This is a timed written assignment for Social Media 201 Course – Internet Writing and Content Development Strategies (Seneca College) written and submitted on September 4, 2017.
My First Blog
Between a marketer and a journalist sharing the same information, who would you believe more, the seller or the storyteller? In the digital age, with an Internet connection, everybody now has an opinion or an idea to sell, show, and tell. And the lines of credibility and authority get blurry. But the journalist can see through it and figure which story to tell that will surely sell. Here are the top 10 reasons that make journalists the perfect social media marketer:
1 Storytelling is a way of life for journalists. If the late Stephen Hawking had the “Theory of Everything,” journalists have a story on everything.
They can put century-long world history in a 30-minute TV documentary. They can make the most boring 2-hour speech, resonate in one catchy headline. They can produce 3-minute news out of a daylong event. They can make sense of what is happening live as it happens. They make the most complex of things simpler, better understood. And the way is always through the power of storytelling. Everyone listens to a story, that’s just how people make better sense of things.
2 Owned marketing is a journalist’s inherent training. When writing a story – news, feature, documentary or editorial – journalists think of their audience first, what will resonate to them. Projecting the brand or promoting the value of the story comes only after capturing the audience. But owned marketing for journalists is not one that pushes sales or self-promotion. It’s how they make the audience or their readers relate to their writing and own it. That is content marketing that doesn’t look and feel like selling because it is tucked in the art of journalistic writing.
In social media where there is a deluge of marketers pushing sales content, the last thing people need is a salesman. If they don’t want them on their phones or in certain places, why would they want them online in their personal social space? People will want a salesperson when they need one.
More often than not, non-sales content travels faster, further and farther online. And journalists’ writing can sell, without really trying. Their writing can be about sales or pushing it but will never feel and sound like one. Journalists’ writing already has a voice, one that is credible – the kind that builds trust, confidence and personality. And that is what every brand needs in social media, where fake news is also home-grown.
3 Relevance is a journalist’s heartbeat. They are after breaking news, and what’s new. Newsworthiness is reflexive in their writing. If brands want to be relevant, content strategy should be conscious of what is currently happening, industry trends and developments that are related and of interest to the target audience. This is where journalists become very handy, attention-grabbing headline is a journalist thing and that will give added value to the content and a personality to the brand.
For brands, there is always a merit in getting ahead of communicating news and trends to the audience. Other than credibility, it will position the brand in the forefront of its industry.
4 Accuracy is the creed of journalism. A brand’s credibility and integrity are tied to accuracy of the information it puts out. If brands vow accuracy, the journalist is their best friend. In an era of alternative facts where distrust is commonplace, the journalist’s writing will put integrity back into content. For journalists, with their accuracy also comes originality in their writing.
Journalists are highly skilled at creating original content or re-creating original angle. In a room full of journalists, each will come out with a different way of writing the same information. Original content is top quality and must be a priority. Original content always stands out in the free market of ideas and information. It will be heard amidst the noise in social media.
Original content is value for money, and brands will not be short-changed on that from journalists. Originality is a journalist’s brand of writing and that’s exactly what quality content marketing is about.
5 Engagement is a way of life for journalists. Their writing is always bent on connecting to the audience. And they do this by weaving facts in a storytelling fabric to inform, educate and bring down issues to the level of understanding of the common man. Journalist’s power writing is in storytelling, they can hold the audience up to the very end.
To make the audience emotionally connected with the brand, simple language is key. Also, they know the value of being concise and straight-to-the-point. Whether their journalism background is for print or broadcast, they always seek to create an emotional attachment to their story.
6 Journalists eat deadlines for snacks. Don’t preach to them about deadlines because they came from a 24/7 workplace that knows no time, where every minute is a deadline. They are agile, fast and accurate in writing because they live and breathe deadlines. They cannot afford to be overtaken by events.
Content marketing is also about planning, it’s not a one-time deal. You can count on journalists to deliver on time. In mainstream media, print or broadcast or even wires and online news, deadlines are crucial. Embracing this discipline as part of a strategy can greatly improve content marketing.
7 Leadership is in their skill set. If brands want to be a market leader, journalists are their best bet. Getting ahead of competitors is a journalist’s game. The rationale for every “scoop” and exclusive stories they strive to do is about commanding a lead in their league. No brand wanted anything short of being the leader, so in competing, having journalists at the helm of a content development strategy gives that competitive advantage.
8 Don’t teach journalists strategy because it’s in their DNA. How to get facts, gather information, get that interview, grow sources and networks, how to connect to an audience, how to be newsworthy, how to catch attention, how to write compelling pieces and sustain that interest to a content – all of these employ strategy. And journalists can’t do without it. They cannot be journalists if they don’t know and use strategy in every single story they pursue.
9 Creativity comes in various forms, styles and types in a journalist’s toolbox. Journalists do not write one type and size fits all kind of story. They can do human interest, feature stories, documentaries, short or long-form articles and straight news, either for print or broadcast, wires or online. From politics, sports, arts, lifestyle, business, culture, name a genre and they can pivot rapidly, assimilate and create client-specific content.
The business of search engines is pretty much the same with what the audience requires – the keyword to content marketing is creative writing. Applying the basic tenets of journalism in content marketing is to have a story with a compelling beginning, middle, and conclusion. But it is a content that is true with facts and figures properly sourced and referenced, and has meaningful insights and perspectives.
10 Efficiency is a journalist’s middle name. Bred in newsrooms that are the nerve centers for chaos, deadlines and pressure, the only way for journalists to survive is to be efficient at what they do. Trained journalists, especially those with field experience know they are only good as their last story. So efficiency to them is having a steady supply of ideas, story pitches, resources and networks. So with journalists in developing content strategy, brands possess an inexhaustible source of articles, tip sheets, white papers, stories, and blog posts that will enhance their image.
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