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Growing up did you ever think it would be cool to be a news reporter or a sports reporter? Did you ever feel like you wanted to emphasize your own points versus just reporting the news.
The great news is that you can be the news reporter, the person who does tell the story a little different than the other outlets.
I thought about this concept a lot this week and experienced first-hand. Check out these examples.
Example 1 – A major network producer called and was inquiring about using the company I work for, Midwest Laboratories in a news story for a new television series. Sounded interesting and I tried to find out more information. However, as the conversation went on, the less and less enthused I became. The story would be 5 minutes, the cost to our company would be a minimum price of $20,000 and I grow woefully tired of how our 35 year old company really needed this “new” company to compete and stay profitable. Sorry – no thanks
Example 2 – This week our laboratory received record number of soil samples, (Winter soil sampling & soil testing) averaging 4,000 to 5,000 soils a day. This is very unusual for this part of the country, (Omaha, NE) in the middle of January. I talked about this news item this week and received several comments, inquiries and more new accounts.
Example 3 – This week there was an announcement regarding fungicide in orange juice. “Fungicide found in Orange Juice”. I wanted people to be aware that the levels found, 35 parts per billion were very low. Often times this information does not get reported accurately. As a result of the blog post, we answered calls from consumers and companies with respect to pesticide and fungicide testing. We perform some of this testing, but our goal was to assist people with their questions about the incident.
The point here is that each of us has the power to communicate and influence our readers on topics related to our company and our own beliefs. The tools are at your disposal and you do not have to wait for someone to create news for you.
It starts with action….
Start with your blog and post your story there. | Share your story on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ | Be involved with discussions on these platforms
Follow the results…
See how many comments and phone calls you receive pertaining to the topic. Follow the analytics to see if people are searching key words found in your story.
Repeat again and again….
Each time evaluate how you could write your story better, plan for the outcomes you hope to expect, monitor metrics specific to your story.
If you still have that dream of being a news reporter or producer, the good news is that you can be that person and you can make a difference for yourself and others. Start producing your own work and don’t let someone else dictate your story.
