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Springfield, MO

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Opinion: 8 ways to engage your business with SBJ

The Strategic Suite

Posted online

I’m a new member of the Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast, and I’ve enjoyed getting involved with a service organization. I joined to find structured opportunities to serve others, and I’ve found Rotary is a rich environment for developing friendships, giving back to the community and meeting new people. We don’t talk much business, but I was invited to host a luncheon to share more about Springfield Business Journal.

As I considered what I would present during my Rotary luncheon, I thought I’d give some advice to friends to help them inform readers of their businesses through SBJ features. The challenge was I could only fit 15 people in our conference room; we had to turn others away. So, I’d like to share with anyone who missed it – and I might as well share it with the largest business readership in our region.

SBJ has 36,000 weekly business readers ranging from business owners to executives to young professionals. It’s important to know we reach business owners through print, web, mobile, email and events.

Here are eight ideas any businessperson can apply to elevate your exposure to the SBJ business audience.

1. Offer story ideas. We have four reporters, and nearly 100 percent of our content is locally produced business content, breaking news, profiles and news stories you need to know to do business. That means these amazing, hard-working, authoritative journalists are in a constant business news cycle. News stories come from sources inside local businesses, anonymous tips and just sharing a curiosity about a trend or an industry. We need that communication. Each edition of SBJ has a special Focus section – construction, banking, health care, information technology, etc. – and our news team wants your ideas. We create an annual editorial calendar that lists the Focus of each edition. Visit SBJ.net and click “Calendar” on the main menu bar to get a copy. If you have a relevant story idea for consideration on one of these topics, contact Features Editor Hanna Smith at hsmith@sbj.net. Share your idea on what our business readers need to know and why it is important to the reader (not as a promotional story for you). Reply quickly if contacted.

2. Submit your Newsmakers. We publish new hires, promotions, awards and achievements. Simply email a brief summary and a photo. It’s a great way to recognize your team, your company and professional accomplishments. Send to reporter John McLaughlin at jmclaughlin@sbj.net.

3. List your business events in our Business Calendar. Each week, we print a Business Calendar in the back of SBJ featuring local events for the week and month ahead. Send event details to sbj@sbj.net for consideration.

4. Submit for the Open for Business or From the Ground Up pages. Do you know of a new business or one that has relocated or changed ownership in the last six months? What about a construction project coming out of the ground? SBJ covers three businesses on the Open for Business page and a single project in From the Ground Up each week. Send submissions to sbj@sbj.net.

5. Nominate for SBJ events. We host a number of powerful awards – 40 Under 40, Economic Impact Awards, Dynamic Dozen, Most Influential Women, Men of the Year, Health Care Champions and others. Nominations are free, confidential and take about three minutes to complete. You can even nominate yourself. When a person or business is nominated, an application is sent with directions and deadlines. Then, we ask leaders in the community to serve as objective, third-party judges to vet the selections and decide the most qualified recipients. SBJ staff only serves as a clearinghouse for the applications and does not determine winners. Nominating for these events is a wonderful way to recognize co-workers, customers, mentors and business friends. Click “Events” on the main menu bar at SBJ.net, and select the event you want. Then, click “nominate.”

6. Submit a Letter to the Editor or schedule a column. Your business voice is important and adds to the authoritative voice in our pages and online content. If you see a hot topic and have an opinion, write a letter to Eric Olson at eolson@sbj.net. You also may contact him for pitching a guest column for the Opinion page or in the Focus section. You could start a compelling conversation others need to hear.

7. Submit Breaking News with SBJ. We have a more conservative definition of Breaking News, meaning, we are the first local media outlet to cover it or we have new information on a developing business story. Many businesses choose SBJ to break news for the accuracy and care we place in sending out timely information. We strive to only interrupt your busy day with breaking news that really matters.

8. Stop by SBJ’s office. Our doors are open, and we welcome you. Our owner and publisher is one of the first people you will see when you walk in the door at 313 Park Central West. If you have a question, a story idea, a subscription question or need an extra copy of a paper, we are here to serve you.

As the Business Authority, SBJ reaches more people, more often, in more platforms when it comes to business news. Please keep SBJ in mind to help you tell your business story.

We’ll appreciate hearing from you.

Springfield Business Journal Associate Publisher Marty Goodnight can be reached at mgoodnight@sbj.net.

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