Becoming a Media Company: How to Turn Your Business Into a Platform

Do you use content to capture the attention of consumers?

Are you wondering how to reach out to a larger audience?

To learn about how any business can become a media outlet, I interview Michael Brito for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast.
More About This Show

The Social Media Marketing podcast is a show from Social Media Examiner.

It's designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.

The show format is on-demand talk radio (also known as podcasting).

In this episode, I interview Michael Brito, author of Smart Business, Social Business and his latest book, Your Brand: The Next Media Company.

Michael shares the reasons why your business should become a media outlet.

You'll learn the five characteristics behind a successful media company and how to get started.

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Here are some of the things you'll discover in this show:
Becoming a Media Company
Why you should become "the media"

Historically the media has always captured the attention of consumers. Successful media companies produce great content and Michael says that brands need to think the same way.

If you think about traditional media companies such as Condé Nast, it has a very diverse story and narrative. No matter what the subject is, a consistent story is shared across paid, earned and owned media.

When you start to dissect what they do at Condé Nast, they are actually storytellers.

As a brand, you need to figure out what story you want to tell and then figure out how to tell it. It's not just for social platforms, but across every form of the customer experience. This can include paid advertising.

You have to think of every customer touch point for your business. Media companies are very good at having a consistent story across each touch point.

You'll hear how brands have a lot of power within their own companies to tell a story. You just need to figure out the right operational framework to make it come to life.

Listen to the show to find out what Forbes did that started to grab Michael's attention 3-4 years ago.

Businesses that have become media via their content and platform

Michael gives an example of a brand in the consumer space, B2B space and small business space.

A company that's in the consumer space is Red Bull. Red Bull is definitely a media company that has a very diverse narrative, and it's not about energy drinks. It's more to do with epic events and empowerment. It's another brand that is consistent across all channels.

Red Bull has its own in-house media agency that creates compelling content day in and day out, with the consistent message, "Red Bull Gives You Wings."

When Red Bull helped Felix Baumgartner do a space dive, the brand was mentioned for months after the event. The story was told through visual content and long-form content, both paid and owned media.

You'll hear why Michael believes that brands should capitalize on long-form content.

Intel, a company in the B2B space, capitalized on its employees' passion for Intel's products. Today it's referred to as brand journalism. Consumers trust employees of a company, which especially helps when it comes to purchases.

The small business example is a company based in San Francisco called Visage that does enterprise mobility software. Its Chief Mobility Officer blog talks about enterprise mobility and not about the company. Some of the writers are on staff and others are outside contributors.

The story affects the way consumers view the brand. It's all value-added content to help non-consumers solve their problems. Michael says this is how brands need to think.

Listen to the show to find out why long form is so powerful for any brand or company.