Business Leveraging Local News

Local news can be a very useful tool for entrepreneurs. While it is true that viewing of local television news has declined over the past few years, this does not mean that the number of people following news channels has declined.

In fact, reporters and news channels have their own social-media channels and websites with large followings and traffic and the reach of local news via social media is growing. Add to that the use of live streaming, Twitter and Facebook, audience-reach is actually bigger than ever before – and local news is still traditionally considered a trustworthy source. It is also accessible: reporters and anchors can be reached quickly through their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Here are some ways that entrepreneurs can easily reach local news sources to help promote themselves, their businesses, and to spread awareness.

Reach out to reporters on social media

Try to have a unique approach on how you connect with local news reporters – and make sure you have done your homework and studied what they report on.

Leverage a news channel’s YouTube page

Find local reporters with a personal channel and news channels that report on your topic of interest and search for them on YouTube. If they can’t feature you in a story, ask them if they would feature you in a story for YouTube only.

Ask reporters and news stations to post on Facebook

Journalists and reporters are usually verified automatically on Twitter and Facebook via their employment contracts with the news stations. This adds value to their page, even if their following isn’t as large as other related pages. Remember that Facebook now allows for video footage to be uploaded directly to their platform and for videos to be featured on pages.

Inquire about their mailing lists

If a local news station or reporter features you in any way, ask if your story could also be part of their newsletter or email. There may be policies in place to prevent this, but it is always worth enquiring.

Cross-promote

If a reporter or journalist from a local news station agrees to do a story on you, don’t let them carry the weight of promoting it alone. Ask them how they plan to promote it and offer your own supplemental promotion. Find a way for the story to be beneficial for everyone.

Are you using local news channels to reach a wider audience?

Adapted from an article by Cynthia Johnson, entrepreneur.com