Way back, on April 8, 2020, I posted to YouTube my first pandemic inspired Keith Spiro Communicast video interview. Communicast was the title Ted Rubin suggested I use as a clear indication that what would follow was a series of Community Broadcasts. The pandemic had reached the point where quarantine had become the norm and people feared being in proximity with other humans.
The Manchester Ink Link, a New Hampshire based, 100% digital-only, news media became my platform for connecting video interviews and supporting articles to a wide readership. My focus was and continues to be showcasing the Great Things Good People are Doing in their communities. The May 2020 Boston and Maine Connection column I wrote for the Cryer was headlined “One Room Schoolhouse Covid-19 Edition” and spoke to the creative and effective actions real leaders of community take to innovate and help ease the way for others by example.
Gatekeepers
Gatekeepers include the old school obstacles that present friction between writer and audience, manufacturer and consumer. I have a whole presentation on the categories that exist and how innovative leaders have overcome them. What digitial tools are available to you?
Who are your gatekeepers?
Today’s platforms that are easy to use make the default go-to tend to be Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. But consider what Amazon has done to position itself. They have the world’s customer base on file and know everything their customers buy. They can feed ads and change prices, reacting quickly to trends.
Ways to Bypass the Gatekeepers
Realize that the direct access to any audience via the internet is your most powerful on-ramp to success in today’s world. Of course, the question of data collection has created a whole new area of contention between the forces of good and the less than exemplary ones.
Today, life revolves around our hand-held smart devices. Influencers impact decisions and drive sales. Small business can explode with growth with the right visibility if only they can stand out from all the noise. And there is, so – much – noise.
Pro tip: Go under and around it.
How to go around the gatekeepers
Use your own website and use platforms like substack and medium
Don’t buy into somebody’s suggested quick fix. Build your audience and understand who they are
Ask customers, clients, suppliers what problem they are trying to solve.
Focus on solutions to your client problems.
Understand Reach and Audience
REACH & AUDIENCE are the keys to your success. Reach is what technology has done to make it possible for an individual or an organization to have impact well beyond its geographic boundary. Upstarts dare to be different and are more in tune with what customers need as well as want.
Business success is about connecting with your community. Keep your focus on your reader, your customer and your client.
Take the time to recognize the difference between needs and wants and educate rather than interrupt to win over new clients. Build your audience and a community of cheerleaders, ambassadors and advocates and minimize the gatekeeping obstacles between you and them.
Keith Spiro Communicast was recognized by the NH Press Association in their 2020 Journalism awards category of best use of social media. Specifically, Communicast was awarded second place for best engagement. Second place put me between a nationally backed TV news company and Public Radio. Good company to be in and the budget differences simply amplify the message that gatekeepers are a target wherever they impede progress.
The judges saw the value and the threat to gatekeepers as they stated….
“Love how this pandemic-related social project didn’t focus on the hard news, but instead pivoted to pandemic-related content that delivers utility, shares stories, and connects the community.”
Hard news was never the point.
Business success is about connecting with your community. Keep your focus on your reader, your customer and your client.
The passions that drive them will guide the way to your mutual success.
A great article; positive, encouraging and packed with good information. Love the judges comment.