Content Management: News and Social Media
Week 6
COMM 1057 Public Relations Theory and Practice
This week
• Content management: News and social media
• Topics:
– Traditional media content
– Content marketing
– Forms and types of content – created, curated and
commissioned
– New media platforms for content
– Characteristics of good content
– Content calendars
– Brand journalism and native advertising
Media release writing reviewed
• Include a punchy, eyecatching headline
• Use the inverted pyramid
style (lead with the most
important news first)
• Make the story
newsworthy
• Include attributable
quotes
• Emphasise contact details
Image source: http://www.nextnature.net/wpcontent/uploads/2008/04/news_writing_inverted_pyramid.jpg
Social media releases (SMR)
• SMR similar in structure to
traditional media release, but…
• SMRs are about conversation,
so…
• Make as much content sharable
as possible:
– Hyperlinks to other social media
platforms
– Embedded video and audio files
– Photo gallery with downloadable
logos and images
– Social commenting functionality –
eg Facebook, Google+
Image source: Shift Communication
Click this link for access to the image in
more detail
Media releases are
content – they
provide content for
re-use by journalists
and bloggers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl7sWtUu1Fc
Image source;
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2pynq9
The conversation prism
Content marketing
“…the strategic marketing approach of creating
and distributing valuable, relevant and
consistent content to attract and acquire a
clearly defined audience – with the objective of
driving profitable customer action.”
– Content Marketing Institute
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/gettingstarted/
Content marketing is not new…
•In 1895, John Deere puts out The Furrow magazine, which now has a 1.5
million circulation in 40 countries and 12 different languages.
•In 1900, Michelin develops The Michelin Guide, a 400 page guide with an
iconic red cover that helped drivers maintain their cars and find decent lodging.
•In 1904, Jell-O distributes free copies of a recipe book that contributes to sales
of over $1 million by 1906.
•In the 1930s Procter & Gamble begin radio soap operas with brands such as
Duz and Oxydol, hence “soap opera.”
•In 1982, Hasbro partners with Marvel to create GI Joe Comic book leading to a
revolution in toy marketing.
•In 1987, LEGO launches Brick Kicks magazine, now LEGO Club Magazine.
Source (great 3 minute animation): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OHgMMpGLzk
and http://www.contentharmony.com/videos/cmi-3-minute-history-of-content-marketing/
Public relations and content marketing
• PR is about brand awareness
and relationship management
• PR practitioners will craft
effective narratives for the
organisation and create
dialogue with stakeholders
• PR is concerned with the whole
organisation, not just the
product
Types of content
Created
Curated
Commissioned
• Created and
owned by the
company
• From trusted
third parties
• Commissioned
(solicited) from other
influencers
Wilson 2013
Created content - example
https://youtu.be/JXTxmtM_aPI
Created content - example
http://www.redbullstratos.com/
Curated content - example
For further information; http://www.contentcurationmarketing.com/storytelling-with-content-curation/
Commissioned content - example
"television soap operas and telemovies are proven media to reach the
target audience when seeking to deliver complex messages.“
A spokesperson for the Immigration Department
Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-0409/tv-drama-to-deter-asylum-seekers/6381092
Types of content
Blogs: including
guest posts
Newsletters: online
& print
Case studies &
articles on your
website
Videos & podcasts
In person events
Presentations –
online & live
Webinars/webcasts
Research reports &
white papers
Microsites
Infographics
Mobile apps &
content
Books: digital &
print
Magazines: digital &
print
Annual reports
Games/gamification
Adapted from
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/11/contentmarketing-playbook-connecting-customers/
Platforms for content
• Common platforms for
created, commissioned
and curated content
–
–
–
–
–
–
Blogs
Corporate websites
Facebook
Twitter
Google+
LinkedIn….
• Common platforms
designed mainly for
curated content
– Storify
– Flipboard (iPad, iPhone,
iPod Touch)
– Pinterest…
Source; http://shonaliburke.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/GRUNIG.pdf
(a very interesting read)
Grunig’s four models of Public Relations
Model Name
Type of
Communication
Model Characteristics
Press agentry/publicity
One-way
communication
Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence
audiences to behave as the organization desires
Public information
model
One-way
communication
Uses press releases and other one-way
communication techniques to distribute organizational
information. The Public Relations practitioner is often
referred to as the in-house journalist
Two-way
asymmetrical model
Two-way
communication
(imbalanced)
Uses persuasion and manipulation to influence
audiences to behave as the organization desires.
Does not use research to find out how stakeholders
feel about the organization
Two-way
communication
Uses communication to negotiate with the public,
resolve conflict and promote mutual understanding
and respect between the organization and its
stakeholders
Two-way symmetrical
model
“many practitioners are using the new media in the same ways they used the old—as a
means of dumping messages on the general population rather than as a strategic means
of interacting with publics and bringing information from the environment into
organisational decision-making.” p. 1
Grunig, J. E. (2009). Paradigms of global public relations in an age of digitalisation.
