Michigan's biggest fair is right in Ionia's back yard. When flooding canceled events, the Ionia Sentinel-Standard kept people updated every step of the way on Facebook and on its website.

WHAT THEY DID: As information became available, the Sentinel-Standard posted it on its Facebook page. People found the info and started asking about other events related to the fair. Ionia responded to questions with the best information they had at the moment, and even fair officials pointed readers to the Sentinel-Standard for more information.

As we introduce our news organizations to Inner Circle 2012, we're telling them that we need to find readers where they are -- and in many cases, they're on Facebook. The Sentinel-Standard's Facebook numbers looked pretty sweet during that week:

• 2,465 monthly active users, up 1,097 since last week
• 990 people like this, up 90 since last week
• 141 wall posts or comments this week, up 114 since last week
• 952 visits this week, up 678 since last week

And the Sentinel-Standard's website for the day when people were seeking information was almost double the same day the week before and the week after, so people used both Facebook and the website to get information.

TAKEAWAY: When you have breaking news, be sure to think of the web and Facebook immediately. People want to know that information as it happens. And you want to position yourself as the source that will give them the information they need to figure out how to navigate through breaking news. You're not hurting your print product. People will buy the newspaper for the big story after the fact. But we need to take advantage of all of our tools to serve our readers. When the Sentinel-Standard shared information on Facebook, it positioned itself as the hub of the community conversation. You can do the same.