Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Since the advent of the Internet, news outlets have been looking for innovative ways to monetize their content and cope with readers transitioning to digital news consumption. The rise of digital content coupled with increased social media use has led to a shift in how people consume the news today.
Capitalizing on the changing consumption preferences, Facebook recently announced Instant Articles, a feature that will directly host articles from news publications. Thus far, five American publications and four European outlets have agreed to the deal—these include NBC News, BuzzFeed, National Geographic, The Atlantic, The Times, The Guardian, BBC News, Bild and Spiegel Online.
According to Facebook, Instant Articles was designed “to give publishers control over their stories, brand experience and monetization opportunities.” The new feature will give publishers the ability to track data and traffic through comScore and other analytics tools, a considerable opportunity given the 1.4 billion users Facebook boasts. Instant Articles will also allow readers to view the articles up to ten times faster since they will appear directly in news feeds, as opposed to requiring users to click a link to load a different site—possibly incentivizing users to actually read more articles.
Despite these seemingly robust opportunities, this change has brought about mixed emotions, similar to that of the transition from print to digital. Publishers are wary of losing control of their content and are particularly skeptical of Facebook’s “autonomous” algorithm, which has seen quite a few changes in recent years. However, directly hosting content on social media platforms illustrates a previously untapped resource for news outlets. This is an opportunity for publishers to utilize the platforms to push their content to users who are already on the social media sites.
Social media has become quite a powerful tool. Twitter and Facebook are two of the largest discovery channels, and many people use both as resources for current events. In fact, according to a survey last year by the Pew Research Center, 48 percent of American Internet users accessed political and governmental news on Facebook during the course of a week, nearly the same as those who viewed this news on local television.
Clearly digital content and social media are having a large impact on how we consume news, and while publishers may be wary of Instant Articles and Facebook’s true motives, there’s an opportunity to capitalize on the changing landscape and stay ahead of the curve. I am interested to see how the early adopters fare, what the implications will be for journalists, and if this will change how PR pros interact with the media.
With just one month left in the quarter, corporate earnings season is right around the corner and chances are the next quarterly earnings article you read will not be written by a business reporter, but by automation software.
In 2014, The Associated Press (AP) began using a platform called Wordsmith to automate the writing of earnings reports. Wordsmith, which was developed by Automated Insights, uses natural language generation to turn raw earnings data from Zacks Investment Research into a story, in AP style no less.
Before Wordsmith, the AP estimated that it was producing quarterly earnings coverage for approximately 300 companies. For context, at the end of 2013 there were approximately 5,000 public companies traded on major U.S. stock exchanges, each required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to file their quarterly and annual corporate earnings reports.
With the new automated system, the AP has been able to produce 3,750 earnings reports every quarter – more than 10 times its usual capacity. Of those, only a fraction need a human touch, either by updating the original story or by writing a separate follow-up article.
Recently, NPR put Wordsmith to the test, going head to head against the algorithm to recap Denny’s Corporation’s first quarter earnings report. Following below are the two stories – one written by veteran NPR reporter Scott Horsley in seven minutes, the other written by Wordsmith in two minutes:
Which Denny’s earnings story did you like better? The differences are pretty obvious, but spoiler alert: the first story was written by Wordsmith and the second by Horsley.
Earlier this year, the AP announced it would further streamline its reporting by using Wordsmith to write sports stories as well, mainly college baseball and some college basketball and football stories.
So will platforms like Wordsmith mean an end to journalism? Not so fast.
On the surface, it may seem like Wordsmith could easily do the job of a business or sports reporter. For data-driven, just-the-facts reporting, automating stories like earnings reports and game summaries would seem like a logical progression and Wordsmith clearly does the job.
However, articles requiring any kind of “color” still require a journalist’s expertise, intuition and uncanny ability to tell a story. According to the AP, automation has “freed up valuable reporting time and reduced the amount of data-processing type work.” In turn, automation could allow reporters to focus on writing bigger stories.
