Content Marketing:The New Opportunity for Journalists

Tom MusbachDirector of Content Marketing, Pearl.com

Susan JohnstonFreelance Journalist

Agenda

•Tom’s story•What is (and is not) content marketing?•Growth of content marketing•The journalist’s big advantages•Case study and current examples (social media)•Susan’s story•Branded journalism – examples•Are you selling out?•What else journalists bring to the table•Key skills, tools, and resources to know about•Q&A

Who am I?

Tom Musbach@TomMusbach

Director of Content Marketing, Pearl.com (1.5 years)• Create and manage Wisdom Wire blog• Manage and create content for all social media channels• Coordinate webinar series

Senior Editor, Yahoo.com (5 years)• Yahoo! HotJobs (editor and spokesman)• Yahoo! Front Page team (syndicated version, Trending Now and Video modules)• Yahoo! Small Business (blog and content programs)

Blogger on career issues – TheCareerBeat.com (7 years)

What is content marketing?

While there are many definitions of this relatively new discipline, here is a common one that is most accurate:

Content marketing is communicating with an audience (of potential and/or customers) in a way that:

1 – The audience enjoys paying attention to, and

2 – Demonstrates that you’d be a good person/organization to do business with.

How?

The emerging brand paradigm:

“Think like a publisher!”

These and countless other brands have blogs, Facebook pages, YouTube channels, and more.… And they are all driven by CONTENT!

What content marketing is NOT…(Am I going to the Dark Side?)

• Writing press releases

• Pitching journalists or working media relations

• Writing copy for ads or marketing brochures

• Creating sales materials

• Writing FAQs or product descriptions Flickr: Jeremy Keith

Content marketing is growing

While many jobs in traditional journalism are disappearing, jobs in the content/content marketing field are on the rise.

Using LinkedIn, the Content Marketing Institute found an “explosion” of people with “content” in their job titles. And these “skills” increases in the past year:

• Content marketing – up 23%• Branded content development – up 12%• Content strategy – up 16%

Content marketing is growing

And journalists are poised to take advantage of this! Why?…

Source: Demand Metric

It’s all about stories!

The journalist’s big advantages

They know not only how to write/tell stories, they also:

• Find new and interesting angles to a story.• Draw connections and put stories in context.• Know how to get to the essence of a brand (who, what, when,

where, why, how).• Write to a specific audience & have a point of view.• Know how to write within voice and brand guidelines.

The jolt from Coke’s ‘Content 2020’

Two years ago Coca-Cola made a huge investment in developing content excellence through stories as a major marketing strategy.

The strategy -- laid out in an engaging, animated 2-part video – has influenced countless brands in their approach to content.

For more, visit: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/01/coca-cola-content-marketing-20-20/

Case study: Pearl.com

Content pillar: Wisdom Wire blog

Daily Answer (spotlight from the Q&A archive):

Content pillar: Wisdom Wire blog

Seasonal features & articles from professionals:

Creative trend: Newsjacking

Use content to piggyback on timely/trending news stories:

Other types of content

Webinars (audio/video) featuring professionals on Pearl.com:

Pearl.com’s Social Media Presence(in addition to Wisdom Wire blog)

FacebookTwitterGoogle +YouTubePinterestLinkedInSlideShare

Other examples: Social media

WyzAnt – Facebook slide show Oreo - Twitter Pearl.com - Pinterest

Example: Infographic

Example: Pop culture/timely

Example: Pop culture/timely

What is brand journalism? See also: content marketing or branded content

Brands are increasingly recognizing the value of storytelling and investing in reportage that complements the products or services they provide.

Examples:

Who am I?

Susan Johnstonwww.susan-johnston.com, @UrbanMuseWriterBoston-based freelancer for 5.5 years Beats• Personal finance• Small business• Entrepreneurship

Traditional journalism credits • The Boston Globe and The Boston Globe Magazine• The Christian Science Monitor• Parade Magazine

Brand journalism credits• Match.com’s HappenMag• Intuit (Intuit Small Business Blog and Mint.com) • American Express (GetCurrency.com, OpenForum.com)

Article Example #1:

Client: Mint.comReaders: Consumers interested in personal finance who may or may not use Mint to track their moneyCovered: What consumers should know about workplace compensation, benefits and moreSources: Data and interviews with experts from three workplace consulting firms

Article Example #2:

Client: Intuit Small Business BlogReaders: Small business owners who may or may not use Intuit’s payroll productsCovered: Tips for small business owners considering hiring through CraigslistSources: Craigslist company fact sheet and interviews with three small business owners

Article Example #3:

Client: Match.com Readers: Single people who may or may not have a Match.com profileCovered: Tips for dating a pet-owner if you aren’t an animal lover yourself (or you’re allergic)Sources: Survey data from Petside.com and Associated Press, interviews with three real people and two experts

Is brand journalism selling out?

Not necessarily.

Smart brands understand: • Readers want valuable content that doesn’t mention the brand in ways

that feel forced.

• Salesy copy may turn off potential customers instead of convincing them to buy, while well-written content can help build trust in the brand.

• The principles of good journalism (careful sourcing and fact-checking, attention to news hooks, etc) still apply.

What do journalists bring to the table?

• An understanding of what makes a compelling story.

• An innate sense of how to create a narrative arc.

• An ability to parse information for a layperson or niche audience.

• A knack for finding and interviewing real people and expert sources.

• (In some cases) a large readership in social media or elsewhere.

What are the job titles in this space?

• Content strategist

• Brand storyteller

• Chief content officer

• Social media director

Sometimes brand journalism is farmed out to an agency that subcontracts assignments to freelancers or the in-house content person might manage a team of freelancers.

What do brand journalists need to know?

• Not all brands give complete editorial control; for instance, they may not want a competitor quoted on their website and they certainly won’t want a story that runs counter to the brand’s core values.

• If you’re freelancing for a brand, most contracts are work for hire agreements, meaning they can use your content however they’d like and may or may not provide a byline.

• Because of the channels required for approval, most brands focus on trends, analysis, or evergreen content rather than covering breaking news.

• Publishing content isn’t a brand’s top priority, so priorities and timelines can shift.

Key skills/tools you’ll need for success

•Blogging•Social media expertise•Photo and video familiarity•SEO (key is great content, headline, scannable)•Interviewing (also good for webinars, videos)•Long-form articles (white papers/ebooks, speeches)•Thought leadership•KPIs – Google Analytics and other measuring tools

Great resources to help develop skills

Content Marketing Institute

Copyblogger

Contently.com

Moz.com (great for SEO)

LinkedIn

MediaBistro

Q&A

Thank you!

Tom Musbach@TomMusbach, www.thecareerbeat.comtmusbach@sbcglobal.net

Susan Johnstonwww.susan-johnston.com, @UrbanMuseWriter

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