What makes a great Promoted Post on Potomac Local?

We get press releases all time. Some are written with the purpose of telling us about upcoming events in the community. Some are story pitches from public relations companies hoping we’ll write about their event, product, or service.

When it comes stories and content we publish on Potomac Local, that content must pass a few tests. The first and most important is the “who cares” test. Will our readers care about this story? Does it impact them, their family, or their livelihood?

Then we ask, “is it local?” This means does the story or event  that could be content for our site have anything to do with where our readers live, work, or play.

If we answer yes to both, we’ve probably identified a good piece of content that belongs on our site. But that doesn’t mean it’s a news story.

It may not be news, but it is interesting

As I said, we get a lot of press releases pitching us topics and ideas the writers of those press releases hope we will write about. Some we don’t consider to be newsworthy. And for some, because of the bootstrapping nature of our operation, we simply don’t have the time to write about.

That’s when local businesses and organizations take advantage of our Promoted Post option. It’s a way to post your content to Potomac Local, and our social pages, where our readers will see it.

“Promoted” means it’s paid content that appears in the news section of the site. We clearly mark our promoted content as paid, and news as news so there’s never any question as to what type of content the reader is reading.

After posting their Promoted Posts to Potomac Local, businesses and organizations share it with their friends on their social networks. It’s a great way to be seen and get out your message while increasing your visibility in the community.

You want me to read this?

You can’t just write anything and expect people to read it. When it comes to Promoted Posts, if it looks like an ad, smells like and ad, and reads like an ad, our readers will click on something else. There’s also a greater chance content with a sales-heavy push won’t appear on Potomac Local.

People want to read good stories. They want to be learn something, find a solution to a problem they’ve encountered, or to simply be entertained. You, who bought the Promoted Post, want readers to consider the time it took to read your content time well spent. Then, you want them to share that content on social media so more people will see it.

Avoid telling people that “we are the best in town” or “we have the best service” or “best prices.” That’s a sales line, and this is the modern web. Show me, through your content, how you got to be the “best” as you claim.

Tell stories about how your technicians do their job. Do they ever encounter unusual situations on the job site, something the average person would be interested in learning more?  (Think Mike Rowe’s Dirty Jobs). Tell that story.

Did you recently hire a new graduate or someone with a unique set of skills? Tell that story.

The product or service you sell – is it manufactured in an interesting way? Tell that story.

What if someone in need of your product or service decides to put off making a purchase? Can it affect their home, vehicle or family life? If so, tell that story.

Here are some examples

Children in Dumfries use Lego to learn science and math 

Did you know Manassas used a hearse as an ambulance? 

Why it’s a great idea for you or someone you know to be a summer camp counselor 

How this program helps “attack the fat”

Here are six tips to better health

If you can’t come up with some of your great stories to tell about your business or organization, we can help. Here’s some Promoted Posts that we recently published on Potomac Local:

Every business and organization has a story. No one knows your business’ story better than you. To get your story out to a local audience, Potomac Local’s Promoted Post option is something to consider.