PRism 6(2):
http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/Praxis/Files/globalPR/GRUNIG.pdf
Grunig’s Global theory of four models
How digital media sits under the four models
Press agentry/
publicity
Public
information
model
Two-way
asymmetrical
model
Two-way
symmetrical model
Source; http://shonaliburke.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/GRUNIG.pdf
(a very interesting read)
Characteristics of good content
Readercentric
Relevant, timely, not focused on sales and brand
Focus on
story-telling
Provoke thought, entertain, educate, inform
Is strategic
Relates to business mission and goals
Strong visual
elements
Appealing design elements
Interactive
Provoke conversations
Content calendars
Should;
- identify and address the needs of your publics
- fit with the key messaging that you have
determined important to your overall
communications plan
- look for opportunities for engagement, rather than
broadcast
- fit with your corporate communication strategy
Benefits:
1. Can have a strategic view of what is happening on your social media - see the big
picture and see where there may be any gaps
2. Won’t miss important dates, or let opportunities go by
3. Gives you time to prepare content
4. Can potentially schedule content ahead of time – making the practitioner’s time
more efficient
Hootsuite’s game of social thrones https://vimeo.com/91264375
http://soloprpro.com/the-best-contentand-social-media-calendar-templates/
Brand journalism
• “using the tools, tactics and style of journalism to tell a
company’s story” http://brandjournalists.com/social-media/what-is-brand-journalism/
• “using the tools of digital publishing and social media to speak
directly to consumers” http://www.forbes.com/sites/lewisdvorkin/2012/10/03/inside-forbes-thebirth-of-brand-journalism-and-why-its-good-for-the-new-business/
Content marketing v brand journalism
• One view:
– Content marketing = the brand advocate
– Brand journalism = the audience’s advocate
• Another view
– Brand journalism is a subset of content marketing
• And another
– Content marketing = benefit driven content
– Brand journalism = news focus
Sources:
1. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140812000800-214909437why-journalism-is-driving-content-marketing
2. http://theworddepot.com.au/thegreatdebatebrandjournalismcontentm
arketingandavenndiagram/
3. http://sixestate.com/brand-journalism-content-marketing/
Native advertising
• "a form of
media that’s
built into the
actual visual
design and
where the ads
are part of
the content.”
Source: http://mashable.com/2012/09/25/native-advertising/
Explore......
Twitter search http://search.twitter.com/
• Twitter – message design example
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/twitter-iterations.html
• Twitter – media releases?
http://muckrack.com/press_releases
Podcasting http://trafcom.typepad.com/podcast/2008/01/show-68the-pod.html
Brand Journalism http://adage.com/article/guestcolumnists/brand-journalism-a-modern-marketing-imperative/294206/
Additional resources:
Websites of interest
• The 2010 Andrew Ollie Lecture by Alan Rusbridger (Editor
of the Guardian) http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/11/19/3071359.htm
• 2010 New Media Summit http://craigpearce.info/wpcontent/uploads/2010/07/FROCOMM-New-Media-Summit-2010_Report.pdf
• Online Customer Communities http://blogs.zdnet.com/Hinchcliffe/?p=190%2090
• Burson-Marsteller blog
–
http://www.bursonmarsteller.com/Innovation_and_insights/blogs_and_podcasts/GlobalDigital/default.aspx
• Generation V (creators, contributors, opportunists and lurkers)
http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/generation-v-defies-traditional-demographics5495/?camp=rssfeed&src=mc&type=textlink
• Shel Holtz blog http://holtz.com/blog/
What’s next
• Tutorial:
– Media release editing
– Creating, curating and commissioning content
– Content calendar
• Lecture: Issues, risk and crisis communication
management
References and additional reading I
•
•
•
•
•
Duh, K., Tsutomu, H., Kimura, A., Ishiguro, T. & Yeung, C-M. 2012. Creating
stories: Social Curation of Twitter Messages in Sixth International AAAI
Conference on Weblogs and Social Media, AAAI Publications, viewed at
https://www.aaai.org/ocs/index.php/ICWSM/ICWSM12/paper/view/4578.
Flynn, N 2006, Blog rules: A Business guide to managing policy, public
relations, and legal issues, Amacom, New York
Kent, M.L. 2008, ‘Critical analysis of blogging in public relations’ in Public
Relations Review, 34, pp.32-40.
McCorkindale, T. & DiStaso, M.W., 2014, Top 10 social media research studies
for Public Relations professionals, Institute for Public Relations,
http://www.instituteforpr.org/wp-content/uploads/Top-Social-MediaResearch-Studies-for-PR.pdf
Scott, D.M. 2007, The new rules of marketing and PR: How to use news
releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing, & online media to reach buyers
directly, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, Hoboken, NJ
References and additional reading II
• Solis, B 2012, The end of business as usual: rework the way you
work to succeed in the consumer revolution, Wiley & Sons,
Hoboken, NJ.
• Wilson, R. 2013, ‘Content frameworks: Using content to achieve
marketing communications goals’, Brown, R., Waddington, S. &
Solis, B (eds), Share this too: More social media solutions for PR
professionals, John Wiley & Sons (online book in Library)
• Wright, D.K. 2006, ‘Weblogs and Employee Communication: Ethical
questions for corporate public relations, Conference Proceedings’,
in Proceedings of the 9th Annual International Public Relations
Research Conference, South Miami, FL