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Imagine you're a reporter. You need a quote from an expert related to the news story you're putting together about, say, minimizing your risk of becoming a crime victim.

You're fortunate enough to get a really smart crime expert on the phone, and lucky for you, he's experienced enough with media interviews to know he has to keep his answers short, certainly no longer than one minute each.

Here's one exchange from the interview:

QUESTION: "Are there certain people who are more likely to become a victim of a mugging? What advice do you have for people to avoid becoming a mugging victim?"

ANSWER: "Well, these are crimes of opportunity. I mean, the stereotypical thing we all think about is old ladies getting mugged or having their purses snatched-and certainly that happens occasionally. And it's obviously horrible when we see that, because they're among the most vulnerable people in our society and it often shatters their sense of safety. I've even seen victims who essentially become shut-ins because they're so scared. But I've also seen really big men mugged by smaller criminals with a weapon. Catch those big guys off guard, and they're susceptible too. So I'd say to everyone to be aware of their environment and, like I said before, remember that anyone can be a victim."

Now, in your role as the reporter, look at that answer and decide what you think the quote should be. While selecting the quote, keep in mind that for most edited interviews-print, online, radio, and television- the average quote is short. For print or online, it might run a couple of sentences. For television, it might last up to 15 seconds.
What did you select as the gold nugget-the quote you could plug into your story?
I couldn't find anything great. The closing sentence might have been okay, but for the phrase "like I said before," which wouldn't make sense in middle of a quote. And the example about the old lady was both too lengthy and too in the weeds to make sense as a standalone thought.
That lengthy quote isn't unusual for media spokespersons. In fact, I'd say it's the norm.
But there is a lot of potential in that answer-and with some finessing, it's easy to see how it could become more media friendly. Here's take two:

QUESTION: "Are there certain people who are more likely to become a victim of a mugging? What advice do you have for people to avoid becoming a mugging victim?"

ANSWER: "Criminals are looking to commit crimes of opportunity, and anyone-from the older women who didn't see the purse snatching coming to the bigger man who thought he was immune from street crime-could be a victim. We tell everyone to be aware of your surroundings, park in lighted and well-populated areas, and call your local police department if anything looks off."

Both sentences in that answer have a self-contained thought. As a reporter, I could run either of those sentences or both.
For a sound bites-style format-as opposed to longer-format interviews or in-person presentations-the "gold" the reporter is hoping to mine is a standalone quote that can be plugged seamlessly into their story.
That's not to say that every sentence you utter during the interview has to be perfectly crafted-few people speak that way naturally-but it is to say that you should think out in advance what your standalone quotes might be.

Years ago, one of my trainees shared an exercise with me that helped him along the way. A previous trainer taught him to speak in a "short answer / long answer" format, in which every response began with a tight one- or two-sentence answer, followed by additional context, as needed.

The second version above was my short answer. I could have added additional examples or statistics during a "long answer" that followed.

The benefit of that approach is that the short answer often contains the headline-the standalone thought-and by leading with that, you've quickly helped the reporter sift through the sand to find something of value.

Different media formats have different needs-so before your next interview, ask yourself what the reporter needs from you. If they primarily need a compelling quote that encapsulates an entire thought in just a few lines, think in advance about what that quote might be-and make sure it's as easy for the reporter to spot as a bar of gold.

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The Gold Nugget Reporters Want From You | Mr. Media Training

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Imagine you're a reporter. You need a quote from an expert related to the news story you're putting together about, say, minimizing your risk of becoming a crime victim. You're fortunate enough to get a really smart crime expert on the phone, and lucky for you, he's experienced enough with media interviews to know he has to keep his answers short, certainly no longer than one minute each.

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In the first week of the new year, I was having a conversation with someone close to me. They were discussing some "team perk approvals."

A team member wanted to join a "marketing" community and was hoping to get the monthly membership fee covered.

"That's great," I said. "It's nice to know your colleagues can get professional development support subsidized."

The Burning Question

But I had a burning question: "You're aware that have built an amazing Slack community for communications professionals, right?"

To which the person responded: "[So-and-so] doesn't need PR training, [so-and-so]'s a measurement nut. [So-and-so] wants marketing measurement training."

Queue head explosion. Really, is this still a thing?

PR Pro vs Marketer: Who Am I?

To be fair, I sympathize.

We call it the PR Dream Team, after all, and if you don't identify as a PR practitioner, or you think in terms of PR vs marketing, PR vs content strategy, or PR vs whatever-it-is-you-think-you-are-doing-but-it-sure-isn't-PR, we can see how it would be confusing.

It's reasonable to assume you might pass over this opportunity to join a community of communicators (including PR pros, marketers, content strategists, web strategists, attorneys, entrepreneurs, and the like).

A group that can help you stay on top of industry trends, provide access to coursework and training, mentorship, strategic oversight, brainstorming, templates and resources, productivity tips, and access to the reports, data, and analytics you need to prove you are achieving business goals (that was a mouthful).

We can see how you could overlook an unparalleled opportunity like that because it is called the PR Dream Team, and not the Marketing Dream Team, or Content Dream Team.

PR vs Marketing: Harumph

And then I started working with Spin Sucks, and I had to rethink what PR meant for me, along with how marketing and PR work together.

PR vs Marketing: Definitions

At its core, public relations is about influencing, engaging and building a relationship with key stakeholders across a myriad of platforms in order to shape and frame the public perception of an organization.

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.

Not so different, to be sure. Not the same, either.

Blurry Lines

And let's be clear: I'm not trying to argue that they are the same, just that the lines between what one does (and doesn't), versus what the other does (and doesn't), aren't as clear as they used to be.

In short, it's a way of communicating.

It should say: listen. Come in here. You want to know this.

The Story Behind PR and Marketing

And that's what I love about PR, marketing, and the content we develop in those disciplines.

If you can invite people in, when you grab their attention and get them to take part in the conversation, it's amazing. They will care about what you're talking about if the story resonates with them.

In other words, you can brainstorm, pitch, and craft amazing campaigns, but good storytelling brings it all together.

So, whether we are in PR or marketing, does that mean we are storytellers first and foremost? That's what I like to call myself. But it's just a label. It still doesn't cover all that we do.

The Moral: Different Sides of the Same Coin

If you consider yourself a PR practitioner, does that mean you don't "do" marketing? Which parts? SEO? Paid search? Content marketing?

Likewise, if you're a marketer, which PR tactics don't belong in your strategy? Media relations? Crisis management? Corporate communications?

Increasingly, each discipline is being considered a different side of the same coin. The goal(s), if not all the tactics themselves, definitely crossover: influence. Engagement. Education. Relationships. Communicating value.

Not to mention: Telling stories. Building trust. Driving conversions.

Enter the PESO Model

Not long ago, Gini Dietrich wrote a post entitled, " PR Pros Must Embrace the PESO Model ."

In it, she outlines how "the PESO model takes the four media types-paid, earned, shared and owned-and merges them together," along with how PR (and marketing) professionals can apply the process to their communications programs.

It might be a good idea for you to peruse the post again before reading on. Go ahead. We'll wait.

It's good, right? What was your favorite part?

Mine? It's an easy call, but it might not be what many of you would expect me to call out.

Content is my thing. The strategy behind it. Writing it. But the "owned" in PESO wasn't what called out to me.

Measurement

However you identify yourself and your role in the PR and marketing mix, and whichever tactics you opt for, in the end, you need to be able to provide attribution. Data. Proof.

It's not just the realization that a tactic worked, but how and why it did.

And while access to data and our ability to track our efforts continues to improve, if the conversations in our Slack channels are any indication, measurement continues to challenge PR and marketing professionals alike.

Insider's Tip: Section three of The Communicator's Playbook is all about measurement and incorporating it into your plan.

Back to the Burning Question

This all started with a simple, innocent statement: they don't need PR training, they need marketing measurement training.

There's nothing wrong with that statement, really. But it is limited. It doesn't look at the whole strategic picture.

It triggered a response because I knew that the person, the people in question, would benefit from a PR Dream Team membership, regardless of the discipline they identify with.

The truth is, there's no arguing that marketing and PR are different, but ultimately their goals should align, and practices can converge under a common component: content.

"The core synergy between PR and marketing is content," confirms , digital marketer and CEO of TopRank Marketing , in a recent CMO post . "From creation to promotion to measurement."

PR vs Marketing: Stop Wasting Time

In the same CMO post, Georgina Goode , former head of engagement and social media for the U.K.'s Government Digital Services department, makes a good (see what I did there?) point:

Convergence of PR and marketing has been a reality for the last 10 years-be it SEO, influencer marketing, content, or social media engagement.

And the truth is, that even now, many marketers and PR pros are still content with viewing their roles in a silo, typically paid versus earned.

This model simply doesn't work anymore. More time is wasted on defining who owns what and not on building capability from within great multidisciplinary teams.

So, yes, PR vs marketing is apparently still a thing.

But it doesn't have to be.

Innovation in both disciplines can only occur if we're working together.

