mark ragan ceo presentation to vocus user convference 2012
TRANSCRIPT
The company as media outlet:Your role in the age of Brand Journalism and Content Curation
Mark RaganCEO, Ragan Communications
The history of corporate communications:
• Employee publications
• Press releases
• Face-to-face communication
• Bulletin Boards
CIRCA 1968:
…and when I say bulletin board, I mean…
Online newsletters Social Media press release Intranets Social Networks Twitter Facebook FourSquare Tumblr Podcasting Yammer Blogs YouTube Flickr
CIRCA 2011:The communicator's toolbox in the age of social media
And you. . . .
And today?Content is no longer merely important.
It’s the king of the forest.
Content is at the very center of today’s brand strategy . . . .Content is at the very center of today’s brand strategy . . . .
CorporationCorporation
IntranetsIntranets Social NetworksSocial Networks
FacebookFacebookBloggingBlogging
TwitterTwitterFourSquareFourSquare
What has changed?• Free distribution channels:
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and more…
• Understaffed newsrooms: Fewer reporters to feed the media beast
• Reporters now tap into social media channels for stories
• Technology has removed many cost barriers
The original model:
How it is today:
What does all of this mean for Communicators?
5 qualities of the new communications superstar:• Expert in all things social media
• Become a leading content creator (and curator) for your organization
• Practice the fundamentals of good writing and refrigerator journalism
• Effectively produce an online newsroom
• Build relationships with traditional and new media
The New Formula:
Great Content + Engagement
= Success
Change in thinking:Your new role as Chief Content Officer
• Content producer
• Reporter: Ferret out the stories
• Conversation starter
• Community Manager
Payoff
• Lower costs compared to traditional advertising
• Higher brand recognition
• Increased efficiency
• More influence within the organization
Every organization has a story:
Your job is to find it and produce it
But remember the #1 rule in the Age of Content
Never bore people
The Problem: Corporate and consumer information worlds are colliding
What content consumers love:
•Helpful posts that practice 'refrigerator journalism‘
•Compelling video
•Voice and personality
•Social Media integration
•Conversation
•Integrated customer service
What's the problem?With most corporate sites
Too much content, none of it filtered
Clunky navigation: Too many choices
No grumpy editor making the tough choices: What stays and what goes!
Endless Rabbit holes
Spotty, inconsistent or nonexistent social media integration
Writing that doesn't get to the point quickly!
No voice, color or sign of a human
Doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up: Am I a shingle site or a knowledge leader?
Imagine what a customer might say:
• "I'm not wading through content on Mashable, why do I have to on your site?”
• "Why can't you be more like my favorite news site or trade publication?”
• "And while I'm at it, why can't
it be entertaining and human as well?"
What you'll be hearing: The new buzzwords of the day
Company as media outlet: Traditional newsrooms are in decline and media is now more fragmented than ever.
Why not fill the void?
"The mantra is that every company has to be a media company in their own right, telling their own stories not just through websites but through branded entertainment, video, iPad and mobile applications. Big companies are going directly to the consumer to engage them now, rather than through display or spot ads and the traditional means of trying to reach consumers. You can't just be out there shouting at people about your brand, you've got to engage with them quite carefully, and the editorial skills that I can bring can help with that."
--Stefan Sternveteran journalist for the Financial Times and head of strategy for Edelman
Content Curation: For a fraction of the cost of advertising, you can become the chief content site in
your business.
Objective
• Position HSBC as resource to businesses selling abroad.
• Establish expertise in International Trade
• Provide helpful tools to readers
Editorial Resources
• Five full-time staffers working on site
• Uses syndicated content from Bloomberg/Wall Street Journal
• Custom content from the Economist
• Contract editor to keep distance from HSBC
PhilosophyProvide great information and tools and the customers will follow.
“You don’t know who’s a potential customer, right? It could be a business that may be milling around going, ‘I’m not getting any growth in Iowa. Maybe I can sell meat pies in Canada.’
-- Clinton Riley, vice president of public affairs for HSBC North
America.
Brand Journalism: Using the principles and approaches of journalism to create rich content for your customers
and prospects.
• Credibility
• Trust
• Storytelling
• Breadth of coverage
• Timeliness
• Integration with social media
So is brand journalism just a theory? The proof is in the hiring
Who heads digital strategy for IBM?
(It's not a coincidence!)
Who is the new communication strategist at SAP?
What he says:
"In my specific case, my ability to tell stories about the impact that technology plays on business innovation and strategy and competitive balance and global supply chains and realtime operations and cloud computing and more is enhanced by my being employed within a large, highly profitable, and truly global organization with more than 100,000 customers and deep troves of casestudy expertise across thousands of corporations in more than 20 industries. As an SAP employee, I have more access to more information and expertise that can be shared with audiences than I did in my former position on the 'light side'."
Roadmap
• Create simple, compelling news site that engages customers and prospects by providing daily news, analysis and video features for your market
• Editorial team headed by a managing editor and team of reporters
• Publisher: Manages all business aspects of the site and acts as bridge to senior management
• Social Media editor. Integrates content into all social media platforms and manages communities both inside and outside the firewall
• Director of measurement and search engine optimization
Benefits:• Become the leading thought
leader in the industry
• Simple and efficient way to generate leads, track progress and bond with customers
• Build brand recognition among key decision makers and influencers
• Bolsters social media presence by providing hot content to share
• Gives global sales force tool for connecting to customers
Integration--Tie everything together
Ban the Scatter Gun Approach
List headline
Easy sharing
Great visual
Fish where the fish are!
So what's YOUR strategy?
What is my content?
• What is my niche, i.e., cancer research, energy, specialty steel, banking?
• What information do my customers or employees need?
• Decide ratio of 'curated content' to original
• Social media integration: How will I foster sharing
• Engagement: How do I keep them wanting more?
• Measurement: How will I prove it's a success?
• What's the frequency—Less is NOT more
What resources do I have?
• Freelancers or staff
• How many reporters/editors do I need
• Partnerships with bloggers and other content creators
• Technology
PinkGlove
Go To Site
Providence St. Vincent Medical Center’s PINK GLOVE dance, owns Google’s
search results for Pink Glove.
17 of the first 35 results and 7 of 11 on page 1
