Create an Editorial Schedule
Do you have a schedule of the content you will upload? A little forethought goes a long way when you are busy and need content or an idea in a hurry.

Here are some things to think about when developing an editorial schedule. What are the key areas of content that are valuable to your stakeholder group? Are there annual events or happenings that you can put in to the schedule? Ask stakeholders what they are interested in hearing about from you and add it to the schedule. Look at information you are using – do you have a media pitch or news release that you can repurpose? Do you have more information than you used from an interview with your CEO or another industry leader?

Ask for Assistance
We have worked with some clients to establish a content committee, an advisory board and we have also put out a call for volunteer content creators (establishing exactly how much of their work week can be put towards this task). Often there are individuals within your organization that have skills in this area that you don’t realize. Their positions might not have anything to do with writing, taking images or identifying good stories, but they are good at this. Asking for assistance isn’t a sign of weakness; it shows that you want to get others engaged and that you are interested in their areas/departments.

Think Like the Media
It is human nature to fall into writing material in a more promotional manner – it’s often a big part of our job. Take a step back and think like a magazine/newspaper editor/writer or broadcast producer. Moving into the role of content producer doesn’t mean you are going to air dirty laundry or talk about negatives; it means that you are going to create authentic, compelling content. It means creating content in an editorial style – a style that is balanced and has quotes that are substantial. The content could show the humanity, the challenges, the risks and the successes of your organization.

Change Up Your Words
We recently had a client that struggled with taking on an editorial approach. She was a good writer, but the content she was creating read like marketing material. Working with her, we developed a list of words that she agreed not to use; words like leading edge, exciting, innovative and world-class weren’t to be used. (Don’t get us wrong, we have nothing against these words in the proper context.) It was a bit of a challenge at first. She had a big case of writer’s block because she relied on these words. However, she had a breakthrough. Now her content is read by a large stakeholder group and it is regularly shared throughout the industry. It was a big step forward in building her organization’s brand.

I don’t hold the same political views as some of them. I have to admit, I have found some of the discussions and ideas put forward by a some of my “pals” a little worrisome. Especially when it comes to politics – specifically in the U.S. There are some very personal attacks on politicians happening these days – on both the Democratic and Republican sides. We’re seeing a little of it here in Canada but not to the degree that it happens in the U.S.

Disagreeing with a candidate’s platform and what they choose to support and not support is one thing, but there are some nasty, nasty rumours and lies that are put forward sometimes. I am not always comfortable seeing the opinions that appear on the status updates of people on my Facebook page. But I do realize that it is important to stay connected and to listen to viewpoints that are unlike your own, especially ones that you have a visceral reaction to. You don’t have to agree, understand or even respect the opinion, but I believe you should respect their right to have their own opinion. For me, it’s a good practice to be open to listening to a range of viewpoints and to try to understand why they might think or feel so differently than I do.

This morning, I saw an update that contained the content of an update about President Obama that was incredibly nasty. Among other things, it said that the President won’t let his dog Bo travel with him in Air Force One because of Muslim beliefs and that it was costing tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I could feel my blood pressure and anger rising as I read the update and was a little shocked that someone would put that up. The information is just plain ridiculous and—to me—so shockingly unbelievable that I don’t understand how anyone would think it is true. However, it is making the rounds out there online and people seem to believe it.

That made me think about the extreme factions – in this case, political ones. There is a very fine line between getting people all riled up and engaged and going too far and losing your credibility and support. I think that we have all “gone too far” at some point in either our professional or personal lives. Pushed our agenda too hard and with too much vigor so that we lose sight of the overall goal or objective. And I think it is a surprising fine line that we all need to be very aware of between being passionate and committed, and becoming a zealot where the truth no longer matters and the end justifies the means.

As communicators, it is our role to make sure that our outreach stays on this side of the line and is transparent, authentic and truthful. Without those, there can be no trust. And without trust, there can be no long-term success.

At AHA, we have done a great deal of work studying online behaviour relevant to communication. What is being said and discussed online is a key component for an organization – from building and managing its reputation to dealing with potential issues and crisis communication. However, there are still large organizations that have not yet come to terms with this for some reason. Some aren’t even monitoring what is being said or who is saying it. More and more we are seeing issues come up, not from an outside source, but through online discussions by employees.

Social media gives everyone from employees to unions and association members the opportunity to gather and discuss things virtually. This is a new opportunity to engage with one another and to find like-minded people. And they are going to do it with or without your support, assistance or knowledge.