In fact, if you're a marketer and lifelong learner looking to improve and differentiate yourself, leaning into the PR perspective will open your eyes to a whole new world of measurement and engagement. It did for me.

And vice-versa. PR practitioners need to align with their marketing counterparts. Learn from each other.

Marketer or PR pro, you won't regret it!

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In the first week of the new year, I was having a conversation with someone close to me. They were discussing some "team perk approvals." A team member wanted to join a "marketing" community and was hoping to get the monthly membership fee covered. "That's great," I said.

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Epic Games held a "BoogieDown" contest last month in which players were invited to record and share videos of their real-life move-busting, the best of which would be turned into a Fortnite emote. One such vigorous rendition, submitted by a lad who came to be known as Orange Shirt Kid, did not win, but gained considerable notoriety among the Fortnite fanbase for its all-in enthusiasm.

Lmao I'm so cringe.But here.#BoogieDown pic.twitter.com/HlxnchVOy7 March 30, 2018

Let it never be said that petitions on the internet don't accomplish anything, because the big Fortnite season 4 update that went live today brought with it not just destruction, mayhem, and a new location and rewards: It also delivered some Orange Justice.

THEY ADDED IT IN - @FortniteGame YOU ARE LEGENDS! pic.twitter.com/c6QiRhdSmP May 1, 2018

It's also a great exercise move.

The Orange Justice emote becomes available for free at tier 26, or you can snag it right away with the Fortnite Battle Pass. Fortniters are awfully happy about it, and unsurprisingly, Orange Shirt Kid seems pretty pleased too.

THEY ADDED IT OMGOMG May 1, 2018

Catch up with the rest of the Fortnite season 4 happenings here. And know in your heart that Orange Shirt kid is just a poor man's Defile Dance.

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The 'Orange Shirt Kid' dance is now an official Fortnite emote

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Epic Games held a "BoogieDown" contest last month in which players were invited to record and share videos of their real-life move-busting, the best of which would be turned into a Fortnite emote. One such vigorous rendition, submitted by a lad who came to be known as Orange Shirt Kid, did not win, but gained considerable notoriety among the Fortnite fanbase for its all-in enthusiasm.

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As a slew of GDPR re-permission emails flooded my inbox last month, I had ample opportunity to reassess what newsletters I would stay subscribed to.

Those daily or weekly roundups that make it easier to keep abreast of what I need to read.

Or the ones I almost never click on but which, for some reason, I signed up for anyway.

During a lively Spin Sucks Community discussion, a community member called out how much they enjoyed Almost Timely , Christopher Penn's (a Spin Sucks community and PR Dream Team member) email newsletter.

I've now been a proud subscriber for a couple of weeks and can unabashedly say it's amazing.

That said, I also have to admit that I'm not too picky.

It isn't hard to win a spot in my inbox.

What are the best email newsletters you love seeing in your inbox every day, week, or month?

What criteria do you consider before signing up? At what point do you unsubscribe? If at all?

Does it Have to be PR- or Marketing-related?

No. In fact, out of the gate, let's make something clear. We purposely didn't ask "What are the best PR and marketing email newsletters?"

This isn't only about amazing PR or marketing content. It's about what you make room for in your inbox.

Why? Because sometimes, to be good at what we do, we need other-than-PR-perspectives.

I absolutely love an independent daily subscription email called Mister Spoils . Their third-party recommendation format is simple: Curate three Instagram profiles of interest, a cool Soundcloud song, a long-form article, and a link to some type of clothing or gear that's usually sponsored.

It strikes a tone with me because it's dependable and almost always of good quality, and maintains an explorative tone. The PR takeaway from Mister Spoils is that consistent, quality substance-even in small amounts-will usually result in the formation of a hardcore group of fans.

I've so much as gone out of my way to email the newsletter authors to let them know how much I enjoy waking up with their newsletter each morning.

That type of fandom is what every company should strive to own as an audience subset.

Tori Hebert feels the same way:

The Skimm is fun to read. The information you need in a conversational tone.

I like that it's not all business all the time.

Girls Night In is a fun Friday treat. Recipes, cute dog photos, and funny gifs, product and book recommendations, thought-provoking articles.

The Best Email Newsletters: Hubspot

Okay, I know we just said that the best email newsletter(s) didn't have to be PR- or marketing-focused, but that doesn't mean respondents didn't chime in with those as well.

And when you're talking about consistent, value-add marketing content, it probably doesn't come as a surprise that made the grade.

This was, reportedly, an easy one for Teresa Walsh:

The email newsletter I knew I had to stay subscribed to was Hubspot.

As a marketer, this is a must. This daily newsletter is full of industry tips, software advice, case studies, etc.

I don't always read every article they send me, but I skim read for the ones most relevant to me. I never sign up to an email unless I believe it is going to bring me valuable information that I can't get elsewhere and of course is there some perks!

I've signed up to Gap's newsletter recently as I heard on the grapevine they give discounts regularly, and they do!

The Spin Sucks PR Dream Team Weighs In

We had some amazing responses from some of our very own PR Dream Team members.

Seán Stickle provided a list of what he calls his "Brilliant Newsletters," along with their frequency:

Verne's Insights : Advice and ideas on how to grow your company by the very interesting fellow who wrote The Rockefeller Habits and .

I get maybe another dozen or so, but these are the ones I read most religiously.

And yes. You read that properly. Seán wrote, "thrice weekly."

The Top 1,500 of the Best Email Newsletters

Before you run away in terror, no, we're not really going to list THAT many "best email newsletters."

That said, another PR Dream Team member, the aforementioned Christopher Penn , literally (yes, that is the proper use of literally) reads/scans top articles from almost 1,500 blogs on a regular basis.

In turn, he runs "Feedly and Pocket to manage the subscriptions, then I put all my flagged/starred items into a custom database that scans each URL for social shares and click-throughs, plus checks for topics I care about."

Scary, right?

The resulting list might (will) look something like this:
Source: Christopher Penn
"That tells me what to pay most attention to," Penn explains.

Ultimately, his favorites include:

Avinash's TMAI - analytics POV from an industry leader Scott Monty's Full Monty - roundup of general business news - the latest from a high frequency blog Data Science Central - a solid recap of the industry Data is Plural - interesting data sets every week

Chris' BrainTrust Insights co-founder (and Spin Sucks PR Dream Team member), Katie Robbert , noted that their very own newsletter, Data in the Headlights , is on her list.

Along with, of course, Spooky Bitches , "a weekly newsletter about ghosts, cults, doomed starlets, ax murderers, black cats, Winona Ryder, scary stories your best friend's sister's roommate told you, things that smell like Hot Topic and also shopping."

It's off brand, Katie explains, but it caters to her love of bad horror movies: #winonaforever.

The Best Email Newsletters: Yes, Please

Interestingly, this was one of the most interesting "Big Questions" I've ever had the pleasure of putting together.

Not only were respondents super-excited about their favorite/best email newsletters, but the exercise itself illustrated how a newsletter comprised of consistent, quality content, can be such a valuable asset to you and your brand.

Look at the examples we've just discussed. Some have been around for years. Others are newly on the scene. But they all add value.

Think about it: Many of these newsletters are curated lists. The person or brand in question may not have even written the material contained therein.

But the material-the list-is a marketing asset that adds value to their audience, contributing to their own thought leadership.

Pretty cool, right?

Up Next: The Big Marketing and PR Questions

Approximately thrice monthly (like that, Seán?), we publish the Big Question, curating answers to various queries deemed important to our audience.

As I perused our various Slack community channels looking for a spark to ignite the fire that would be the next Big Question, one thing became abundantly clear: people ask a lot of questions.

At the end of 2017, we compiled the very best of the Big Questions for that year, noting that "the best part of The Big Question is there are always newer, bigger questions to ask in our industry."

And that's a good thing! It's why the Spin Sucks community exists.

It's why Spin Sucks exists.

But as we crest the half-way mark of 2018, we thought we would reboot a bit, and have a little fun.

What constantly confounds PR and marketing professionals? Are there questions you still find yourself asking day-in and day-out?

What are the biggest questions you're still asking about PR, marketing, your career?

These could be questions that define the next steps we take in our careers, a change in a business model, or a new way of defining value (whether personally or professionally).

Maybe you're still asking yourself if you should start your own business, or become a consultant.

These don't have to be truly "BIG" questions, rather they could be fundamental queries that change how we look at our industry and our role in it. Or not...

Maybe you're simply asking "can Mike Connell really be that funny?"

Or, "just how tall is Gini Dietrich?"

What are the questions you're still dying to ask?

If you had Gini in front of you, right now, what would you ask her (apart from the whole height issue)?

This exercise is designed to let us know what stones we've left unturned, providing us with fuel for further Big Question conflagrations.

You can answer here, in our free Spin Sucks Community , or on the socials (use #SpinSucksQuestion so we can find you).

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The Big Question: The Best Email Newsletters

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As a slew of GDPR re-permission emails flooded my inbox last month, I had ample opportunity to reassess what newsletters I would stay subscribed to. Those daily or weekly roundups that make it easier to keep abreast of what I need to read.