Where automation could have greater impact is in the general arena of content creation. As a result of the escalating need for content and the increasing appetite to consume it, Wordsmith now generates millions of content pieces every week for partners that include Allstate, Comcast and Yahoo!
A quote from Automated Insights CEO Robbie Allen in a March 2015 WIRED article sums up best where the future of content creation could be headed:
“We sort of flip the traditional content creation model on its head. Instead of one story with a million page view[s], we’ll have a million stories with one page view each.”
How do you think technologies like Wordsmith will impact journalists and/or content creators?
When it’s time to write a blog post, more often than not, I find myself searching for inspiration. I want the post to be intriguing, educational, helpful, relevant and relatable for readers, but finding a topic that encompasses all of these attributes is, without fail, incredibly difficult.
As I scoured the news, blogs and Google to try to discover a topic that would lead to creative genius for this particular post, I stumbled across an infographic that not only addressed the previously mentioned features of an ideal blog post, but would also solve my monthly battle with writer’s block.
Thanks to DigitalMarketer, we now have access to 55 blog ideas in one infographic. The infographic provides eight categories and within each of the categories offers several subcategories. The category that resonated with me was the one that advises bloggers to “be human.” The reason being, readers tend to relate to an author who provides them with insight to a thought process or personal experience. This is particularly applicable to public relations because a common tactic is assisting in the development of bylines. We’ve found through our experience that the bylines that garner the most traction and seem to be the most impactful reveal something about the executive and their thoughts, be that an opinion or failure or prediction.
In attempts to define my own, I found this post could be categorized as a rant post, a problem/solution post, inspirational (hopefully this has inspired you to tackle a blog post or byline) and a how-to-post. As you write your next post or byline, I hope you find this infographic helpful! Good luck with future writing!
For more helpful tips about writing, check out these posts on the Communiqué PR blog:
- Overcoming Writer’s Block
- 5 Ways to Propel Creativity in PR
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective Writers
Recently, Mashable pulled together a group of brand experts to conduct a Twitter chat focused on strengthening your personal brand. A full summary of the questions and answers posed by @mashbusiness can be found here. After my own review of the feedback from the experts, I came to three overarching ideas that can stand as the building blocks for creating your unique, personal brand.
Figure out who you really are
In today’s tech-focused world, more often than not, others’ first impression of you is going to take place online and people are only going to know you by what you choose to share through online channels. Take advantage of this by creating a brand image that honestly demonstrates the values and skills that you have to offer. A great exercise is to be able to describe your personal brand in no more than five words while still portraying your abilities, personality and passions. For example, Disney’s mantra is “fun family entertainment.” Within this mantra, you can identify an emotional appeal, a descriptive modifier, and the company’s overall function. Experts suggest identifying your personality, who or what you are trying to appeal to, and what it is that you do. Taking the time to do this will aid in creating a consistent and more powerful on and offline brand that you can be confident about. This can be a daunting task as it calls for putting egos on the backburner and reflecting on one’s self. Although this exercise is called personal branding, it’s important to consider that your brand is about more than just yourself; it can be used to influence and inform those around you too.
Pick your platform(s)
So you have identified your brand message, now what? When branding yourself, connections mean everything. Pick a few channels to focus on and really showcase your brand. LinkedIn, as this is often the first place people will go for information, is a great place to start. Avoid spreading yourself over too many channels to maximize your chances of connecting with like-minded professionals as well as your target audience. Personal blogs and websites are one of the greatest ways to get your name noticed, especially on search engines. You can also use your blog to highlight design elements that showcase your creativity and personality. Social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook should not be forgotten however, as they are the key to two-way communication with your audience. Regardless of what platform you choose to utilize, always be mindful that the content you are creating or sharing is of value and in line with your brand. Think quality over quantity.
