It had to happen. With the constant drive to achieve 100 percent engagement between brands and followers, inbound marketing practitioners have been looking for new ways to get their messages out. Journalism offers the same tools to the marketing world that have formerly been used only for news, and social media disseminates the information more widely than traditional media ever could. Enter the concept of brand journalism, an advertising trend that Forbes predicts will shake up 100 years of journalism.
What’s the Point?
The point of journalism is to collect and edit information and present it to the public through recognized media channels. Therein lies the rub: journalists have fought hard to protect their territory against anything that smacked of advertising. Writing about products and services was taboo, unless it was an objective review or an attempt to expose an issue. But with a new generation of sophisticated consumers demanding information about products and being exceptionally selective about the advertising material they access, journalists have found themselves needing to deliver variety to fulfill the demand.
It’s All About Storytelling
Journalism is about telling stories. Whether they're about people and events or the products and services they want and use, it's still storytelling. Brands have realized that to tell their stories effectively, they need to hire journalists—not to take over from the advertisers, but to complement them. If your brand's story is worth telling, then it's worth telling well, and the best person for the job is someone who has the training and experience to do it. It's been coming for some time, but brand journalism only recently got itself a name. Think of all the sponsored content and special featured stories that publications have run over the years; brand journalism is nothing new, but it's finally come to the forefront.
Benefits of the Beat
Embracing the new beat of brand journalism offers inbound marketers a range of benefits that weren't obvious before:
- Transparency. These days, we're all for being open and transparent about the source and purpose of our content. By using brand journalism, your company can show that it subscribes to this philosophy.
- Credibility. The notion still prevails that if a journalist writes about a product or service, it must be credible. As long as you refrain from writing advertising copy, and you remain authentic with your storytelling, the publicity gained by brand journalism can boost the credibility of your company and brand.
- Relevance. Content marketers say it all the time, and brand journalism is just another form of content marketing. Silence the sales pitch, focus on the issues that matter to your customers and create content that people will want to share. Look for the hidden angles and make them a part of the story.
The Good, the Bad and the Not-Too-Ugly
The critical aspect of making brand journalism work for you—and what separates it from advertising—is that products and services are represented truthfully, with warts and all. Marketers typically leave out any details that could affect sales negatively in order to protect their brands and their shareholders. In journalism, withholding information just isn't the name of the game. Don't try to gloss over issues with some nice hyperbole. You'll get found out sooner or later, and your reputation might never recover. Loosen the collar and be upfront with all the details to reach your audience in a conversational manner that promotes dialogue and engagement.
Transform your content by making it real. With brand journalism, you can:
- Tie your products and services to current issues
- Tell your brand's unique story
- Increase your relevance to your target market
Join the movement while it's still young, and you'll be able to shape the future of your content marketing strategy.
*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
