COMMUNICATION IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD

The collective effect of technology’s ever-growing sophistication means millions now have democratic access to public platforms and can create a groundswell of interest without the invitation or permission of traditional media gatekeepers. The power once held by a select few has begun a definite and seismic shift to the individual. It also demands mastery of a new way to communicate. Adopt a micromedia mindset, one that accommodates the needs of this new landscape, and go forth with confidence.

Here are some guidelines and suggestions to keep close at hand when crafting your messages and making your first forays into the newly expanded public stage.

Never sacrifice credibility

As you build your strategy and adopt a micromedia mindset, whether with the goal of using coverage as leverage to crack into traditional, earned media space or with the hopes of becoming a micromedia outlet yourself, remember that the single-most important factor in content creation is objectivity. Be clear, be informative, be entertaining, but always be objective. It is the golden rule of journalism but a rule that, if adopted by those in the micromedia world, will help us maintain the integrity of content that made those traditional outlets revered.

Consume online media to familiarize yourself with what they offer

Whether you have carefully tended your social media accounts for years or are just getting started, changes in content, format, and focus happen very quickly online. Start with the outlets that you already read or that personally interest you. Navigate through them carefully to see what kind of material they are featuring (guest blog posts, reviews of services or products, interviews with experts) and where you might fit into their editorial plan. Next, add sites (start with five to ten) with an audience that mirrors the one you’d like to capture. In both cases, you are laying the groundwork for a successful strategy in the new media landscape.

Blogs, podcasts, video segments, and social media forums such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Snapchat feature material that follows their own specific rules. Learn what is expected and appropriate before you participate or lobby for coverage. Ask for coverage in specific columns, feature stories, reviews, or other ways that make sense for that particular outlet. If they feature bylines, by all means ask for one. If they do interviews with business leaders, offer yourself up for a spot there. Pleas of “Cover my new book,” “This would make a great story,” or “Attached please find an op-ed” should only be made when you are certain the outlet is in search of content in that format or for a specific area of its publication or site. Make it clear you know what kind of content that outlet features, and let its owner know how you can participate with that unique format in mind.

Create content for the niche, not the general audience

As the media landscape has stretched and expanded to the online space, the focus of the content has shifted. Rather than appealing to the masses, much of the online material you consume was created for a very specific niche audience. This narrowing of interest was clearly made possible by the larger space available to house it. The new, expansive environment is comprised of a seemingly endless number of media outlets with tight, specific focus. Today, audiences flock to customized content the same way they fill the aisles of every Starbucks store in search of a cup of coffee made specifically to suit them. The one-size-fits-all mindset that drove our economy for decades has been swiftly replaced by an environment in which consumer demand for customized offerings is vital to commercial success.

Create your content with this in mind. Don’t strive to appeal to “everyone” because that audience has dispersed. Stop homogenizing your messages so that they are palatable, or at least understandable, to the masses. The masses have moved on. The mass has fractured back into individuals who now each have the power to customize and consume their own content stream. Find your ideal audience, your perfect customer, and write or create material especially for them.

Value the niche audience

We speak every day to those in search of media coverage. And time and again, we hear what we consider to be both an arrogant notion and a fateful mistake. While media wish lists are likely to feature dream targets with national scope and enormous reach, too many people consider niche or trade industry outlets with disdain. With the excuse that these publications or outlets are “too small to matter” or “I can always get coverage there without any effort,” far too many march past their natural first audience—the one most likely to become rabid fans eager to tell everyone that your content is genius.

Those with small followings may count among their audience the exact people who need your information most. As for not needing to try at all to be featured on a site aimed at a very specific niche audience, we would contend that this is very unlikely. Precious few of us have been pursued by a media outlet convinced that our insight, material, or contribution are invaluable to their site or success. Start with the base that will be most interested in your message, garner coverage and support from those outlets, and use it to persuade larger outlets that your story has the potential to pique the interest of a bigger, perhaps more general, audience.

Carefully monitor your contributions

Once you have found a home for your content in the micromedia world, do not assume that your job is over. In fact, consider the public forum just the first step on your path to widespread attention. Once you have put a public stake in the ground and are offering up your ideas to the masses, be certain to listen, very carefully, to the feedback and conversations that take root around your ideas.

Set up a system to monitor everything you release. Every comment, tweet, retweet, favorite, or like is an important piece of data that will guide you to the ideas and subjects that are most resonant and most likely to be fertile ground for expansion. Just as you archive that content on your own site, on your hard drive, to the cloud, and hopefully to a USB as well, learn to listen closely and carefully to what your audience is saying. Be open to cheerleaders and critics alike, as both will inspire you to expand your thoughts and your contributions.

Foster relationships with your followers and your dream followers

Once you are listening to your audience, make the effort to forge a meaningful connection with them. Read the comments beneath that blog post and respond. Take the time to create a list of those tweeting or retweeting your content, research their profiles, and add them to your own outreach pile. Take all of this a large step forward by beginning to consume content from those in your audience. It may turn out that the VP of Marketing who is commenting on your LinkedIn post is creating crazy-good material herself. Sign up for that feed. Comment on her post when it has special resonance. And don’t stop there.

Turn your attention next to those who you wish were reading, listening, or watching you. First, consume their material. Take to the online stage to comment on it only when it truly sparks an interest and a response that moves the conversation forward. This is definitely a case where false, empty flattery will get you nowhere. What’s more, it will be viewed as an opportunistic ploy to claw your way into notice and, ultimately, good favor. Let authentic interest guide you, and set your sights on being useful rather than self-promotional. Used well, this kind of dogged focus on those in the circle you wish to enter will end with the target becoming intrigued with the thoughtful responses and, perhaps when the time is exactly right, becoming interested in what else you might have to say. Done poorly, it means you will be put in the spam filter for the rest of time.

What the new rules really mean

In total, these new rules for communicating are meant as a quick refresher course for anyone participating in the micromedia world. They are designed to remind us all that while the social media tools and spaces before us give us the opportunity to do new, different, visual, and interactive things with our audience, they are best used by a practiced hand. Don’t let the speed of the new environment rush you into communicating in a way that lacks polish and professionalism. Fast is good, but only if you can achieve it while staying true to your image and your brand. Take an extra minute when composing that next tweet, posting a blog, or even replying to someone who comments on your work. That time won’t be wasted, and soon it will become a good, solid communication habit.