I spend a great deal of time speaking and working with CEOs, presidents, COOs, VPs and senior communications executives. Just about everyone I have ever worked with wants to do good things for the people that work at their organization. If there is something that people aren’t happy with, they want to know about it. If there is something that needs to be changed, they want it brought to their attention. People matter to them. And yet there is still a challenge, in some areas, in having the senior team see the value of social media or realize that it is now a part of everyday business life.

Imagine if people were encouraged to participate in honest, open and respectful dialogue using social media and discussions could be facilitated rather than controlled (or perceived as being controlled). It is a culture change, but it is one that is coming. And one, I strongly believe that organizations need to embrace.

Wouldn’t you rather be a part of the conversation – even if it was critical or negative – rather than have it go on without your knowledge or input?

That was an interesting comment and one I felt we had to address. As communicators, we often see the value and rationale for telling an organization’s story through a range of approaches such as media relations, videos, articles, etc. Not everyone’s brain works that way and it’s important to engage in discussion around this.

The goal with brand journalism is to authentically tell a story with the objective of informing and engaging the organization’s stakeholder group and transitioning them from awareness to trial to advocacy. You want to move a stakeholder’s perception of your organization to a spot when they talk about your brand positively and within the context of it being a valuable part of their life. Once the stakeholder takes your product, service or brand into their own story – exposure and reputation increase greatly.

The online world and social media have given everyone – organizations, stakeholders and consumers – the opportunity to tell a brands’ story (good and bad) through a range of tools (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, email, online communities, and more). This makes it more important for an organization to be telling their own story, making sure the information out there is accurate, credible and reflects the brand positioning in the right way. And to get great stories, it becomes important to gather them from a range of sources because a) the communications team can’t be everywhere at once and b) different people within your organization will bring a range of stories.

In this discussion, it was clearly acknowledged that advertising is an important component of the marketing mix for this organization. It was also put forward that public relations and brand journalism are also important – yet different – parts of the marketing mix and provide opportunities for conversations with stakeholders to share human interest stories and to create an emotional connection between stakeholders and the organization.

One of the action items that came out of this meeting was that the organization is going to undertake a marketing communications audit. VP Skeptical wants to know what others in the organization think about how they currently tell their story. She wants the audit to address specific questions about advertising, communications such as PR, what is seen in the media, how their social media outreach is perceived, etc.

Once again, I saw that skepticism can be a good thing. It pushes all of us to ask the question: What is the value in this? It is always important to showcase the value, and showcasing it to skeptics makes it an interesting process that also allows us to learn.

There are times when the excellence comes in the moving forward component – in joining the conversation, in engaging with stakeholders, in reaching out and opening the door for discussion. Over the years, I have seen several client organizations get stuck – and I mean stuck – in rewriting speeches, articles or entire websites over and over again because they weren’t perfect. I have seen communications teams fracture over this type of approach. And it doesn’t mean the work wasn’t good or that it wouldn’t have been effective.

This type of dysfunction is more about the organization than about the work. Sometimes it’s a weird form of passive aggressive behavior. Other times it’s because someone (or several people) are paralyzed by the fear of moving forward and making a mistake. I can tell you that in many situations, the mistake is in doing nothing.

It is easy to hide behind perfection, the lawyers, or to create a committee that can’t agree and so nothing moves forward. When that happens, it isn’t about the communications strategy or initiatives, it is a much bigger issue that needs to be addressed. It’s about leadership and teamwork.

Check out the great piece on Ragan.com entitled: 6 lame excuses for not communicating for more on this topic.

How does your organization behave? Are you good enough?

One of our key assets is that we have several people on our crew that come from the journalism world. Another is that we write the articles in an editorial style. It is researched, balanced and well written.

As simple as it sounds, there are times when we have to explain why we take an editorial approach and why it matters. When organizations are used to using marketing or sales copy, it can be a challenge for them to embrace a more balanced, authentic way of telling their story. They just aren’t used to it. For some organizations it is a culture shift.

When we explain to clients why it is crucial for article to be written this way, if it is going to be picked up by traditional media or make a connection with their target audience, there is always this “aha” moment. This is when they begin to realize the value and importance of communicating this way and begin to move away from the old information out paradigm. When we show the benefit of sharing information this way and what it means for their organization’s reputation and their relationships with their target market, a subtle shift happens in how they view this type of communication. It doesn’t mean that the brochures, ads and other sales and marketing pieces aren’t useful; they just don’t work in this context.