Get feedback
Personal branding should be satisfying and a way to express who you are, but it also needs to resonate with your audience. Like many things, your first efforts at personal branding may require some revisions and listening to feedback will be crucial to help you in the editing process. Quantitative feedback, including likes, retweets, and mentions, as well as tools such as Google analytics, is a great way to assess whether or not you are striking interest with your target audience and followers. Setting goals and benchmarks for measuring your success will help you gauge your rate of return. The measures that you set should be unique to you and reflective of what you are trying to achieve (i.e. followers, opportunities, revenue). As part of your goal setting, create a schedule for regularly measuring your goals against your brand progress. While it is important not to get too hung up on the numbers, connections and views are going to be a good way to examine whether or not your brand resonates with your audience. Consider feedback carefully and then tweak your brand strategy accordingly.
Taking these tips into account will help strengthen your personal brand foundation and allow you to not only leave your footprint online, but to extend beyond the web as well. As you decide to begin cultivating your brand, realize that it is only going to be reinforced by reaching out for face-to-face meetings with people who would be interested in your brand message. Taking advantage of every opportunity presented to you to network and meet new people will allow your message to be communicated as broadly as possible.
For even more great tips, see our blog on Three Guidelines to Establish Your Personal Brand
Our team at Communique PR recently hosted a visit from some students at Seattle University’s PRSSA chapter and we had the opportunity to share our experiences as PR professionals and offer advice for people considering PR as a career.
I got to thinking about the various tasks I work on throughout my day – drafting pitches, talking to reporters/analysts, writing press releases, counselling clients on PR strategies. The common thread through all of these activities often comes down to resourceful, thorough and creative research. Critical thinking drives so much of what we do on a daily basis for our clients, and that’s only possible if we’re well-informed about the issues, trends, companies and people in our space.
Think of research as the engine behind the program and tactics being delivered – If you only know half the story, you can’t tell it effectively and you certainly won’t become a credible source to the media, your clients or your team.
However, too often when tasked with a research project, many people do a cursory Internet search and report back on the first 1-2 findings that “The Google” returns to them. That’s it. If this wasn’t a service-oriented industry, that might be okay, but our clients depend on us to counsel them, thoughtfully, about how to approach their communications programs.
Whether you’re trying to find a creative pitch angle for an announcement, learn more about a competitor or a prospect, or get smart on an entirely new industry in only a few hours, be tenacious in approaching your research. For example:
- Don’t get lazy with “The Google”: Search engines are often the first stop in any research effort and they do a fine job at sifting through content on the web. But don’t take what “The Google” gives you at first glance – try multiple search terms and be sure to look at both News and Web results. Go beyond the first page of results and see what’s lurking on the next several pages.
- Get social: Don’t forget to review social networks when researching a company or individual to see what they post, and what’s being posted about them. In addition to Twitter and LinkedIn, check out YouTube for potential product demos or recordings of speeches at industry conferences. Scan through corporate blogs for additional information beyond what’s posted in the official press room – this is often where customer stories, tips/best practices and more personality-driven posts reside.
- Research the researchers: Industry analysts provide commentary, context and color about various markets, including forecasts and drivers for growth. While some content may be restricted to paying clients, check for recent press releases and report excerpts as well as analyst blogs and social accounts for commentary. Look into the publications that cite analyst research and quotes from analysts– it can provide additional color about their research and opinions on industry trends/breaking news.
- Check out the competition: Be smart about what the competition is saying and how they’re approaching the market and the media landscape. Sign up for email alerts, newsletters and any other information available on competitor websites to ensure you’re notified about new developments.
- Don’t try to boil the ocean: Ah, the balancing act of research – how to be thorough while also not drowning in information overload. With the wealth of information available it can be hard to know where to begin (and end). Focus your reading on the top 3-5 publications that matter to your client if time is short and utilize tools that push stories and information to you as it happens (such as Google Alerts, TalkWalker, etc.).
What other tools and sources do you use when researching at your job? What roadblocks have you encountered and how did you create a detour? Share your stories here – we’d love to hear about your research efforts!
