In with the New Media and In with the Old
Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and others offer the chance for you to promote yourself, your creative endeavor or your business for free.
Social media is all the rage, so much so that many people think that it is no longer valuable to seek publicity opportunities in the “old media.”
The owner of one business networking site wrote in an article to his members that getting media in his local daily newspaper was a complete waste of time because it was rapidly losing subscribers. Of course, he also bemoaned his own inability to get an article about his business in that same newspaper.
Now, I think that his article reflected two things. The first was his own inability to effectively promote himself to the paper. Sour grapes. The other reason was his own self-interest in positioning his business as the better publicity opportunity.
And yes, the old mainstream media is hemorrhaging audience at an alarming rate. But they still have tremendous influence. Just look at the popularity of shows like American Idol. Winners and runners-up have launched successful music careers because of the exposure they received on the show.
And your local newspaper, TV and radio stations can still help you to get free, positive exposure to tens, even hundreds of thousands of potential customers.
Don’t get me wrong, I use Twitter and Facebook to promote my books and PR business, even though I made my bones as a newspaper reporter. I also continue to promote myself through the traditional media.
I do this because we don’t live in an either/or world. You don’t have to choose one means of promotion over the other. You can use both. Done right, each one is effective in its own way.
So I strongly suggest promoting yourself or your business using both traditional media and the new Web 2.0 world we live in. Don’t limit your opportunities. Expand upon them and watch your name recognition, credibility and bank account grow.
Thanks for reading,
Danek
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