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By all counts, email should already be dead.

I mean, really: Everyone hates it. Few can master it. And more companies than I can count have set out to assassinate it.

Just to name a few: Chatbots were supposed to kill email. So was Facebook Messenger. Project management software Asana led the email-slaying circuit for a while, and more recently, thousands of words have been written about Slack's sure-thing mission to obliterate our inboxes.

Oh, and don't forget the millennials. Those blasted millennials are absolutely, positively on the brink of ending email once and for all.

Yet, for all the animosity, email, by most measures, is not only thriving but also spawning a whole new style of publishing-one that promises to fill an important void in the modern media landscape.

And a tiny Dutch company called Revue wants to make sure everyone-from large publishers all the way down to individual writers-can tap into that power.

Personal publishing 2.0

Martijn de Kuijper first saw the seeds of email's editorial evolution taking shape three years ago. De Kuijper-a serial entrepreneur based in Utrecht, Netherlands, 20 miles southeast of Amsterdam-found himself growing frustrated with the less-than-stellar venues the internet offered for following his interests.

"I was missing out on topics and on information," he says. "I was following people on Twitter, and I thought: 'There must be a better way.'"

So de Kuijper got to work. He noticed a then-small number of individuals using email to create their own personal publications and connect directly with readers, and he realized how few tools existed that were truly designed for such purposes-not for coordinating marketing efforts over email but for crafting editorial-style newsletters. Ones that would deliver information people actually wanted in a visually compelling way.

Four weeks later, he had a rough version of the service that would soon become Revue. Within a couple more weeks, about 2,000 users had signed up-and it dawned on de Kuijper that he wasn't alone.

"I said to myself, 'I must be onto something," he recalls.

Today, de Kuijper's early vision for Revue has turned into a full-fledged publishing platform. The service aspires to be the Medium of email newsletter creation-a plug-and-play system which lets content creators produce polished and professional-looking newsletters without having to worry about the technical aspects of design.

Revue's web-based editing interface is as simple as it gets: You just paste in links to articles, tweets, or even YouTube videos, then add in whatever text and images you want-and the system formats it all for you. You can even connect different types of feeds or use Revue's Chrome extension to save content throughout the day and then have it waiting to be dragged and dropped into place.

It's that focus on simplicity and design that led writers such as Casey Newton of The Verge, Jon Russell of TechCrunch, and M.G. Siegler of GV (the venture capital arm of Alphabet) to sign up with the service and start creating personal editorial newsletters. (Full disclosure: I recently did the same.)

"I thought that it was a newfangled way of approaching it-a very WYSIWYG style of getting into newsletters," says Siegler, who made his name on the internet writing for VentureBeat and then TechCrunch before turning to venture capital. "I liked the notion of it being first and foremost reader- and editorial-focused rather than trying to cater to business, which a lot of email newsletter services do."

For Siegler, who has a sizable following on Twitter and publishes regularly on Medium and Tumblr, too, expanding into the realm of email newsletters offered a unique kind of appeal: an ability to connect directly with his readers, without any reliance on volatile algorithms and in a more intimate manner than social media allows.

"It feels much more like a one-on-one relationship," he says. "In our age, everyone is used to refreshing Twitter streams and Facebook feeds, [so] there's something nice to feeling like you're slowing down the pace of info that's coming your way."

The email newsletter evolution

You don't have to look far to see the inspiration for Revue's editorial newsletter model. Just across the internet, the business publication is widely credited with helping to "reinvent" the email newsletter, moving beyond mere collections of links to provide a distinct voice, format, and style crafted specifically for that medium. Quartz, however, operates on a much grander scale than Revue's typical customer-with five different newsletters now reaching a total of over 750,000 subscribers-and it relies on its own custom-built software for content creation.

Still, the underlying principles remain the same, and it's easy to see the link between what Quartz is accomplishing on its own platform and what Revue is trying to democratize with its online offering. Both scenarios, in fact, seem to share a common ancestor: the print magazine.

Just ask Jessanne Collins, the editor of Quartz's relatively new Obsession email newsletter. Collins relies heavily on her experience in the print world-where she recently served as editor in chief of Mental Floss, prior to its online-only transition-to bring a sense of purpose and cohesiveness to every issue she creates.

"To me, there's a similarity to magazine-making with that, where you're really thinking about the thing as a whole and how it stands," she says.

Collins also sees parallels between the way print periodicals and email newsletters are consumed: Unlike the infinite streams of social media, in which one more thing is always lurking around the corner and a sense of closure evades you, a newsletter presents a complete and finite package-something reminiscent of a magazine-reading experience and something conspicuously absent from most online media consumption.

"You start at the beginning and can skip through and skim around, but it comes to an end instead of being dispersed throughout the day in the overwhelming atmosphere of the web as a whole," Collins says.

It's that same sort of cohesive packaging Revue aims to enable-only for companies or individuals that don't have access to the sorts of resources a publication like Quartz enjoys.

Thinking both big and small

Perhaps not surprisingly, given that ambition, de Kuijper and his team have turned their focus increasingly toward journalists. Already, such professionals make up the largest chunk of Revue's 35,000 users, most of whom use the service's free starter plan, with a maximum of 50 subscribers.

The company's goal is to convert more of those users into paying customers-with plans ranging from $5 to $135 a month, depending on the number of subscribers involved-and also to attract the attention of publishers who want a platform for managing multiple newsletter projects.

To that end, Revue recently unveiled an option for customers to create and maintain both free and paid subscription newsletters, with Stripe integration for payment processing. It also offers publisher-level accounts, which provide tools for team management.

While roughly two-thirds of Revue's users are from the U.S., the company's primary publisher clients currently stem from the Netherlands. The Dutch broadcasting organization NOS, for instance, uses Revue to publish a weekly newsletter called Trump Weekly (yes, about that Trump). De Kuijper says he's in the midst of talking with several U.S. publications about how they could similarly utilize the service.

He may be headed down a fruitful path: Now more than ever, publishers ranging from The Washington Post to The Times of London are joining the ranks of newer media companies like Quartz and Vox Media in emphasizing email newsletters as a way to reach readers. At the same time, many publishers are struggling with the technology that makes newsletters work, as media trend-tracking magazine Digiday reported last year. And while the larger outlets may have the means to create their own in-house software solutions, smaller publishers-the precise types of companies likely to be looking at ramping up newsletter operations in the coming years-frequently do not.

"Email is a medium that still works well," de Kuijper says. "Journalists and publications are looking for other ways to reach their audience, and we believe you can do that in a truly meaningful way with newsletters."

Quartz 's Collins agrees. "Email came back into the forefront at this interesting time when people were evaluating their relationships with platforms and sources," she says. "I think we all started to take it for granted and then just recently re-realized the immense power it has."

In 2014, The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal described email as a "tremendous, decentralized, open platform on which new, innovative things can [be] and have been built"-"an exciting landscape of freedom amidst the walled gardens of social networking and messaging services. He also called email the "cockroach of the internet" for its uncanny ability to escape death time and time again.

Thinking about email newsletters in the context of the current digital media landscape and the goals Revue and publishers like Quartz are trying to achieve, both parts of that assessment are eerily spot-on.

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Email-yes, email-is the next great media platform

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By all counts, email should already be dead. I mean, really: Everyone hates it. Few can master it. And more companies than I can count have set out to assassinate it. Just to name a few: Chatbots were supposed to kill email. So was Facebook Messenger.

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No startup can develop or attract new customers without publicity.

You may envision this as a big PR-generating machine with many employees, networking and media channels in place, and an expensive marketing campaign, but that is PR as we once knew it.

The arrival of the digital age has changed the ground rules.

Digital publicity is an efficient and relatively inexpensive activity that should be in place at every company-big or small, established or emerging.

Digital publicity should bring visibility and brand awareness.

And more importantly, it should attract potential customers.

Despite this, many startups are still unsure of how digital publicity benefits their business.

According to Google, publicity is:
The notice or attention given to someone or something by the media.
And of course, who are we to dispute this notion?

However, when it comes to startups, digital publicity goes beyond the media.

You can have an unmatched product and great customer service with the best prices on the market, but if no one knows about you-well, what's the point?

But, people will find out about your business online if you tame the search engines.

And if potential customers stumble across your business everywhere they go online; they are going to trust you.

After all, there must be a reason why everyone is talking about your business, right?

Without user acquisition, you will have a hard time convincing the market you have staying power and can successfully compete.

After all, the odds are against you.

Half of all startups fail within five years of launch, and 70 percent see a post-mortem after 10 years.

Luckily, you can generate publicity and interest around your startup by focusing on marketing channels which drive visibility and acquisitions.

Digital publicity is an interesting phenomenon - despite not being a separate channel itself, it leverages the strengths of every other digital channel.

Moreover, and quite possibly the best part, digital publicity (and the key word is - digital) makes your activity more measurable.

And with the help of certain tools, you can evaluate each action taken by your company.

