For the past several years the idea that "Content is King" has spread throughout the marketing world and has led to the development of some terrific blogs, videos, articles, books and more. For today's brands, having not only content, but content that stands out is a big challenge because with so much content to choose from readers are constantly asking why they should read one item over another? In the future, brands are going to need to move from just building content assets to building communities where content is part of a media mix to include audio (podcasts or similar), video (YouTube, Vine etc.) social engagement (chats, Q&A) and more. Brands like RedBull and American Express have done this successfully, but most brands are still figuring it out. The media hub is a great way to revolutionize the content experience. If your business wants to better connect to the world through content, maybe a media hub is the best strategy for your business. Here are 6 ways for your business to become a successful media hub.

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2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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?

5. 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.

6. 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?

7. 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.

8. 1START 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.

9. 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!
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10. 3BE 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.

11. 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

12. 5GO 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.

13. 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.
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14. 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:

15. 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 Newman
President of Broadsuite
@danielnewmanuv dnewman@broadsuite.com
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