Information, Communication, Supporting Local and Getting it Out There...

I recently saw a post on Facebook about information not being available to residents in Lincoln. 

One way this person mentioned to find information was the community bulletin boards at the Post Office, which were taken down because someone in the community was taking down other businesses information. They were then put back up, and are being carefully monitored.

I agree the bulletin boards are a fantastic way to let people know of things for sale, and yes, it's free, but there are other ways to get your information out there.

Facebook is another avenue of communicating information, but we have a population of people here in Lincoln who don't have internet or won't use Facebook.

There is also the community paper, which is an effective tool for getting information out there, via articles, columns, letters to the editor and advertising.

Then, there's word of mouth.

I think these methods are wonderful ways to get the word out there about your event, idea, for-sale items, business or organization, etc. but I also think using all these methods together has a far better outcome than any one of them alone. And, in a time where supporting local is more important than ever, this is an opportunity to do just that. The only one listed above that's local is our newspaper.

For instance, if you have something to sell, a classified ad in your local paper not only gets the word out there, it supports a local business and people.

I've heard some people say that doesn't work. 

Well, I'm here to tell you it does. Here are a couple of recent examples...

1. Articles that tell a story and show a need. The Montana History class article was fun for me to write, but I also wanted them to be able to earn the money to go on their trip. As it happens, through that article, they received enough in donations to fund their trip. Those donations came from Lincoln, as well as from Helena and surrounding areas where folks receive the paper. Consider a subscription to a friend or family member – they may end up being the people to help something local in our town, even if they don't live here.

2. Advertising works. I can't tell you the number of times I heard at the arts festival last year "Oh, I've seen your ad in the paper." Now, my logo is pretty one-of-a-kind and catches people's attention, but the point is those people walked into my booth, recognized the logo and knew who I was. Additionally, someone in Seeley Lake who receives the paper called me out of the blue in February. She had seen my ad about a class offering, as well as an ad for the Fiber Circle meetings. She signed up for a spinning class (which we've had to postpone for the time being) and is planning to come to the next Fiber Circle gathering. I don't know when she saw the ads; it could have been the week before or six months before, but the fact is, she wouldn't have called me if they weren't in the paper. This individual doesn't have internet and isn't on Facebook, and she doesn't get to the Lincoln Post Office to see the bulletin board.

3. Every time I've listed something for sale in a classified, it's sold. 

I list things on Facebook all the time too. Sometimes it sells, but often, because of an algorithm or the time I post, or what the item is or what group I post it in, it doesn't reach the same number of people to get responses. Sure, it's free to post there, but what good did it do if no one saw it and at the end of the day, I still have the stuff? A classified ad in your local paper costs as little as $4 per week, and yes, it supports local.

I've also heard, more lately than not, from various businesses and organizations that their information doesn't make it into the paper. Sometimes that's an oversight, often it's a matter of just not knowing. My question to them is this: did you communicate it to anyone at the paper? Send an email, a message, hand something in, or did you just expect they would know? Let me let you in on a little hint: no one at the paper, including me, can know everything about everything in town. If I know of something going on, I'll contact someone and I'll write about it. But if your business is one I don't have information about, or your organization is one I don't happen to belong to, I don't know to write about it. Call me, email me, and let me know what you're up to. Give me a chance to be your voice and let me help you. I'm a lot of things, and I'm good at a lot of things, but mindreading isn't one of them.

Take, for example, the recent wrestling story. I don't have young kids and I'm not in the know about the various activities, clubs and such. Ezra Schwalm reached out to me to let me know what the club was up to and what they were going to need in the future. I asked if it would be okay if I wrote an article about it. Obviously, he said yes, and he explained they might want to do an ad in the future. That's how all this works. The paper supports local, and local - well, some local - has supported the paper. But as a community, we can do better.

I may be partial because, yes, I freelance for the paper. I don't necessarily work for them, I'm an independent contractor, but without them, I wouldn't have a place to write about things and people that matter most to me. They, in a manner of speaking, support me (locally) and in turn, when I need things printed, copied, faxed, etc., they are the people I support.

If there's something you would like to see more of in the paper, or things you don't want to see in the paper, you have the opportunity to voice your opinion. There was a survey in your paper last week.  Fill it out and let the paper know what you think is being done right, wrong or otherwise. Don't want the paper to know who you are? That's cool, the surveys are anonymous and you can drop them in the boxes at the post office. Didn't receive the paper last week, that's ok, you can go to the BVD Facebook page and fill one out online or stop by the office to pick one up.