What you will learn: Social media gets attention. In today's lesson, you'll learn how to use social media to get the traditional media to pay attention.

Transcript:

Welcome to the Get Media Smart podcast. Never struggle to get attention again.

I’m your host, Cheryl Tan

Want to learn how to get noticed by the media?

What if the media came to you, and right behind them….clients and customers?

How do you leverage that publicity to grow your company?

This is the Get Media Smart podcast, where you will hear real-life stories of publicity gone right. You will learn actionable steps to get your name in front of the people who matter.

Hi, everyone! I’m Cheryl Tan. Welcome to the Get Media Smart podcast. Episode #7.

It is Day 7 of the Become a Media Magnet Challenge. And we’re talking about creating a consistent social media strategy - and how the effort can pay off in traditional media mentions.

You can still join us by signing up for this free email challenge at CherylTanMedia.com/podcast and for two full weeks, you will get action items straight to your inbox - action items that will help you attract attention for you and your business.

I will outline the challenges in the first 14 episodes of this podcast. They are short, to the point, and you can always join us in our Facebook community for more insight.

We really can't talk about achieving media mastery and becoming a media magnet without addressing social media.

I remember reporting the news BEFORE YouTube, Facebook, and Google. We never anticipated then the impact social media would have on our future newscast rundowns.

Turn on the nightly news now and it is quite possible you'll see a story that begins, "Watch this amazing video. It already has 3 million views on Youtube." Whether you agree with it or not, success on social media gets media attention, every single day. Media outlets share news of the day, of course, but there are sometimes segments focused solely on what people are talking about. And 3 million views is a metric they look at.

I will say not all journalists are thrilled that something that "goes viral" on social media has the power to be a part of the national nightly news, but it does happen. And it will continue to do so.

Your goal is likely *not* to be featured on the 6 p.m. news for a viral video, it's to be seen as an expert in your field. And you can definitely do that with social media.

When trying to grow an audience on a social media platform, consider this:

*#1 What is your message? We talked about this in Episode #3, but straight up selling to a reporter doesn't work. It doesn't work on social media, either. Adding value does. So if you can educate your fans and followers, they are more likely to turn to you for guidance. And don't forget. Reporters are ALWAYS on social media. They are looking for sources and interviews, too. Anytime you can show your expertise on social, do it.

*#2 Where is your audience? This is so important. If your audience is older, Google plus, LinkedIn or Facebook may work, or an email newsletter. Younger, try Instagram or Snapchat. Do you have beautiful pictures as part of your product or service? Pinterest and Instagram work well. Are you a writer? Twitter is a great tool. Show up where your audience does.

*#3 Is your product or service conducive to videos or a podcast? Many businesses have found success by sharing their expertise in video or audio. Visually-appealing content gets attention. Making that content on-demand or instantly accessible is valuable. Journalists watch and listen, too.

If you don't need sleep, you could focus on all of these platforms and get nowhere fast.