Here are four of the most effective channels you should leverage.

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

With 72 percent of potential users starting their buyer journey in Google, your startup simply cannot afford to lose those people, hence, the importance of SEO.

SEO gives you the opportunity to position your brand in front of the people you need to target.

Of all the SEO strategies out there, three are especially helpful for generating publicity:

1) Research Your Competitors' Strategy

Your competitors have already been where you are now - at the start of a successful journey. If something has worked for your competitor, it will most likely work for you too.

And it all starts with research. For a startup, conducting SEO competitive research means uncovering:

which keywords your competitors target in their strategy,

how they fetch up their content, and

going through their backlink profile to learn which links you could potentially focus on.

Tools to use: Monitor Backlinks, Ontolo, and SEMrush, or any other organic research tool that helps you discover and reverse-engineer competitor link-building strategy.
Organic search competitors for ebay.com according to SEMrush USA Database
2) Find Relevant Keywords

Apart from looking at competitors' target keywords, you should also research any other phrases (remember semantics?) your audience may be entering which match those solutions your business can offer.

You must be data-driven to ensure you are not wasting effort on inefficient keywords. This helps place your startup for the most relevant searches and in turn, appeal to a highly-targeted audience.

Tools to use: LongTailPRO, Similarweb and SEMrush will help you conduct thorough keyword research with costs-per-click counts and the amount of traffic each keyword or phrase can generate to build a smart and effective keyword strategy.

The quality and quantity of links that bring users to your website directly affect rankings.

You should try to build as many authoritative backlinks so your startup will rank highly for relevant searches.

The fastest way to find the right sites, and journalists (or bloggers), who will mention your business is to check which domains refer to competitor websites. SEO tools, such as Majestic and SEMrush offer similar functionality.

You want to get links from trustworthy and authoritative websites, so create content that will potentially interest them.

Take a look at recent articles and their performance, and see if the topic your business covers is related to what they post and could appeal to them. The rest is a matter of outreach.

I admit the term paid marketing might sound vague.

After all, marketing activities rarely come without a price.

But here, it simply refers to online advertising strategy.

Paid marketing conventionally entails:

Paid ads on s ocial m edia channels such as Facebook or Instagram. You can leverage these ads to push your product or bring your best content to your target audience.

Google Adwords campaign. Aim to attract potential online users to your

Display and banner ads on websites your audience frequently visits. These ads work similar to display ads you see on the street - they strengthen brand awareness and can position your startup as the answer your audience seek

Sponsored posts.

Paid re-marketing campaigns. These work by following users who have previously engaged with your brand (website).

Affiliate marketing. This involves promotion from people who advocate your startup.

Tools to use: For paid advertising, most platforms-Facebook, Twitter, AdWords-have perfectly sufficient built-in analytics. The key is to take a look at your competitors' advertising strategy and see what works best for your industry. Both Moat, a tool specifically built for competitor ad analysis, and Advertising Research provide an overview of competitor advertising campaigns.

Social media and startups are a match made in heaven.

From the early stages, every startup aims to build an audience.

Not necessarily an audience of users, but potential customers, because the earlier they engage with your brand, the bigger chance they will convert.

And social media is all about building and engaging an audience.

However, before you jump into hastily creating accounts on every social media channel, there are a few things to keep in mind:

Target the most relevant s ocial m edia sites. It is not necessary to be present on all social media networks. You only need to target those where potential users are active. You can see how much traffic each channel brings to your competitors and put your efforts only on those sites that bring the biggest returns.
Social media traffic sources for ebay.com according to SEMrush Traffic Analytics
Hint: Use Social Media Tool, Marketing Grader, or Brandwatch to analyze the social media channels your competitors are using and reveal strategies you can use right away.

Respond to brand mentions. Social media is not merely about sharing content. Interact with anyone who mentions your startup, and you will see that timely engagement will turn those users into brand advocates. Tools like Brand Monitoring or Mention can track and respond to brand mentions and build a connection with your audience.

Experiment. There isn't a perfect recipe for social media success. Constantly experiment to see what works best for your audience and boosts your publicity. You can experiment with new headlines for social media posts, test different posting schedules, use various message formats, and leverage visuals and emojis.

4. User Reviews and Influencer Relations

Product reviews, influencers, and external publications all are still necessary.

With so many consumers basing buying decisions on user reviews and influencer feedback, it would be unwise to ignore this more traditional route.

At the bare minimum, you should implement the following strategies:

As a startup, you need publicity and visibility to attract users and grow the business.

And raising digital publicity is not rocket science, yet it requires solid knowledge of how to leverage existing digital channels to get to your target.

Use digital publicity to build visibility, increase brand awareness, and get the users you eventually want to convert into paying customers.

How have you used digital publicity to launch your business, gain visibility, or increase your customer base? Please share in the comments below.
The 30-Day Communications Challenge begins on January 3. Have you subscribed?

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How to Build Startup Awareness with Digital Publicity

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No startup can develop or attract new customers without publicity. You may envision this as a big PR-generating machine with many employees, networking and media channels in place, and an expensive marketing campaign, but that is PR as we once knew it. The arrival of the digital age has changed the ground rules.

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In the past few years, Instagram has hit the waves as the next big thing.

It was first noted by teenagers and college students as a way to connect quickly with friends through photos.

In fact, Andrew Watts wrote in A Teenager's View on Social Media:

Instagram is by far the most used social media outlet for my age group. Please note the verbiage there-it is the most used social media outlet.

And, just like other social media tools, it soon was noticed in professional circles and Instagram for business became the next big thing.

It is, hands down, one of the best ways to humanize an organization.

Instagram has 800 million users-and they aren't all teenagers. Nor are they all big brands. On the contrary, self-employed artists, small businesses and even software as service organizations are having success with the social network.

And, here's the good news: you don't have to have a visual product to have success with your business on Instagram.

Some Fun Instagram for Business Ideas

Instagram is a great way to promote your brand, connect the physical world with the online world and launch a new product or service.

What you use-and how you use it-will depend on your goals and your organization.

For instance, if you have employees spread across several countries and in many different time zones, perhaps your goal is to connect them with one another and build morale and culture.

In that case, one of your Instagram for business strategies may include giving the account keys to a new employee every week and have them take photos of a "week in the life" to engage other employees-places they eat, meetings they attend, set-up of their office and more.

On the flip side, if you're a clothing manufacturer, it could be fun to have people post photos of themselves wearing your clothes in their own environments.

Getting Started Using Instagram for Business

If you've been thinking about using Instagram for business, you're in luck!

Instagram started the Instagram for Business blog to provide you with tips, brand spotlights, API examples, and news.

It's chock full of ideas to help you excel-and it's not just "take photos of your product."

Au contraire!

You can find ideas such as:

Balance fun images of the things your organization, employees, or shareholders do outside of work

How to use hashtags to find new followers

Why you should connect your Instagram for business page with Facebook

Test Instagram stories.

Follow your followers back-unless they're spam or robots

How to know your followers are spam or robots

Test the filters

Try a photo contest

The challenge, of course, is it's a visual social media.

Which means you do have to use photos and videos.

But don't despair! It's not as challenging as one might think.

What Kinds of Visuals Can I Use?

Visuals are the main currency of Instagram.

When you use Instagram for business, you want to consider sharing compelling content your followers won't be able to find anywhere.

Think about the kind of visuals you like-subject, quality, backgrounds, ideas-and try to replicate that with the photos you share on your account.

Worried you won't have something visually compelling to share?

Think about the following business opportunities to snap photos with your phone and upload directly to your Instagram for business page:

Your office. Take photos of the team's offices. Everyone has individual taste when it comes to their workspace. This is interesting to those who might buy from you. Also take photos in and around your work environment-brick-and-mortar office, manufacturing floor, virtual office, the retail floor or wherever it is you hang out during the day. Think about the behind-the-scenes photos that most people wouldn't otherwise get to see.

Community events. Your employees have lives outside of work. Encourage them to take appropriate photos or video for you to use on the business's Instagram page. Likewise, if you and your team participate in community service, get visuals from those outings.

Celebrations. Many organizations celebrate new babies, birthdays, work anniversaries and more. A few years ago, one of our young professionals didn't believe human beings can't eat more than six saltines in one minute. She took the challenge and we got it on video. Though it was completely silly, our followers loved it ... and it drove a level of engagement that eventually brought in some business.

Encourage your team to get involved in submitting images, and your Instagram business page will grow in popularity.

Create Visual Consistency

A visual social media report from WebDam found that 60 percent of the top brands on Instagram use the same filter for every post.

This allow you to establish a style that becomes recognizable to your followers.

Your first goal is to get Instagram users to stop scrolling when they get to your image.

They should like or comments, which means your visuals should be compelling and recognizable.

How Do I Use Instagram Stories?

Instagram Stories let you string together multiple pictures and videos into a "story" that disappears after 24 hours, similar to Snapchat.

Though it feels a little intimidating, there is a lot of upside to using Instagram Stories.

