National Trends Can Help Earn Local Exposure

Anytime you begin brainstorming new content for clients, or your company, you are likely asking, “How do I make my content stand out from the rest? How can I make it different?” The answer may be simpler than you think: meet the needs of your target audience. Relating to people on a local level through news sources and social media allows you to take advantage of national stories while adding a local angle to make it relevant.

The Internet is inundated with similar news stories across multiple platforms. The reality is that unique content is getting harder to produce and utilizing multiple platforms to attract your target audience to these messages is getting more difficult.

As consumers of media, we expect to see information that is timely and relevant. This provides the opportunity to take national news stories and find local angles to help promote your services, products or causes within your own community.

Here are a few tips to take a bigger trend or event and earn some local exposure:

• Monitor the news – Take the time to review current events and think about how your product or service could tie into these events. Use social media to find out what’s trending, then capture your audience’s attention by taking the trend and giving it a local twist. Remember, timeliness and trends are essential for social media success, local or national. The ease and immediacy of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, etc., will allow you to post almost simultaneously with events such as the Super Bowl, Olympics and even the weather.

• Find a local angle – If a story is being covered in the national news, it’s likely your local media will appreciate connections at a local level. You can use a human interest angle to relate to the topic of discussion, giving readers, viewers and listeners the ability to resonate with the trending national news while also getting coverage for your company.

• Make it a bigger story – You can help build your case with reporters by partnering with other companies in your community to further stress the importance of the story. Get creative when thinking about how you could generate interest while providing valuable and useful information to readers or viewers. For example, if it’s an economic issue or trend, ask other business owners if they would be willing to serve as a resource.

By taking a topic that has the nation’s attention and making it relevant to your local audience, you can increase the value of your message. Journalists are acknowledging this expectation and it is largely impacting their interest in helping with your message or story.