Digital or print? In the PR world, it’s a question we hear all the time. As outlets increasingly turn digital and audiences go mobile, many in the industry wonder whether print coverage—the onetime king of earned media—still carries the same weight, or if their interests would be better met with a digital-first approach. And what about other media formats, like radio or broadcast?
I should start by saying that it’s not a black-and-white answer. But the findings of the recently released Pew State of the News Media 2015 report, its annual study of how the news industry changes over time, offers a glimpse into how the various media formats stack up. Much of the data is still elusive—the report itself stated that there’s “no organized method as yet for tracking the growing digital-only segment of the news media”—but following are some insights that shed light on the digital divide:
1. Mobile reigns. Thirty-nine of the top 50 digital news websites had more traffic to their sites and associated applications coming from mobile devices than desktop computers. That number includes legacy print (e.g., The New York Times, USA Today), cable, network, international and public broadcasting outlets as well as digital-only entities. This was especially true for sites like Elite Daily, Upworthy and BuzzFeed, which had the greatest portion of their audiences arriving through mobile.
2. …but mobile audiences have short attention spans. Out of those top 50 sites, only 10 of those had mobile visitors spend more time per visit on the site than desktop visitors. For half of the top 50, visitors from desktop sites stay longer than those coming through mobile. More proof for the need to create brief, visual and relevant content to capture mobile audiences.
3. The social Web is growing. Nearly half of the Web-using adults polled reported getting their news about politics and government within the past week on Facebook, suggesting friends and algorithms are playing an increasingly influential role as news gatekeepers. Top tech names also nabbed most of the digital ad revenue (Facebook alone accounted for 24 percent), with news outlets getting only a small share.
4. Podcast listening is on the rise. In one of the more intriguing findings, audio journalism saw huge gains. NPR’s podcast downloads alone grew 41 percent year over year, while radio shows like the wildly popular “Serial” gripped more than 5.7 million listeners per episode. And mobile dominated here too—the percentage listening to online radio via mobile devices is rising, while the percentage listening on a desktop is falling.
5. Newspapers, consumer magazines and cable news all had a tough year. Newspaper circulation (and newspaper ad revenue), consumer magazine circulation and cable news viewership all fell in 2014. Newspaper circulation was down 3 percent across papers of all sizes, while overall circulation of magazines fell slightly (1 percent). However, other legacy platforms, such as local TV and network television news, saw gains. And despite the talk of a digital shift, most newspaper readership is apparently still in print.
6. For digital-first outlets, it’s a mixed bag. As Pew put it, the “staffing capacity and financial maturity” of these outlets varies greatly. Many saw huge success—Vice News, Vox, Politico and Quartz, to name a few, all faced gains such as expansions in staff and locations, growth in online visitors and exceeding revenue and traffic goals. At the same time, others faced financial and journalistic struggles, including the demise of Gigaom, staff resignations at First Look Media and The New Republic, and even online giant BuzzFeed having to answer to ethical questions over its advertising policies.
So, what are PR pros to make of all this? On one hand, the findings suggest that digital (and mobile) platforms are becoming increasingly popular for digesting news. Based on sheer circulation alone, a digital story in a top outlet could get far more views than a print feature. Take The New York Times, for example—while the newspaper reported an average weekday print circulation of nearly 650,000 (in September 2014), its website and associated apps nabbed nearly 54 million unique visitors in January this year. Digital outlets also offer other opportunities not possible in print, such as multimedia, SEO and links to draw audiences back to your website.
However, looking at the bigger picture, the findings suggest that no one medium is likely to meet all of a client’s needs—it’ll probably take a creative combination of traditional, digital, social and mobile outlets. While digital might be more far-reaching and interactive, print and legacy formats can have perks depending on your objectives. Plenty of research shows digital and print reach different demographics, and while print stories often also appear in the online editions, publishers typically cater content, format and length depending on the audience.
At day’s end, when implementing any campaign, you’ll want to think through the overarching objective and intended audience and select your target outlets and strategy from there. An integrated approach is always the best approach—and a shiny print cover is no longer the best way to reach your goals.