If your college newspaper isn't on the web yet, now's the time to be. In a time where there are speculations of a revitalization of the newspaper industry in a digital form, why not get started early? Here are three quick ways to get started on the web, without having to invest a single dollar:

Facebook

The most popular social networking site, especially amongst college students, is by far Facebook. You'll find that a lot of your readers have Facebook accounts, so creating a Facebook Fan Page can yield you a lot of followers. You can use the fan page to share related links, photos, and to make quick posts about stories you've written in your paper. To create a fan page, check out Facebook.

Twitter

Twitter has been gaining popularity in the past few years. Twitter is a great resource when you want to send out a message letting people know of a new edition, late breaking news (for example, sport scores from a game), or general information that you want to get to your followers. Twitter can generally be linked with other social media networks, such as Facebook or tumblr, so you can update in one place and have it propagate down the stream.

Tumblr

If you are looking for something more than 140 characters, or if you don't want to have your mom friend your newspaper, you may want to go with a "bigger" alternative. Using a site such as tumblr.com will allow you to post a larger array of content, such as embedding images and videos within your posts, without having to pay. Even better, you're allowed to modify the theme to your own liking; so if you have a potential web developer on hand, you can make your tumblr look even more professional (and branded).

Tumblr also has great social media linking option. If you have a Facebook account or a Twitter page, you're able to have updates from Tumblr automatically post, so any of your followers across those platforms will also be notified.

Overview

If you're looking to reach the masses quickly, easily, and on the cheap, Facebook is the way to go. If you want more content, a more personalized experience for your paper, then I would suggest checking out tumblr. If you do all three, you can use social media to its best and reach the largest group of internet users.

How is your paper's web presence? What have you done recently to improve it?