Be sure to check out the new

With more and more large companies looking

to find ways to connect to their ideal

consumer there has been a shift in the way

content is being developed and shared

EARLIER NOW

The web was pretty simple and

straightforward. You bought an URL,

you put your products and services

onto a website and you waited for

the phone to ring.

You need to connect at the

human level: educate, inspire,

communicate and deliver content

that is relevant to your business

but also has an element of human

interest.

While there are many examples of brands acting as media

hubs, there are few doing it better than American Express’

Open Forum.

LET’S CONSIDER

an example of a media hub

While much of the content is interesting and

terrific, it would be hard for the average reader to

truly make the connection between American

Express and an article like 3 Keys to Mobile Small

Business Success?

If you visit the Open Forum you will find a vast landscape of video,

articles and other visual content from a diverse group of business

leaders, executives and entrepreneurs.

And then beyond just the content there

are opportunities for readers to ask

questions of their forum experts and join

into live chats and events.

Basically a menu of ways to get more

involved in the community and gather

more information about whatever small

business owners may be thinking about.

In theory this is great for the

small business owner…

…BUT WHAT IS IN IT FOR

AMERICAN EXPRESS?

REALLY, IT IS QUITE SIMPLE

BRILLIANT!

Business owners are the most likely

candidates for most of American Express’

products.

In today’s world content is more about sharing and collaborating

and with that generosity comes interest, loyalty and commitment

to a brand.

The Open Forum created a loyal community of small business owners that are

now at arms reach from AMEX to eventually earn their business or grow their

business together.

More small businesses need to be

taking a “Media Hub” approach. Building

your own Open Forum may not be

realistic in the short term, still there are

ways to build a more media centric site

that talks about more than just your

products and services but about your

whole purpose, industry and vision.

At this point you may be

nodding your head in theory,

but thinking:

I’m a small business so how does

something like this benefit what

my business is doing?

So what can a small or midsize company do to get into the

“Media Hub” game?

Well there is plenty and here are 6 that I recommend.

1 START BLOGGING:

Okay we are going to ease into these, but if

you aren’t blogging and allowing employees,

customers and executives to tell stories and

share interesting ideas then you are missing

a massive opportunity to connect with your

customers.

The blog can live as an extension of your

site or, as some companies are doing it, as

a separate site dedicated to content and

community leaving only a minimum tie back

to the brand site.

THINK VISUAL

For some companies it is hard to sit down

and write a lot of content. Another great way

to tell your story is to utilize video.

Brands no longer need elaborate technology

to record a conversation. An iPhone and a

YouTube account can often do the job. Start

talking about the industry, the challenges,

the opportunities and interesting world

events that can be tied back to your

business. People want to get to know your

brand on a personal level!

2

3 BE SOCIAL

For small businesses wanting to get more

exposure the investment in creating content

often doesn’t go unnoticed and the question

that follows is usually who is

reading/viewing this stuff?

A great way to start building an audience

for the content your brand is creating is to

be social. Your employees, customers,

partners and friends are a great way to

start. Once you have them sharing you

need to use brand owned social channels

and strategic growth of those accounts to

help content go further.

FOSTER COMMUNITY

While many companies have mastered the art

of using social to promote themselves, few do a

good job of using social to hold events, drive

conversations or just strategically connect to

their target audience.

An important distinction when it comes to

building community is to remember for most

brands the right audience is more important

than a large audience. For some businesses

acquiring just a couple of new customers can

mean 6, 7 or 8 figures in new revenue.

4

5 GO MOBILE

People are now spending more time on mobile

devices and subsequently mobile apps than

ever before. This means making your sites,

content hubs and applications mobile friendly.

Including taking into consideration the

importance of simplicity, fast load times and

easy navigation.

For some innovative small companies this

opens the door to using a dedicated content

app for interested consumers. By creating a

“Your Brand App” you can actually have a

dedicated site where your community can

explore your content fast, easy and in a mobile

friendly environment.

THINK CONSISTENCY

If there is one thing that small and midsize

businesses mess up at more than anything else

where their media strategy it is consistency. The

old adage about needing to see something 7

times is still true and in a world where we see

more and have more options than ever before we

need to be even more diligent.

Most of the media hubs that are really doing

great are extremely diligent when it comes to

regular content, events, engagement and other

activities. So maybe you can’t do something

every day, but whatever you commit to, see it

through.

6

Once you build the readership, it is yours. It is on your channels

and it is your content.

How powerful is it to have a loyal readership interested in the

products and services that your company offers?

THINK ABOUT THIS:

Dan Newman is the president of Broadsuite where he works side

by side with brands big and small to help them be found, seen and

heard in a cluttered digital world. A regular contributor to Forbes,

Entrepreneur and Huffington Post, he is also the author of two

books, a business professor and a huge fan of watching his

daughters play soccer.

Dan NewmanPresident of Broadsuite

@danielnewmanuv dnewman@broadsuite.com

Be sure to check out the new