1. Tell the story
You can share news stories directly on social media, or you can do a bit of journalism of your own for a blogpost or newsletter. Obviously, you can’t just lift the story directly but you can write up what happened in your own words. Be sure to go back to the original source. See which organisations are quoted in the story and see if they’ve issued a statement or press release.
A good guide is to make sure your story answers the questions:
- What?
- Who?
- When?
- Where?
- Why?
2. Give us more
Then, once you’ve told the story, add value.
- Give your own reactions. Were you there at the seminar that’s got everyone so worked up? What did you see and hear? Do you use the supplier in question? Does the shortage have an impact on you?
- Share a resource. Can you knock up an infographic or a graphical explainer for your clients to share?
- Be helpful. Give action steps to help them solve or prevent the problem.
3. Get the picture
Images are vital for news stories on social media: pictures get more shares and people are more likely to click a link with an image. For copyright reasons you cannot just take any picture you want from the internet. You are likely to get a stern notice from the owner of the image if you do.
You are free to use your own photographs, of course!
There are images in the public domain and you are free to use those – but watch out for licences that limit commercial use. The good news is that stock photographs from sites like iStock are not at all expensive and so you can always have a good strong image to hand.
4. Be ready
It is impossible to schedule in breaking news, but there are some stories that can be written into the planner. Think about the big dates in your sector’s year. For retailers it may be Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day. Or it may be the start of the football season, the week of an industry conference or show, or the annual car number plate changes. Even smaller dates like awareness days can make a story hook. A quick flip through the back issues of your industry’s magazines will give you some ideas, or you can check a list like Days of the Year.
Takeaway
Does all this sound like something you’d enjoy doing? Or is it just another item on your to-do list that is distracting you from the work you love. What about getting the professionals in? A content strategist can take the news items that interest you and transform them into enticing, stand-out news items that will keep you at the top of your customers’ minds, and give you an authoritative voice in your industry.