Do you want to be lost or found on social media?

If you aren’t using social media to promote your business, you should be. That’s where reporters are looking for story ideas.

Those were the words of Denise Polverine, editor-in-chief of Cleveland.com at last week’s Cleveland Social Media Club meeting at the Great Lakes Science Center (they were gracious hosts).

Yeah, it’s one thing when the public relations people say it. But it’s quite another thing when the media says it.

And what are those reporters finding if you’re not engaged in social networking?

They’re finding complaints about  your company or organization without your response. And they’re finding your competition and their latest announcements.

Trust me, you don’t want to be left out of that conversation.

How’s that Twitter thing working out?

Don’t be afraid to try social networking for yourself. You can speak directly with your target audience — without the filter of main stream media.

My colleague, Mark Smith, wrote about content relevance and that’s an important point.

“Businesses”  following 4,000 people on Twitter and their only tweet is “click here to find out how to make a million bucks a day” aren’t going anywhere. And there’s not enough content in their Tweet to drive an intelligent person to their site.

The businesses that share new information about what they’re doing and what’s new in their business are offering relevant content.

For example, the Cleveland Museum of Art uses Twitter to share information about upcoming exhibits. The Cleveland Foundation starts conversations with its “friends.” And the Cleveland International Film Festival used Twitter to promote the festival by asking film festival trivia questions and offering prizes for correct answers.

And guess what? It’s free.

Everybody needs a second pair of eyes

Aunt Sue, can you read this email to make sure it sounds professional?

My niece, who is 21 and a senior in college, is the president of her school’s tango club. She was recruiting tango teachers for the club by email and wanted to give them a good impression.

How thoughtful of her. And it’s a good habit.

A second pair of eyes helps eliminate typos, grammar errors, and makes sure you’re not sending an unintended message by misplacing words in a sentence. Of course it’s great if you have a professional wordsmith helping you out, but any second look will cut down on those embarrassing errors.

Don’t let mistakes leave your office — in emails, letters, brochures or websites. It is a surefire way to tell your customers that you don’t care about details.

Google yourself lately?

My brother recently told me I had an impressive Google resume.

Huh? I asked him.

Apparently he had searched my name on Google and found every article I had written, every fellowship I got, my radio appearances, my social networking pages, a photo taken of me and my husband at a charity gala, and a how-to book I was quoted in.

When’s the last time you Googled yourself or your company?

I’d recommend doing it about once a month. Not only is it a good reminder that what lands on the Internet stays on the Internet, but you’ll be better equipped to discuss it if a customer or colleague asks about it.

Working with reporters still wet behind the ears

While some people may loathe working with a young and inexperienced reporter, I see it as a great opportunity.

We’ve all been new at something. And we always remember the people who took the time to help us get established.

I am still grateful to the people in the nonprofit community who made introductions and recommendations when I was new to Cleveland and started reporting on the sector. They explained the city’s philanthropic history, shared insights on trends and ultimately became my go-to people.

It’s all about building relationships and those relationships work two ways.

You’ve agreed to an interview with a reporter. Now what?

If  you’ve never talked to a reporter before, it’s probably a good idea to get a professional to coach you. The following is some of what I’d suggest you do to prepare.

Get yourself familiar with the publication and the reporter’s work.

What is the message you want the reporter to walk away with. Use that as your focal point in the conversation.

Bring a colleague to the interview with you. Be friendly and positive. If you get defensive, you could send the wrong message.

Finally, have information about the topic you are discussing summarized on paper (or electronically to email) as well as information on your company to give to the reporter. He or she may run out of time and end the interview abruptly.

First impressions happen on your home page

Your first chance at making a good impression often happens on your home page. And many companies don’t put their websites high on the priority list.

One small Cleveland start-up company recently got a call from a national television program that found the company’s website.

Take a good look at yours – would you look professional and sharp enough to warrant that kind of attention? Or does it look like somebody dragged you kicking and screaming into a website.

Is there a “contact us” section that gives several options to contact a real person – phone number and email address? Does somebody regularly respond to those queries?

Don’t take your website for granted. You never know who’s looking.

Too much information can be a bad thing

When I was a newspaper reporter and editor, I scanned a lot of press releases.

I didn’t have time to read every detail. If it didn’t look urgent at first glance, I’d pitch it.

While the press release is still an effective method of communicating with the main stream media — their attention span is very short. So make sure to KISS — Keep It Simple Stupid.

Get immediate attention with your headline. Then flesh out your story on a single page.

But don’t jam up the page with too much. That makes it impossible for the reader’s eye to land on anything. You can always send the reader to your website for in-depth information — where they can dive in or just scan it.

If they’re really interested they’ll call you — so long as your number is on the release.

Does your company have a heart?

Studies show that people want to do business with companies that have a heart. But how will they know if you never talk about it.

Talking about your company’s charity work does more than impress potential customers, it also raises the charity’s credibility among potential volunteers or donors.

Don’t know how to talk about it?

Give the charity some space on the home page of your company’s website. Create a fan club for the charity on Facebook if one doesn’t already exist. Or write a letter to the editor in support of the charity when the time is right.

Powerless or in power — it’s your choice.

After watching my last movie at the Cleveland International Film Festival, I reflected on the point of the Women of the World film series which Cobalt Group sponsored.

The film series was intended to show strong female images and it did. But what I saw was how women (real or fictional) who might feel powerless made a conscious decision to take it back. And they are better for it.

The women in Sin By Silence were in jail for life, yet they wrote to their state politicians and got laws changed that helped themselves and others.

In The Lemon Tree, a woman whose family inheritance — a lemon tree grove — was being threatened but she did not just let it happen. She fought it.

In these tough times when many of us feel so powerless over what the world is handing us, these movies remind me that maybe we just have to take the power back.