By creating articles that tie to your social media presentations, you can promote upcoming talks on social media. Such articles can also be a great way to introduce yourself to niched groups of business people.

 

Examples of Recent Articles I Wrote

In the past few weeks, I’ve had two articles published. “Safe fun for older adults on Facebook,” was published in several newspapers serving readers in small communities near Denver.

The other article, “Three Best Practices for Using LinkedIn,” appeared in the Fourth Quarter Issue of The MHEDA Journal. Readers of this journal are members of the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association.

I wrote each of these articles at the request of an organization. In the first case, the leaders of the Seniors’ Council of Douglas County asked me to write the article. It appeared in their Living and Aging Well column.

They invite the speaker at each monthly meeting to write an article to help draw people to the talk. Since I’m speaking in December, they asked me to write the article for their November column.

Here’s a link to the article as it appeared in the Parker Chronicle, one of the newspapers that runs this column: https://parkerchronicle.net/stories/safe-fun-for-older-adults-on-facebook,315950?

The second article came about because I offered to do a LinkedIn training for the staff of MHEDA. They wanted the members of their organization to also benefit from my knowledge of using LinkedIn. So, they invited me to write the article that was distributed to their membership.

Here is a link to the article: https://www.themhedajournal-digital.com/disq/0420_fourth_quarter_2020/MobilePagedReplica.action?pm=2&folio=78#pg78

 

Tips for Creating Articles that Tie to Your Social Media Presentations

  • Start early. Typically, the deadlines for these articles are set well in advance of their publication. Plan to get a draft of the article to the point person before the date they provide you. That way you will have enough time to make the changes they request.
  • If possible, review past issues of the publication where your article will appear. By doing that, you will have a sense of the “voice” of the publication and the types of articles in it.
  • Follow the guidelines set by those who publish the newspaper or magazine where your article will appear. I know this sounds basic, but you need to read the fine print and be sure to honor their requirements.
  • Make sure the article reflects what you cover in your presentation. The article needs to hit the high points of what you will talk about. It shouldn’t go off on unrelated tangents.
  • Have at least one other person review the article. You may already work regularly with an editor. Or perhaps you have a friend who is willing to help you as a favor. Their input will help you to strengthen the article.
  • Once the article is published, spread the word about it! With permission of the publisher, include a link to the piece in social media posts. Now you will get even more exposure beyond the publication’s readership.

 

How About You?

What experience have you had with getting articles published that tie to your social media presentations?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 45 and up, to become more effective using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. She works with business owners, nonprofit organizations, job seekers, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.