7 Takeaways for Brand Journalists

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By Jim Ylisela and Tom Corfman

It was a dark and stormy night . . .

Actually, it was just early afternoon when about 30 communicators arrived at BOK Financial’s training room in downtown Denver to talk about brand journalism and how to improve their storytelling.

Then, as if on cue, the skies darkened, the rain fell hard and at one point tornado alerts blared from people’s cellphones.  Undaunted, and fortified with plenty of snacks and refreshments, our intrepid communicators leaned forward with a smart list of questions to pick the brains of three brand journalism editors.

Brandjo can feel a bit overwhelming, so we invited our accomplished trio to break things down: Travis Thompson from Denver Water’s TAP, John Arnold from Metropolitan State University Denver’s RED, and Megan Ryan from BOK Financial’s The Statement. They did not disappoint.

Don’t worry. We took notes. Here are seven takeaways from the afternoon:

1. Measure the right things. Everyone knows measurement is crucial. You must prove to your leaders that putting all this effort into good content pays off for your organization. But it’s what you measure that matters, and that depends on how content ties to your overall business goals.

John Arnold, editor of MSU Denver’s RED, focuses on media coverage as the best way to enhance the school’s reputation, showcase the expertise of its faculty and highlight student achievement. Driving enrollment is the ultimate measure, John told us.

For BOK Financial, it’s more about getting content in front of their colleagues to share with the bank’s customers and prospects. For Denver Water, it’s about building community with ratepayers.

2. Get in front of the news. A few people asked how to balance the need to develop your own stories with the necessity of reacting to what your leaders want you to write. (And yes, sometimes they can be the same thing.)

Many corporate comms departments are stuck in “order taker” mode, where they do whatever comes over the transom from the leaders. We take a different approach with brand journalism. Break your own news. Dive into your own data and find trends that matter to your audience. Most important, train your reporters to go find the news. When do you say no? Every editor in the room could point out a story or two they thought was a waste of time. The general consensus was, “No, but . . . .” Someone in the organization wants a press release when there’s no news, or a video where there are no visuals. Help them find a better way.

3. Not everyone has to produce content all the time. All comms teams want more people, and brand journalism certainly requires talent. But that doesn’t mean everyone can or should be a fulltime writer for your platform. Denver Water has two or three “power producers,” who crank out the bulk of the copy, while other contributors — including leaders and subject matter experts — turn in one or two stories a month. At BOK Financial, the addition of one full-time content producer was a game changer.

4. Get a lot of at-bats. Most brandjo sites send out their top headlines in weekly newsletters for their subscribers, but that’s not the only time they publish. RED posts content three or four times a week and on social almost every day. This keeps your site — and your news — in front of your audience and improves the chances that others will discover you through internet searches. Denver Water fills in new stories with updated content from their extensive archive.

5. Please release me. Our three editors said they rarely write press releases anymore. RED hasn’t issued a press release in years. Everything’s a story, even if it’s just a short piece of news. The secret to media pickup is no secret at all: It’s about establishing good relationships with reporters and assignment editors, delivering reliable copy they can use and, sometimes, personalizing media pitches to reporters who have a special interest in a topic.

6. Don’t try to do everything in one news meeting. Many communications departments hold an hourly meeting each week, and everyone on the team talks about what they’re working on. When the hour is up, everyone goes back to work. The brand journalism model is different: a monthly meeting to look down the road and gather story ideas for the future; a weekly meeting to decide the best way to tell stories coming up in the next week or so; and a quick, daily meeting to handle what’s to be published, news-jacked, posted on social or pitched. Some staff members may balk at first, but they’ll come to appreciate the value and efficiency of more frequent meetings.

7. Make internal comms part of your editorial process. Internal communications is a hidden asset for brand journalists. They often are the first to hear about newsworthy stories. They have good relationships with subject matter experts. All three of our news sites publish employee profiles internally and externally, and both generate traffic. And when encouraged, employees like and repost brandjo stories on their own social networks.

Jim Ylisela is the co-founder and senior partner of Ragan Consulting Group. Tom Corfman is a senior consultant with the firm. They enjoy helping organizations use brand journalism to turn traditional public relations upside down.

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