Who better than you?

I’ve had an interesting convergence of conversations lately that have me thinking more about the power of do-it-yourself media. By that I don’t mean ranks from any Dick, Jane, or Sally and slapped up on a blog, but experienced, knowledgeable, accurate news and information gathered, analyzed, and distributed by trained professionals with a larger goal in mind.

Here’s a sampling of the conversations:

~ Anne, who’s just left a big online-media job with a regional news organization that ought to know better, talking about finding a new way to gather local news (and ads) on the Web and get it to people who really want it.

~ Rob, who runs a major performing-arts company, worrying about how his shows will be advertised to sell tickets and where enough people might read the reviews to sell more tickets.

~ Tom, a diehard new-media newsman, experimenting with distributing headlines and commentary via Facebook.

~ Kathy, my wife and publicist extraordinaire, looking at shrinking print and broadcast news holes and targeting new (albeit fragmented) venues to publicize theater events and promotional offers.

~ John, another smart newsie, running a news-aggregating service (“actually the machines do most of the work now,” he says) out of his house while trying to help traditional news orgs figure out the digital thing.

While it shouldn’t come as any surprise, given my work in custom publishing (where journalism meets marketing), what these and many similar conversations point to is the increasing opportunities for smart organizations of all sizes to tell their own stories. Whether they hire a company like mine to do it for them (pitch alert: because we have the people and expertise in place and the critical mass to offer good pricing) or they take advantage of the glut of first-rate writers, editors, and graphics people to build in-house media-marketing teams, companies of all kinds have a chance right now to leapfrog over the struggling mainstream media and talk directly to customers.

A big auto-supply company could provide useful information to car buffs, build a loyal community of DIY grease monkeys, and drive sales to new products. A supermarket chain could offer healthy-cooking ideas or budget-management tips, or open a forum for customers to share favorite recipes. A theater company could build a lively community of arts patrons who want to read and talk about plays and dance and more. A big office-supply company could carve out a niche among small-business owners by providing information and expert advice on the wide range of issues these entrepreneurs are hungry for. It doesn’t even have to be information about paper or inkjet cartridges… in fact, it shouldn’t be that limited. It should also be news on the latest tax loophole, or advice of benefits, how to write a business plan, or how another small biz found success using a product or service from your company. There’s an audience waiting out there for help, and your company can answer the call.

It’s all about building credibility, loyalty, repeat visits, and sales. It’s about carving out your own unique territory that builds and extends your brand. It’s about starting a conversation with your customers that keeps them coming back to you. Yes, there are marketing challenges of the chicken/egg variety (how do you tell your story to people who are not yet your customers), but SEO technologies continue to crack that nut, and there are still plenty of places and ways to ply traditional marketing tactics (despite the death knells in major markets, most daily newspaper are still operating fairly soundly and the mail does get through).

The era of the “corporate journalist” is upon us. Who better to tell your story than you?