First, it does disappear after 24 hours so, if you screw something up or don't like the lighting, it's not permanent.

That, alone, makes it a risk-free endeavor when using Instagram for business.

That said, just because Instagram Stories don't stick around forever, doesn't mean they don't require some thought and planning.

While many people will post at random, brands should think about their Instagram Story as they would any other content channel: ahead of time.

Consider treating your Story like a TV network with scheduled programming for the week, or even recurring "episodes" that happen on certain days.

Thinking in advance about what kind of content you'll be sharing and how your Story flows helps you craft a more addictive and consistent experience for your viewers.

BarkBox, a monthly subscription box service for dog toys, treats, and goodies, has fun with their Instagram Stories.

They often post clips from "doggie interviews" between an employee and a pug.

Think about how you can program your own Instagram Stories.

Is it with interviews between a mascot and an employee? Or by highlighting the activities your employees do outside of work? Or a behind-the-scenes look at how your product is made?

Whatever you decide, think about it as a series that flows together and ends with a season closer.

What is an Instagram Hashtag?

Like Facebook or Twitter, you can use a hashtag on Instagram that will help you attract new followers.

A hashtag provides an easy way to search similar topics for people who are interested in what you're posting.

You should familiarize yourself with a few broad popular hashtags-#throwbackthursday or #TBT, #ootd (Outfit of the Day) or #selfie-and category-specific ones that apply to your business.

#TBT, of course, has evolved from Instagram to the other social networks, and millions of people participate every Thursday.

You can piggyback on something like that or create your own and let others use yours.

The goal is to gain new followers who might eventually buy from you.

Using a hashtag is one of the easiest ways for them to find you via your Instagram business page.

What are the Rules for an Instagram Contest?

Contests can be a fabulous way to gain more followers and engagement on Instagram, provided you follow the rules and terms of service.

It can be pretty scary to set up a contest only to have your page removed for not following the rules.

Note that it should be stated that contests are not sponsored by Instagram and that the platform does not help brands and businesses administer contests.

To execute a law-abiding Instagram contest, you should do the following:

Set your goal(s) for the contest.

Determine your key metrics.

Choose the hashtag you'll be using. This is required so you can track users. The Instagram promotion guidelines state, "You must not inaccurately tag content or encourage users to inaccurately tag content (ex: don't encourage people to tag themselves in photos if they aren't in the photo)."

Choose a selection method for winners.

Set up the rules, terms and conditions. And make sure your users follow them to the T.

Launch and promote the contest. Figure out how you'll support the contest (other social networks, a news release, and/or advertising).

Notify winners and follow up with everyone else.

Though that list seems a little daunting, it won't take you long to write down your expectations.

It could be worth the time because your followers, impressions and engagement may increase.

And, if done well, so will your sales.

Host an Instagram Takeover

Perhaps there is an influencer in your industry who is willing to do an Instagram takeover with you.

This means they will run your Instagram business page for a day-or a couple of hours.

If you decide you want to do that, there are a few things you'll want to consider:

Who will facilitate the takeover from your team? The person should be well-organized, have a deep knowledge of Instagram (including community management and culture) and excellent account management skills.

Work out a loose script. Consider charting a loose script so your influencer stays on message and helps-not hinders-your brand. It's fun to include an Instagram Story if it makes sense for your guest Instagrammer, too.

Prepare your guest. Email your guest influencer to share high-level details of the event plan and include to-dos at least two weeks in advance. Then schedule a meeting to confirm processes, manage expectations and answer any questions about the day of the event one to two weeks before the event. Follow-up a day or two before takeover day to make sure your guest is prepared.

Decide on content in advance. The guest is typically responsible for creating the photos/graphics and copy and publishing times for posts (and story). Always be sure to have a clear beginning and a clear ending for your takeover so people aren't wondering when it starts and ends.

Promote. Have your promotional plan ready to begin two weeks in advance on all your social media accounts, on the guest's accounts, and on your blog (assuming you have one). Prepare content for you and your guest in advance, along with high-level instructions. Be sure to continue promoting the event throughout the day and cross-promote with your guest.

Takeover day. Now it's time for the takeover! Make sure you have an open line of communication with your guest, that you publish content, and that someone from your team monitors and responds to post. Most of all, have fun!

Analyze and measure results. Your first Instagram takeover should be run as both a learning experience and test to confirm it's the right approach. It's also an important opportunity to set benchmarks and expectations for future events.

Measure Your Instagram Business Effectiveness

Of course, increased followers, engagement and impressions are nice, but where the real pedal meets the metal is whether your efforts drive business results.

So how do you know if Instagram is actually affecting your sales?

There are several platforms to help you track effectiveness.

Iconosquare is a deep (and free!) set of Instagram tools that provides data about your account and interactions-growth charts, engagement rates, best times to post and much more.

SumAll provides analytics for more than just Instagram. You can track social media, commerce and Web analytics all in one daily email. It's free and as easy to set up as signing in with one of your social networks.

SimplyMeasured adds an extra level of help: strategy development. As you plan your Instagram campaigns, SimplyMeasured will help you determine the audiences you can reach, what kinds of visuals to use and what your competitors are doing. Then it tracks your activities, the audience engagement and your business results. It starts at $500 per month, but does have a free trial.

SproutSocial centralizes all of your social media efforts. Though you can use it for more than your Instagram for business results, it's nice to have everything in one spot. While there is a fee, you can take a free trial to see if you like it.

And there you have it!

The complete guide to using Instagram for business.

Now go forth and prosper.
A version of this first appeared on OpenForum.

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The Complete Guide to Using Instagram for Business

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In the past few years, Instagram has hit the waves as the next big thing. It was first noted by teenagers and college students as a way to connect quickly with friends through photos. In fact, Andrew Watts wrote in A Teenager's View on Social Media: Instagram is by far the most used social media outlet for my age group.

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What would you like your final words to achieve? Do you want audience members to get involved in your advocacy efforts? Reconsider previously held views? Have a more complete or nuanced understanding of your topic?

In the last post, you learned how to close your presentations with two closes, not one. In this post, you'll learn 15 memorable ways to end on a high note.

1. The Summary Close: This close, which recaps the main points you made during your presentation, can serve as a useful reminder and ensure that the audience leaves with clarity on your biggest ideas. Because this isn't the most creative option, it can often be improved by combining it with another type of closer.

2. The Illustrative Close: You can end by using a first- or third-person anecdote, case study, or fable; an apocryphal (fictional but plausible) tale; or another storytelling device that illustrates the main points you made during your talk. Many talks begin and end in this manner.

3. The Personal Close: Many speakers discuss their personal connection to the speech topic well before the close. But if you don't plan on highlighting your own ties to the topic sooner, doing so at the end can serve as a powerful final rapport builder.

4. The Bookend Close: Just as matching bookends are used at the beginning and end of a row of books, matching speech bookends use the same opening and closing device. One client began his talk by discussing "The Carrington Event"-a large solar flare observed in 1859 that resulted in a pre-sunrise red sky and telegraph systems around the world shutting down-and concluded by discussing the catastrophic consequences of such an event occurring today (such as the eastern seaboard of the United States losing power for an entire year).

5. The Surprise Close: One of my favorite TED Talks was delivered by Mark Bezos, an executive with a nonprofit group and a volunteer firefighter. He shares the story of one particular house fire, during which he watched other firefighters work valiantly to extinguish the flames while he was given a seemingly unimportant assignment. His surprise ending makes clear that his work that night mattered-and drew an audible reaction from the audience.

6. The Definition Close: Ending a talk with a dictionary definition can be dull-but adding a twist to a well-known term brings this close to life. Author Simon Sinek redefined the term leadership as needing only one thing: followers. Generations ago, Ronald Reagan redefined familiar economic terms to attack his 1980 opponent, President Jimmy Carter: "A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."

7. The Metaphor Close: A metaphor is a comparison of one action or object to a symbolically similar but literally different action or object. A technology executive marketing a product that protects personal electronic devices from malicious viruses might say: "We are the rainforest of personal technology. Just as rainforests keep the planet healthy by releasing oxygen and storing carbon, we keep your sensitive information safe by keeping the good stuff you want-and capturing the bad stuff you don't."

8. The Forward-Looking Close: In this close, you'll paint a picture of what the world could look like at some point in the future. You might share your vision of what will be different if your recommendations are adopted, or discuss where you see trends heading in the years to come.

9. The Backward-Looking Close: Some audiences-such as those who are discouraged or have become complacent-may need to be reminded of just how far they've already come. You can take a backward glance to where they were, say, five years ago, and detail their meaningful accomplishments to the present day.

10. The Opposing Vision Close: In this close, you'll present two competing visions: one that paints a picture of what would happen if the audience (or society at large) adopts your recommended action and another if it doesn't. This close can be used to encourage the audience to prevent the negative option from occurring or, more positively, to demonstrate that something better is achievable.

