Comments on: Can journalists write great marketing content?

By: Andrew Bruce Smith

Andrew Bruce Smith — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:57:20 +0000

@intuitivelyobvious – don’t get me wrong – I’ve been around long enough to know that the “why do PRs send out so much irrelevant rubbish” debate has been going on for decades. Given that most PR/marketing folk are fully aware of what is and isn’t relevant info, there clearly have to be other reasons for why it continues – and certainly one of the reasons is due to the respect (or otherwise) afforded to the PR/marketing dept in a business – big or small – while few people would tell a CEO or sales director how to do their job, at times everyone seems to be a PR and marketing expert. And yes, life is too short on many occasions, so the PR/marketing person just gives in and sends stuff out as instructed. Still – we no harm in trying to keep the level of rubbish down as low as possible.

By: intuitivelyobvious

intuitivelyobvious — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:25:36 +0000

Don’t trash the messenger. Sometimes, especially in a small business, it’s the boss/owner who’s telling the poor PR person what they need to say. So the marketing dept. sends out trash on a regular basis that is ignored by the media. You still gotta pay your bills, so you just do it.

And yes, viewers/readers love tragedy, blood and guts, etc. What do you think causes the slow down of traffic going the OPPOSITE way of a traffic jam on a highway? Why do total strangers leave flowers at spots where a murder has occurred? How do you explain the popularity – and profits — of war and shoot-em-up movies?

By: Measuring the ROI of a blog post (or the Law of Unexpected Consequence) « In Front Of Your Nose

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 15:10:52 +0000

[...] (or the Law of Unexpected Consequence) 27 02 2008 The reaction to my post yesterday about Can Journalists Write Great Marketing Content has been [...]

By: Andrew Bruce Smith

Andrew Bruce Smith — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:44:45 +0000

Joe – thanks for commenting – I think content marketing is a mix of art and science – that’s part of the challenge – getting the balance right between them the two is er, a mix of art and science (cue infinite regress). But I agree there is a big opportunity for those who take the time and effort to understand how analytics and content can be combined in a powerful and authentic manner.

By: Joe Pulizzi, Junta42

Joe Pulizzi, Junta42 — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:19:45 +0000

Thanks for the post. There is definitely an opportunity here for journalists. Content marketing is a true art form. Most businesses are set up to sell products and services, not to generating consistent and relevant editorial content for their customers.

And let’s face it, most marketing people don’t want to get involved in this. It’s too hard and involves great skill when it’s done right (to affect behavior change). Big opportunity.

Thanks
Joe

By: sally whittle

sally whittle — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 18:29:34 +0000

Thanks, feel free to pop over – there’s a request for people to test control pants on there if you’re free Saturday!!

By: Andrew Bruce Smith

Andrew Bruce Smith — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:57:39 +0000

Sally – great minds, etc

BTW – nice work with Getting Ink Requests!

By: sally whittle

sally whittle — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:15:44 +0000

Andrew

We read the same blogs, obviously, I was thinking about posting on this but you’ve saved me the bother.

As a freelance hack, an increasing part of my work involves commercial writing of one sort or another, and you’d be surprised (well, some people would) by how often I’m engaged to rewrite something that a PR/marketing person has written.

While the PR clearly understands the messaging, I think sometimes they find it difficult to step away from the “approved” terminology, messaging and products – whereas a good journalist is used to applying the “so what?” filter and translating marketing-ese into something readers will find interesting.

The challenge is ensuring that what you think is an interesting story also ties in with the client’s messaging, but that’s just a matter of practice, i suspect.

By: Andrew Bruce Smith

Andrew Bruce Smith — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:48:35 +0000

@Ian – “how little journalists tend to understand their audience in a coherent, planned way” – but I do think that good journalists DO have an unquantifiable instinct for what their readers want – and that’s why good journalism gets paid for. Having said that, hard data should provide some validation for this gut instinct – or suggest new areas that journalists may not have considered. ie the “strange hybird” David suggests.

@David – I agree with you on your assessment of what goes by the name of much PR and marketing – somewhere along the line, the customer seems to get forgotten. I’m with you 100pc on the concept of buyer personas – get these right and your PR plan writes itself. If you understand your customer or prospect properly then you will know how, where, what and why they will be interested in your product or service – easy really

By: Ian Betteridge

Ian Betteridge — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:40:13 +0000

“Maybe what’s needed is some kind of strange hybrid.”

David, that’s what contract publishing is

Drop me a line to ianbetteridge at gmail.com and I’ll send you a copy of the magazine we do for BT – I think you’ll see what I mean from that…