Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • December 18, 2017 • Hartford Business Journal 21 COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS The power of hyperlocal media in spreading good news By Carin Buckman M any of the upcoming holidays are festivals of light; Christmas, Chanukah, Diwali and Kwanzaa all use light as powerful imagery to reflect goodness, purity and hope. Imagine Edith Wharton's vision come true, where "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." How connected would our world and local communities be if we made a concerted effort to be either that candle or mirror? Imagine if we shed light on the positive, on the stories that celebrate powerful commu- nity impact and change? As we reflect on the past year and about what made top news, what first comes to mind? Are they stories about crumbling bud- gets, reputations, democracies, relationships? Stories that make you question whether or not the news is fake or real? Do any positive, heart-warming stories bubble to the surface? The kinds of stories that inspire kindness, positive action and tears of joy? There is certainly opportunity to shift the paradigm from negative to positive. Local news outlets are clamoring to lift up their local residents with the power of good news. They are itching to tell stories that highlight the good in their local communi- ties. Local online news sources like Patch. com and community-specific social media platforms and local directories have the power to influence local brands and busi- nesses using hyperlocal communication. The success of these outlets is evidence that local stories can serve to reveal the heart of the residents and foster deeper community connections. When Leadership Greater Hartford an- nounced its 2017 Polaris Award winners, the news received coverage in the Hartford Business Journal and the Hartford Courant. But placing those stories in local news outlets in West Hartford for Ronit Shoham, Windsor for Cheryl and Jamie McDonald, and East Hartford for Iran Nazario, pro- duced a wave of local love and pride. The winners' Facebook pages lit up with endless celebratory messages of love and support. And the reach and awareness of this non- profit grew as a result. When I was unpacking boxes during a recent move, I came across an old, yellowed newspaper article from the local Times Herald News that featured me as a high school senior. I was interviewed about the international club that I had created and the international weekend my club executed. The weekend was organized to bring hun- dreds of foreign exchange students from across the state of Pennsylvania into our high school to spread awareness, under- standing and cultural sensitivity in our local school community. The news didn't make it into the Philadel- phia Inquirer or even onto the TV news, but the local impact was palpable. The story and the activities of the club generated an excite- ment and positive vibe that not only made our town sit up and take notice, but proudly brought our local community together and connected us around something good. I have dedicated my PR/marketing/ communications career to paying that experience forward. I tell positive hyperlo- cal stories that highlight the accomplish- ments of graduates from our leadership development programs, taskforce projects that have significant community impact, nonprofit boards that have been strength- ened and unsung heroes who go above and beyond to inspire hope in our region. This strategy is not only beneficial and effective for shining a positive light on individuals and the larger community, it is also good business. Marketing experts tend to agree. Steve Olenski, a contributor to Forbes Magazine, and author of "Hyperlocal Social Marketing And What It Means For Brands," writes that "the ability to customize mes- saging and reach into a community through the development of an authentic local story helps to reach consumers." He quotes Sanjay Gupta, chief marketing officer for Allstate, who says that "hyperlo- cal social marketing allows brands to communicate to a group of individuals with similar interests in a specific community or neighborhood." Gupta adds that "providing agents with opportunities to connect with customers on a more personal level further demonstrates that they care about them and the local community." The Newsmaker's Group Best Practices Blog article entitled "With hyperlocal PR, no business is too small to be noticed!" recog- nizes that by positioning themselves to be at the heart of the community at all times, "hy- perlocal journalists can understand the needs and desires of the audience they are serving" especially in our "current, technology-driven and globally-connected society." In this season of giving, hope and love, let's all make an effort to be a candle or mirror. Recognize and shine light on the positive and spread those stories. Lift up our neigh- bors, celebrate and connect the hearts of our communities — one neighborhood at a time. In the words of James Keller, "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." Let's start a fire. Carin Buckman is the director of marketing and communications at Leadership Greater Hartford. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULT: Carin Buckman NEXT WEEK'S POLL: What type of development is most needed in Hartford's Downtown North quadrant? To vote, go online to hartfordbusiness.com BIZ BOOKS Tips to improve your firm's talent management By Jim Pawlak Demystifying Talent Management — Un- leash People's Potential to Deliver Superior Results" by Kimberly Janson (Maven House Press, $24.95). Businesses rou- tinely ask custom- ers for feedback to learn more about their products and services in the marketplace. Yet, when it comes to what internal customers (i.e. employees) need, they rarely ask. Why not? Two reasons: 1. Management tends to be more concerned with the today and the short term, and 2. HR isn't well-connected to the firm's strategy and tactics. Add employees' fear of expressing their views on their career development and you end up with poorly managed talent, which results in less-than-optimal productivity. Janson believes that conversations between all three affected parties organized around SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attain- able, Relevant, Time-based) goals produce better results. The initial "What do you need to do?" conversation requires significant preparation. Managers and HR need to take into account the expectations of the employee and those with whom the em- ployee interacts. On the employee front, managers need input about resources (including assistance) needed to do the job. By using common denomina- tors in employee input, HR can develop training programs. Relative to interaction, there's a per- formance assessment guide; it deals with the manager's self-evaluation and those of other stakeholders. It comes with the fol- lowing advice: "For any answer lower than 9, what are you going to do about it?" Why the high standard? It's about align- ing expectations of many inputs to create SMART. The "need to do" conversation ex- plains the "why" to obtain employee buy-in. Once there's agreement, the other con- versations — "What do you need to grow?" "How are you doing?" and "How did you do?" flow. Janson believes these conversations need to be ongoing so there are no surpris- es; she provides numerous assessments to keep managers on track. The key word: Communication. Jim Pawlak Book Review Will an Aetna-CVS combination benefit consumers? 58.5% No 41.5% Yes READER COMMENTS: "Yes, especially if you can enroll directly and easily in an Aetna policy at your local CVS." "CVS needed to partner with Aetna, or Amazon would have destroyed their drug sales. CVS stores operate in high-visibility town centers and have high fixed overhead costs including premium property taxes. Let's be honest, their huge profits are made on selling drugs not the sundry items they offer. Amazon selling prescription medications would sunset the current CVS business model and put a lot of so-called pharmacists out of a job. Perhaps in the future we will be visiting CVS to have brain surgery rather than buying a gallon of milk."

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