11. The Provocative Close: Some speakers have license to be more provocative than others. As examples, a boss might give her staff a wakeup call by telling them the old ways of doing business aren't going to cut it anymore, and a presenter speaking to a skeptical group might candidly concede that he disagrees with the audience in several areas-but that they agree wholeheartedly on the one he discussed during his talk.

12. The PowerPoint Close: Flashing something unexpected on the screen can make for a memorable close. As examples: a photo that is seemingly unrelated to your speech topic and that requires your explanation, a humorous comic that makes a profound point, or a line graph showing two potential outcomes-one if the audience gets involved, and another if they don't.

13. The Personal Pledge Close: After giving a lofty speech and asking your audience to get involved, some audience members might wonder, "Well, what are you doing to help?" This close expressly articulates the promise you, your community, or your company is making toward the cause.

14. The Takeaway Close: For some of my public speaking talks, I close by asking the audience to reflect upon the two or three things they heard me say that resonated with them the most. To make sure those takeaway points stick with them, I ask them to write them down-after which I encourage them to look at whatever they've written every time they prepare for a future presentation.

15. The Next Steps Close: This close articulates a sequence and timeline of the next steps required to make a decision or achieve a goal.
Would you or your colleagues benefit from presentation training? Click here for more information about our customized workshops.

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15 Great Ways To Close A Speech | Mr. Media Training

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What would you like your final words to achieve? Do you want audience members to get involved in your advocacy efforts? Reconsider previously held views? Have a more complete or nuanced understanding of your topic? In the last post, you learned how to close your presentations with two closes, not one.

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User-generated content campaigns are happening all around you. Every single day. Every single second.

Many forms of user-generated content are so much a part of our daily existence; we don't even really acknowledge them as UGC examples anymore.

For example:

But Wait....There's More...

No doubt creating user-generated content is a way of life for many of us. It's both a habit and a responsibility in our daily lives.

As well as the daily lives of a large portion of the world's population.

About 40 percent of the global population uses social media.

Which is an incredible statistic itself, but becomes mind-boggling when you realize those numbers break down to show there are 3.028 billion active social media users in the world and only 3.819 people with internet access.

Take a minute and think about that while you look at this break down of users and activities from a recent collaborative report done by HootSuite and We Are Social and published by Next Web.

Mind. Blown.

Right?!

Now pick up the pieces of your exploding brain and let's look at how we can leverage all these fabulously interactive consumers.

Consumers who use social media and are already talking about our brand and those of our competitors.

Let's look at how to create successful user-generated campaigns for your organization.

Today we talk about how to set the playing field, create your campaign, and find micro-influencers.

Next week we review how to execute it with the PESO model and what to measure.

Week three we dig into the fun stuff: legal and technical issues. Woo hoo!

Let's Talk About Goals, Baby

Salt-N-Pepper want to help make sure you don't fall victim to one of the biggest mistakes marketers make when integrating a user-generated content campaign into their PR plan.

Not have clear goals and objectives for the campaign.

As with any other tactic, a user-generated content campaign must be part of PR strategy with clear goals and objectives.

So yay! You want to launch a user-generated content campaign. Great idea.

Start by asking yourself these questions:

How will this get you closer to the goals and objectives of your larger PR plan?

What are the objectives of this individual campaign?

How will you measure success?

Does this work in a consistent and cohesive manner with other campaigns you have in motion or planned across all four media types?

Your answers to these questions help you make sure your campaign is focused, strategic, and measurable.

They'll also help you create a campaign which aligns with your brand voice and message.

If the user-generated content campaign you hope to execute doesn't align when you apply these questions to it, you need to tweak.

Set the Stage for Your User-Generated Content Campaign

Your idea passed the PR plan smell test! Congrats!

Now it's time to flesh out the details.

Shared media will a primary channel for your user-generated content campaign, so it's a good place to start.

This is true even if you decide to host it on an owned property and have people submit content to a website or blog.

So the first question is, what social platforms should be part of your user-generated content campaign?

While some campaigns can certainly be pushed across all networks, if you are just starting out with user-generated content and/or don't have a huge budget and comms staff to execute, you want to focus your power on the social network that will be most effective.

Take a look at your Google Analytics and see what social network refers the most engaged traffic to your site.

This is important.

You don't just want a network that refers a lot of traffic, you want to see engaged traffic.

So they should be staying on your site for long enough to read articles and visiting a few pages.

That network should be where you host or focus the distribution of your user-generated content campaign.

Design Your Campaign

Here is where we go back to goals and objectives. These will help you design how our campaign works.

The great thing about user-generated content campaigns is they can take endless forms.

The bad thing is they can take endless forms.

You MUST anchor your campaign design around your goals and objectives.

UGC Examples Everywhere

Remember, user-generated content doesn't have to be a full-scale brand ambassador program.

It can be simple, small, "calls for engagement."

User-generated content marketing can be performed across multiple digital platforms in a variety of different ways.

Some examples might include:

Video or photo of them interacting with your brand or product in some way, such as this awesome bed-jumping campaign by hotelsbycity.net, or of course the famous GoPro videos.

Video or photo about a related topic or theme for your brand, like this example from The Guardian.

Choose a customer each month to do a "day in a life" video or interview, focused on how they use your product/service in their daily life (both in expected and unexpected ways).

Video testimonial.

Video jingle they create about your brand, such as SafeAuto Insurance.

Twitter contests, such as The Qatar Air Tweet-a-Meet.

A post-sale/visit survey or feedback form.

An email thank you with a link to your active review sites (Yelp, Amazon, Google). This may or may not include an incentive to do so.

An invitation to join a customer-only LinkedIn or Facebook Group, Twitter Chat, or online forum.

A community "Question of the Week" posted on your most popular social network.

(Extra credit: turn the answers into a blog post at the end of the week and start the discussion on your own website all over again.)

You can find more good UGC examples here, here, here, or here. Or just watch and learn from some of your favorite brands.

Prep the Playing Field

Before you launch into a large scale energy and resource demanding UGC campaign, you need to do some smaller tests.

This will help you get a feel for what type of content people most enjoy sharing and engaging with, as well as help you identify micro-influencers to further nurture (more on that later).

Start with small asks:

Share a photo of.... and tag your brand hand

Tag a friend that needs......

Caption this...

After each, you need to measure participation and engagement.

You'll start to see trends you can use in the development of your larger campaign.

You also want to start noting who engages with you most and in a way that seems to both capture your message and resonate with other users.

How to Find Micro-Influencers

These people are your micro-influencers.

A large amount of the value from user-generated content comes from the power of micro-influencers.

Once you design your user-generated content campaign you need to look for and nurture your micro-influencers.

Micro-influencers are influencers for your brand, who may not have large followings or be big names.

What they do have is more important.

They hold credibility and trust among your target audience.

These could be your target consumer's peers, friends, or simply influencers they've met and trust in the space.

When they participate in your user-generated content campaign or engage with your content, they also provide an implied (or sometimes direct) endorsement of your brand.

For your campaign to be successful, you need them on your side.

Active and engaged.

A goal for each of your tests and campaigns should be to identify micro-influencers.

Engage and Nurture Micro-Influencers

Once you do you want to continue to engage with them in larger and large ways.

Move them through your funnel.

Think about retargeting them with a special offer or opportunity

Reach out to them personally to thank them and/or offer them something special

Engage with their posts (not just the ones about your brand)

Reshare (with permission) something they've posted about you

The goal is to continue to build a deeper relationship with them.

Choose the Right Hashtag

While types of campaigns might vary, one thing that remains consistent across all user-generated content campaigns is the use of a hashtag.

A hashtag is important for:

Legal reasons, especially in the case of a contest or repurposing content.

Measurement

Threading together a story

Helping people find you and your campaign

Helping you find micro-influencers

Campaign continuity

Campaign branding

I go into a lot of details on dos and don'ts of hashtag marketing <- here.

One thing you want to make certain is your chosen hashtag clearly identifies your brand in some way.

That way when people see others post the hashtag on a posted piece of user-generated content, they can connect it back to you with little difficulty.

User-Generated Content is Already Part of Your Business

Feeling nervous?

User-generated content takes a special role in every business operating today.

No matter if your organization intentionally operates as a "social business" or not, user-generated content will affect you substantially.

Whether through reviews, feedback, collaboration, discussion, or one of a million other creative user-generated content ideas, it is a mistake not to use user-generated content as part of your PR plan

This means your consumers and surrounding community ARE going to be a part of your organization (and the message you distribute). It doesn't matter whether you actively facilitate it or not.

Like most things in communications, the best choice is to be on the offensive side of the coin and embrace and employ these new "team members."

The Puppy in the Room

When you raise a puppy (or child, but I only have experience with puppies) you quickly realize if you don't give the adorable little monsters something to keep them busy (thank you peanut butter-filled KONGs), they will find something... and often it is not what you might have chosen, or approve (such as a head of cauliflower or Kenneth Cole shoes).

Customers are like puppies.

They want to be active and involved with the organizations they do business with and purchase from.

If you don't give them a way to direct this engaged energy, they will find a way. A way which may or may not be beneficial for your goals.

Give that customer a KONG.