When we develop an article for a client, the story idea goes through much the same process as it would if we were a magazine or newspaper. We clearly identify the target audience, do the research, develop a story idea and pitch it to the AHA crew. During our story meeting, we discuss how relevant, timely and of value it is to the stakeholder. The ideas gets questioned and kicked around, it gets reviewed and revised until we have a piece that is good enough to be published in traditional or online media. Once the client has approved it our focus turns to distribution, which is just as important as the piece itself. Getting it out to the right people at the right time means that there will be interest in the piece, that the value we want to provide is timely and relevant, that people will read the piece and, if moved, they will take action based on the information found in the article.

Well researched, balanced articles can be a valuable tool in a communicator’s tool kit.

To help determine your story’s news value, ask yourself the questions below.

Is the story timely and relevant? It’s surprising how many things are put forward as great ideas and when we dig a little deeper, we realize that it’s not timely. With few exceptions, there is a time element attached that makes the story “old” before you realize it.

Does the story have significance to a trend, a cultural standard or shift? What does the story mean in the bigger context of your organization, industry or the world? Does it show a shift in how things are done? Is it a part of a growing trend or does it buck a trend that most people are starting to see as a standard?

Who will care about this story? We have had clients with “news” that makes their team jump and down with excitement, but outside of their organization, it means nothing. Understand that what might be of interest within your industry, may have no value to the larger business community. It’s still may be worth telling a story to a specific audience, but it’s important to know who that audience is.

What is the best way to tell this story? This is all relevant to the specific story and the audience you want to connect with. Sometimes video is the right medium, other times, an editorial style article or a white paper provides a more relevant way to share the information. Deciding how to tell your story first starts with finding out what stakeholder group you want to tell it to, then identifying how this specific group likes to receive information, and then determining the best way to tell the story. All of these elements have to come together and create a compelling “package” for the story. If you create a video for a demographic that doesn’t watch video, you likely won’t get many viewers. However, it may be that you have multiple stakeholder groups and need to tell the story through several mediums – a video, an article and a Q&A with experts.

How can you expand and extend the reach of this story? It may be as straightforward as telling the story through different mediums. It can also be telling the story from different angles through those mediums – the technical aspect, the human resources aspect, the collaboration and teamwork, or the business outcomes. Once you have defined the story and the primary audience and mediums(s), take another good look and search for additional opportunities. Is there a complementary approach that would let you create something that can be shared with your board of directors, with government, or used in sales meetings or speaking engagements?

How Brand Journalism Fits Into Your Overall Communications Strategy from AHA Creative on Vimeo.

In today’s video, Ruth talks about how brand journalism can fit into your overall communication strategies.

One of the questions that I was asked was: “What if you start with a client and discover that the story they want to tell – or the product or service they are offering – isn’t any good? How does the brand journalism approach work in this situation?

Integrity, authenticity and credibility are crucial when using a brand journalism approach. At AHA, we believe it is important for the long-term success of our company to do our due diligence when it comes to taking on clients. We research and review potential clients, just like they check us out.  That doesn’t mean we won’t take on clients who have challenges or issues – that’s part of what we do. It does mean that we won’t take on clients that want to “spin” things. Positioning is one thing; it’s truthful and authentic. Shifting the truth, spinning the truth, being misleading – that’s just not for us.

Sometimes, clients want to tell a story that could be seen as self-serving. That’s where we come in. We see our job – as communicators and as brand journalists – to help evolve or expand a story that might be a little too “salesy” or self-promotional. There have been times in the past – and undoubtedly will be in the future – where we have had to go to a client and explain that something they thought should make every journalist in the world jump up and down in excitement wouldn’t, and we didn’t believe it met the news values necessary for it to interest the media. In that case, we go through a solid review process of what value the story does have. Perhaps it could be used to showcase something for the internal community. (How would that work? Would employees find it of interest or value? Could it help them to do their jobs better? Would it inspire or engage them? Or would the board be interested in it?) Not every story is right for every audience.

A story that feels too self-serving can often be expanded or evolved through research, interviews and digging a bit deeper. Sometimes it can be developed into an interesting story that can be shared with media or directly with stakeholders via the organization’s website, blog, social networks or video sites.

Identifying what the story is, who the right audience/stakeholder group is, what the right medium is (short video documentary, video news release, article, tips & hints, photos, a Q&A… the list goes on and on and sometimes it is several mediums that come together to create a content package), and what online venue should be used comes together in a brand journalism plan or road map.

At the core of everything we do in public relations, it’s about sharing great stories, communicating well and being authentic, credible and engaging. You tell a story to benefit the audience, not to just push what you want them to know.

We think that if an organization views all of its communications efforts through a lens that is critical and asks the tough questions before you share the story, it will build strong relationships with stakeholders.