s important to determine which best fits your company and the news you are releasing. A multi-media press release could be overkill in one instance, and incredibly useful in another.

Adam Kress of the Business Journal has embraced various forms of media – print, online, social networks and even radio to share his reports and cast a wider net. He also uses many online platforms to find information and sources, but says it varies based upon the news or the article he is writing.

“I’m looking at it as more of a sounding board – as an idea-generator as opposed to copying what may already be out there,” Kress said. “Depending on what you may be writing or reporting on, if it’s on a certain industry or certain topic, you can use Facebook and Twitter to try to connect with other people out there who may be involved in that industry.”

He said these networks enable him to reach out to potential sources he might not otherwise have access to without a major time investment. “It takes a very small amount of time to do, but it can pay off in that you may be connected with people very quickly.”

When it comes to online newsrooms, Kress said the more information the better. Fill your company site with useful and relevant news, press releases, and most importantly, contact information. For multi-media releases, however, tons of information could be overload if it’s not relevant.

“If you’re going to do those multi-media releases just make sure what you are putting in there is relevant,” he said.

Bottom line, do your homework. You have to know who you are pitching and how they like to receive information.

Hear the entire interview with Adam Kress below.

Resources:

• PitchEngine
• “Essence of Online Newsrooms” by Ryan Zuk
• “How to Connect with Mass Media Using Social Media”

Question of the week:
What online tools are you using to connect with traditional media?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

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Are you Googley? No matter what area of business you are in, being Googley can help differentiate you from your competitors, at least according to “What Would Google Do?” by Jeff Jarvis.

In the book, Jarvis examines how Google operates and its core values: creation, openness, connections, uniqueness, collaboration, invention and keeping it simple. In previous podcasts I talked about Googlefying your business – that series was more focused on utilizing the many platforms Google has created to help you operate more effectively and efficiently in many ways. But by becoming what Jarvis called “Googley” a company is in essence taking the core values that Google has employed to better serve their clients. Whether or not you like Google (good reads: “Google Whacked” and “When Google Owns You”) some of the core values Jarvis outlines in his book should be fundamental in any business.

Fundamental values:

• Listen and monitor – What are customers saying about you and your competition? Where are they saying it?
• Collaborate and link – What do you do best? Focus on that and refine it. Make quality the one thing you do then collaborate and link with others who have different specializations. Linking to other bloggers helps you get found and increases your Google (or Bing) juice.
• Join and distribute – Your audience will likely not come to you, so go to them. Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, YouTube…if this is where they spend their time, it’s also where you need to spend yours. Engage, interact and find out what they want. Think about how you can utilize these platforms, like Foursquare, in a different way beyond a special deal for the “mayor.” If you are a restaurant owner or chef, is there room for collaboration with other restaurants to develop a Foursquare-specific deal?
• Innovate – As Jarvis points out in his book, Google employs a 20 percent rule in which technical employees are encouraged to use 20 percent of their time innovating and working on new ideas, products and businesses. It has spawned many of the new ideas and features that come out of Google. Jarvis recommends spending time each week researching, learning, experimenting and inventing.

Get out there and join your audience, the conversation could be taking place without you. Create, and make it easy for your customers to share you or your product with their friends online. Remember, contributing, creating and linking will make you more searchable. Lastly, innovate! It will likely be one of the most liberating things you do in business.

Resources:
1. “Five steps to a Googlier you”
2. “What Would Google Do?”

Question of the week:
Do you implement the 20 percent rule? If so, has it spawned any great ideas that you’ve tested?

For more tips and tools check out JetPack Radio.

Enclosures: MP3, M4V

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