User-generated Content IS Right for Your Organization

There are endless ways, big and small, simple and more elaborate for every brand to embrace the power of user-generated content.

Next week we will dive into the details of campaign execution using the PESO model.

So don't feel stressed if you aren't confident about how to execute your campaign yet.

For this week, focus on the steps above and post your questions below or in our Slack Group.

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How to Create Successful User-Generated Content Campaigns

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User-generated content campaigns are happening all around you. Every single day. Every single second. Many forms of user-generated content are so much a part of our daily existence; we don't even really acknowledge them as UGC examples anymore. For example: No doubt creating user-generated content is a way of life for many of us.

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Our jobs, as communicators, are to build a community for the organizations with which we work.

Even though it's something we have to do, it's not exactly easy, and we sometimes treat it as just another thing on our to-do lists.

"Schedule tomorrow's tweets." "Interact with six people." "Post two articles not about us."

Those statements sound familiar because we all do it.

And, because we live in an instant gratification world, building community becomes even harder.

Not everyone understands and is willing to put in the effort required to build and hone a community.

Executives want to see return-on-investment yesterday, and marketers want to sell more products and services today.

We forget building community is about people, not numbers.

Enter social media...

Social media made it easy for marketers and communicators to build a tribe.

A loyal online community is more valuable than your latest sale.

What??

Building community is about inspiring people to be at their best, helping them connect with others, pushing them to challenge themselves.

Yes, building community is about them, not you or your brand.

Let's look at four simple (not easy) ways you can build a community around your brand.

Building Community by Finding Your Heroes

Your brand already has loyal ambassadors.

They are those who always share your content and answer your emails and requests.

They are always willing to participate in whatever endeavor you're on and don't shy away from helping out.

Find them.

Go out of your way to reach out to them.

People want to know they matter for your brand.

Giving them your attention is the most valuable gift you could give your brand ambassadors.

How to Find Your Brand Ambassadors

Monitor your social media channels, emails, and even traditional mailing if your company still uses it.

See who regularly likes, comments, and shares your content. See who replies to your emails.

Make lists for each channel and make it your mission to engage with them on a daily basis.

That means thanking them for sharing your content, going to their social channels and commenting on their posts, sharing their posts.

Reply to those emails even if it's only to say hi.

Thank them for taking the time to write to you.

Pick up the phone and call them if you have their number.

Go even further by paying attention to what they are about and connect them with other members in your community who can help them.

Be honest, be genuine, and show you care.

That's how you find yours and build a relationship with your loyal tribe.

Put Them in the Spotlight

Now that you know who your most loyal fans are, it's time to bring them into the spotlight.

Showcase them, give them opportunities to share their ideas.

Help them be your hero.

How to Do That

You can do that by featuring them in your content. We do this with The Big Question.

Or you can interview them, as we do with the PR Dream Team every month.

Publish those interviews on your website and share them on your social channels.

Send them to your mailing list.

Do everything you can to tell the world about the wonderful fans you have.

Make Yourself Accessible

Building a community is about making yourself accessible to them.

Your community needs to know they can reach you-not your brand's logo.

People connect with people first and then they fall in love with brands.

How to Do That

Answer their questions.

Set weekly or monthly calls or do live video on Facebook or Instagram.

Peg Fitzpatrick does this very well with " Thanks a latte Q&A."

Every Friday, she holds a Q&A session with her community on Facebook.

She makes herself available to them, answers their questions, and gives them useful tips for their businesses.

What's the best way you can talk with your community?

Would a Facebook live work for you?

It doesn't have to be your CEO who shows up on those Q&A sessions.

It can be you, the person behind the social channels, or someone in your PR department.

The idea is to choose someone from your organization.

You cannot outsource this.

Connect with Your Tribe

The key to building community is always, always, always be thinking how you can help your tribe.

What can you do to make them successful?

Make connections, go out of your way to help them.

And, most importantly, don't expect anything in return.

If you start with this mindset, building a community of loyal fans, it's simple.

You still have to put in the work, and it's not an overnight thing.

But it's worth every minute.

Why?

You may wonder why building your tribe is so important.

It's clear it's not easy and it takes years to have some semblance of success.

It involves a lot of work and a lot of hours in your day.

And we all know you have a long to-do list.

Besides you have to show return-on-investment, you have to sell products or services.

Who has time for that?

The answer is pretty simple: You.

You have time for all that and more.

When you find those loyal fans, build a relationship, and nurture those relationships, something wonderful happens.

Your fans spread the word about your brand.

They convert others to loyal fans. They become you, multiplied.

And then, one day, your community becomes more than you or your brand.

It becomes the place where your fans gather to feel safe and validated, to help each other, and to be part of something bigger than themselves.

They invest their time and money in your brand; they support you for who you are and the good you put into the world.

Now my question to you is, why wouldn't you want to be part of that?

Why wouldn't you want to build your tribe?

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Our jobs, as communicators, are to build a community for the organizations with which we work. Even though it's something we have to do, it's not exactly easy, and we sometimes treat it as just another thing on our to-do lists. "Schedule tomorrow's tweets." "Interact with six people."

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As I was preparing my PRSA Tulsa keynote a couple of weeks ago, I happened upon a fun game.

It's a buzzword game, and anyone can play it.

Just choose a set of numbers.

Let's say... 2, 9, and 4.

Then look at the corresponding chart: systemized policy programming.
Voila! I now have the next sentence I'll use in a presentation.
Systemized policy programming.
You can actually picture someone saying that, can't you?

It doesn't mean anything and yet...

Buzzwords Do Not Work in Brand Storytelling

I was standing in the security line at the airport a few years ago and couldn't help but eavesdrop in on the conversation of the guy ahead of me.

He was on the phone with his assistant and it was clear they were preparing for a workshop the next day.

He was very proud of his MBA and all of the buzzwords he learned in school.

As they discussed what was needed for the workshop, he said:

You'll have to order lunch. I don't have visibility into the menu.

Visibility?

Visibility.

It made me laugh so hard, I wrote it down to use in instances like this one.

It's a great example of why buzzwords do not work.

Just like a child does not want to hear branded content, neither does your customer.

We all want stories.

How can you tell a story?

The Brand Storytelling Process

Jay Baer has the best example of brand storytelling than any I've seen before or since.

The very best way to create your organization's story is to have your customers and employees do the work for you.

I tell this story when I speak-and it's one of my favorites.

A few years ago, I was in Omaha speaking to a group of business owners.

I was doing my three-hour workshop and we were discussing this very topic-how to tell your story.

An attendee started to debate me when I showed this image.

He said:

I've been with you this whole time, but I have to say, I don't agree about this part.

As it turns out, he runs a commodity business. No one cares about their story. They just care if the product will cost a penny less every year.

He told me he just could not focus on brand storytelling as part of his marketing efforts.

But I had the advantage of 14 other business owners in the room who know this man's business.

One of them mentioned the man only hire people without sight.

A key differentiator, perhaps?

Then I learned that his employees are fantastic human beings.

They climb mountains and are gospel singers and give back to their communities.

After a good amount of cajoling, we finally got him to agree to tell their stories on video, and post them on the website.

It wasn't overnight success, but fast forward to today.

His business is no longer commoditized and he's beat out his competitors the last two years, running.

All because of brand storytelling in a compelling way that isn't full of jargon or buzzwords.

Five Parts to Brand Storytelling

I'm always amused that we all complain about how bad some of the messaging is from organizations, yet many of us get behind our computer screens and pump out crap no one wants to read.

We know it's crap. We know no one wants to read it. And yet.

I get it. I do. You have bosses or clients who insist it be full of corporate speak and jargon. But it's our jobs to change the thinking around this.

There are five essential parts to brand storytelling.

They include: passion, a protagonist, an antagonist, a revelation, and the transformation.

Passion

What is it your audience really cares about?

Mailchimp tells their customers stories in interesting ways.

They don't have their customers talk about how they use MailChimp. They have them talk about their restaurant or their fashion design company or their business cartoons.

These aren't customer quotes or testimonials; these are customer stories.

The passion lies in how your product is created, your office culture, the one thing your organization truly cares about that makes you unique and valuable to the world around you.

The Protagonist

The protagonist is you, your company, your product, or your service.

This is typically where stories begin and end, but in the brand storytelling process, this is just the beginning.

To figure out who your protagonist is-the leader of the organization, a social media rockstar within your ranks, a spokesperson, a cartoon superhero of your logo-ask a handful of people in various roles to share five adjectives they'd use to describe the company and two aspects of the organization that are unique or valuable.

Ask people inside your organization and your customers to contribute. Look for themes or strong responses and combine them into a clearly defined description of your protagonist's attributes.

Remember when U.K.-based Bodyform-the maker of women's products-went on the defensive when someone posted on their Facebook wall that a woman's period is nothing like a tampon ad?

They responded with a very funny video that made the CEO the protagonist in their story.

It was interesting, it had a great sense of humor, and it brought more awareness to their brand.

