Time to Build Your Brand Newsroom?

By Jim Ylisela

If you studied journalism, PR or communications somewhere along the way you ran into the 5Ws and the H: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

In a previous century that I recall fondly, those questions would help you formulate a news lede ― one gargantuan sentence to tell readers everything they needed to know. There was even a time when the Chicago Tribune declared that the average lede should be 35 words long.

We don’t do it that way anymore, but all those Ws and the H can still be quite useful, especially for those looking to build a digital branded newsroom reporting on your industry. Here’s your checklist:

1. Why should my organization build a brand newsroom? The short answer is: Why not? Almost anything would be better than “the press release graveyard” labeled “Media Center” or a library of corporate headshots, bad videos and groundbreaking photos.

You still want and need media coverage, but the media world is fractured and chaotic, with fewer reporters to cover what I call the “in-between” stories. Media will always show up for the really good (curing cancer), the really bad (bankruptcy) and the really ugly (CEO indicted). In between are so many worthy stories that demonstrate your expertise, showcase your talent and offer your thought leadership, but they will never get the play they deserve in the press. You should tell those stories yourself, publish them on your news hub and deliver them directly to your audience on social.

But there’s someone else you have to convince: your own leaders. Will this fancy new platform sell more product? Add to the bottom line? Attract more customers? You can’t guarantee that. But what it will do is raise your profile, enhance your reputation and drive greater awareness around the issues you care about. And doing that might actually contribute to your success. That’s why we encourage all of our brand journalism clients to publish what they do and why, like BOK Financial’s news site, “The Statement,” or Moffitt Cancer Center’s “Endeavor.”

2. Where should my content live? WARNING: This is a trick question. There are many platforms you can use. You can create your newsroom on your website (“the mother ship”) or on a separate platform that links to your main site. But the real answer is: Your content should live in one place. We see too many websites with a newsroom filled with releases and a blog posted somewhere else and feature stories in yet another place.

Stop doing that. If your audience has to click around for your content, they’ll leave. They don’t care about the distinctions you’ve created around these different kinds of stories. Give them one attractive place filled with bold headlines and great images. Yeah. Like a news site.

3. Who should do all of this work? Brand journalism requires a committed team of writers, editors and producers. And that begins with your comms team, of course, or some part of it. This inner ring is for the people whose job it is to run and operate the site: an editor or managing editor, a writer, a social media person.

Beyond that, cast a wide net. Who can generate stories, or story ideas? It turns out there are many: marketers, for example, are often good writers who can produce features; internal communicators can tell stories from the inside that are of great interest to those outside. In the outer circle are subject matter experts and regular employees, who can explain how things work, and leaders, who have a point of view and need a venue to express it.

4. What should I publish on my brand site? Let’s start with what you shouldn’t publish. Marketing content serves a great purpose, but not here. You can house your press releases on your news site, but don’t make them the focal point of your content.

When readers come to your site, they should be greeted with content they care about. News, like Pittsburgh International Airport’s Blue Sky. Analysis, like MSU Denver’s RED. Insights and inspiration, like that offered by Coverage, the brand news site of Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts.

5. How do I pull this off? Brand journalism is certainly a content strategy, but it’s also a management strategy. You aren’t just creating a platform; you’re building a news operation that seeks to feed a well-defined and demanding audience that will just as easily go to the Google machine if they can’t find what they want.

That means creating a newsroom mentality, in which everyone is thinking about how to produce the best stories, in the most creative way, that contribute to understanding, awareness and solutions for the issues confronting your industry ― and the world. Organize your news team. Develop beats. Build an editorial calendar. Create a newsletter to deliver the headlines. Integrate with your social and media pitching strategy.

6. When should I be doing this? How about now, as in right now? All the time. You don’t need a newsroom full of journalists to produce meaningful content. You don’t need to publish three stories a day. Start with one good story that will get people’s attention and make them want to come back for more.

CG Co-founder Jim Ylisela has helped many communicators build and operate their brand journalism sites and gets a bit weepy just thinking about them. Schedule a call with Kristin Hart to learn how we can help you improve your communications effort with training, consulting and strategic counsel. Follow RCG on LinkedIn and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.