Heck, I'm fairly certain we shared the video in Gin and Topics a few years ago.

The Antagonist

The antagonist is the villain and is often the most overlooked part of an organization's story.

What is the enemy of your success?

Think about it as an issue or challenge you solve.

What keeps your customers awake at night?

Is it a cultural issue?

Is it an industry concern?

Perhaps you work in print distribution and the products you make are becoming extinct because everything is going online and you no longer have something to distribute?

Maybe it's a real problem like the hassle of setting up payroll, or you have email overload.

Chicago-based 37 Signals, the creators of Basecamp, discovered there was a problem for small-and medium-sized businesses in using customer relationship and project management software because what existed was far too expensive and was built only for very large companies.

They also knew the web should empower, not frustrate.

Their antagonist, then, became the big enterprise software solutions for both customer relationship and project management.

The Revelation

Part of what makes fiction so compelling are twists or turns you weren't expecting.

We enjoy the surprise and delight, even if the revelation is sad, because we like to feel like we're being let in on a secret.

Likewise, your organization's story should share something unexpected with customers and prospects.

There is an interesting company called FoldIt that creates games as a way to solve real issues, such as new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs for AIDS patients.

The company is billed as online gaming, but the big revelation is the games serve the purpose of finding a needle in a haystack-something scientists may miss by not being able to see the forest for the trees.

The Transformation

The final part to your story is the transformation, or the thing (or things) that is different about the way you do business.

Think about how your company has evolved.

Think about the problem you solve and how it connects with both emotional and practical needs.

What is your value proposition? What can customers get only from you?

It might be intellectual property or a new way of doing things or a super duper cool new widget.

People want to know how you arrived there.

The argument many business leaders make at this point is:

Why would I want to give away our secret sauce? Then our competitors would do what we do.

Here's the thing: your competitors may know the exact recipe to your secret sauce, but no one does it as well as you do.

It was created with your people, your thinking, your culture, your passion, and your vision.

Tell the story from your point-of-view and no one can copy it.

Pulling it All Together

You also need to start with an idea, theme, or concept.

Going out and telling the company's history isn't going to fly. Choose one interesting tidbit and start there.

If you're my new friend in Omaha, you have your employees talk about their hobbies, and loop their jobs into what they do outside of work.

My name is Gini. I'm a cyclist and I race every summer. I'm ultra-competitive, which doesn't translate well while leading colleagues. As the founder of my organization, I've found getting that competitiveness out on the bike makes me a better leader when I get to work.

See how that begins to work much better than:

We were founded in 2005 with a computer, a spreadsheet, and a kitchen table.

Choose your passion, protagonist, antagonist, revelation, and transformation.

If you do those five things in all of your brand storytelling, every person in the world is going to want to know more.
photo credit: Tom Fishburne at Marketoonist

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The Five Parts of Brand Storytelling to Include Every Time

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As I was preparing my PRSA Tulsa keynote a couple of weeks ago, I happened upon a fun game. It's a buzzword game, and anyone can play it. Just choose a set of numbers. Let's say... 2, 9, and 4. Then look at the corresponding chart: systemized policy programming. Voila!

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By Gini Dietrich
I have a confession to make. I write without an editorial calendar.

Every, single day, I sit down at 5 a.m. and think, "What should I write about today?"

In some cases, I have blog posts percolating in my head for several days, as I research and learn more.

In other cases, when I sit down at my computer, I have no idea what is going to make it onto the page.

It's silly. I know. The rest of Spin Sucks runs on an editorial calendar. Lindsay Bell keeps things moving beautifully, from that perspective.

For instance, our theme for January is measurement. I love measurement and data and metrics, but there is no way I could write about it every day for an entire month.

I'd be bored, which means you'd most definitely be bored.

That's why, when I give you some advice, I do so with a large grain of salt.

Create an Editorial Calendar

Create an editorial calendar.

This will help you avoid that "what to write now" panic and keep you on track.

In other words, don't slack like I do nearly every day.

An editorial calendar is simply a schedule of content topics that ensure you always have a supply written, visual, and auditory content.

But, there is a better way to plan your content, which is actually what I do at least once a month to give blog posts lots of legs. Think of your content as a millipede. It has a body-the main topic-and it has up to 200 subtopics.

Create your millipede-or content map-by drawing a series of circles.

Start with one large circle in the middle of the page. This is your main topic.

From that circle, try drawing six or more medium-sized circles. These are your sub-topics.

From those circles, you'll draw several small circles on each, which will serve as your supportive base.

For my speech at Content Marketing World last October (and I'm speaking again this year so come hang out!), I created a content map using a blog post I wrote on how to produce content that gets read and shared.

"Writing blog posts," then, becomes the main topic.

The sub-theme is more refined, such as "tricks to writing popular blog posts" and " generate blog post ideas."

These go into your medium-sized circles.

Then, the small circles surrounding that one circle is content you can produce on that one topic.

For instance, create a debate between someone in your office and an industry influencer ( Paul Sutton and I like to do this once or twice a year) or talk about trends around the topic or interview an industry influencer ( Heidi Cohen does this really well).

These go into the small circles.

Continue that until you've exhausted all of your ideas.

Now, after doing this for the example, you have your main topic, six sub-topics, and four pieces of content as your supportive base.

You now have 11 pieces of content that help extend your main piece and begin to showcase your expertise.

An Editorial Calendar Helps Search

This also helps with your search rankings (which Andy Crestodina is going to talk more about during our webinar on Thursday; register here).

Staying with the same "writing blog posts" topic as the example above, the goal is to create expertise around blogging and the types of content one would create to encourage people not to just to read it, but to share it.

That main piece of content lives on your website or blog and the sub-topics and supportive base all link to it.

Now, no matter where your other content lives-on your website, on your blog, on the LinkedIn publishing platform, on other social networks, or you've guest written for another blog or publication-Google knows you are the authority on this topic.

It also tells human beings who see your content that you have expertise on this topic and it's highly likely they'll click over and read your main piece.

Don't be lazy like me. Create an editorial calendar. I promise it's well worth the few minutes of time it'll take to draw your circles and fill them in.
image credit: Andy Crestodina again. I can't escape him!

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An Editorial Calendar Equals Lots of Content from One Idea

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By Gini Dietrich I have a confession to make. I write without an editorial calendar. Every, single day, I sit down at 5 a.m. and think, "What should I write about today?" In some cases, I have blog posts percolating in my head for several days, as I research and learn more.

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Keeping your content marketing organized can sometimes feel more difficult than the actual writing.

If you're anything like me, you probably have those days where your head feels like it's exploding with random ideas, deadlines, and a million to-do-someday items.

Most of us rely on at least a few content marketing tools and systems to help us get our work done more efficiently.

And while content marketers have many options to consider, choosing wisely is key.

I've found that trying to use too many content marketing tools can have the opposite effect and get in the way instead of helping!

So which products and apps should content marketing and PR pros lean on to keep their projects organized and to get the writing done?

Everyone is different, and there is no "right" answer. But I'm nosy. I like to know what other people do that works well for them!

I advocate keeping things as simple as possible.

Here's my current toolbox for recording ideas, tracking details and getting my content marketing done.

Content Marketing Tools to Keep Track of Deadlines, Dates, and Details
1. GTD (Getting Things Done)
I have a few favorite content marketing tools I use to keep track of deadlines and ideas.

I recently read Getting Things Done by David Allen, and while I didn't buy into the entire system, it changed the way I think about work.

To summarize, Allen advocates creating a system for taking in information and prioritizing work using reminders, lists, and regular reviews.

The GTD thesis is, that by using a dependable system and a defined approach to priorities, we can spend more time working on the tasks that matter most to us.

If we don't use a system, we spend too much time lost in a sea of lower-value tasks.

I've found this to be true!

GTD is a useful framework for approaching tasks-especially step one: c apture everything!

2. Asana

For productivity and task management, I love Asana.

No matter how small or random the task, I can use Asana to capture everything that comes to mind and relax knowing I won't forget it.

I can assign reminders and due dates.

It even comes in handy for planning editorial calendars with many people.

There's also the immense satisfaction I get from looking at my little "progress" chart every few weeks to see how much I've accomplished!

That little digital visual pat on the back always helps keep me feeling motivated.

3. Evernote

For capturing notes, lists and random thoughts, Evernote is currently my offboard brain.

I love the searchability, the tagging, and the ease of use.

Of all the tools I use, though, this is the one I have reservations about: the sharing and chat functions leave a lot to be desired, and I'm not very happy with their latest round of changes or their pricing.

Because of that, I am considering migration to another note-taking service.

Switching note services is a big leap though, so if you have a favorite, I'm all ears.

Content Marketing Tools to Begin, Maximize, and Record Brainstorming Sessions

4. Google Trends

Have a few ideas but don't know which one to pursue?

Are you unsure about the best keywords to focus on for a particular general topic?

Start with research using listening and trend analysis tools like Google Trends.

Using Google Trends, you can look at historical search data to see when a keyword or phrase gained popularity and how much popularity, relative to the total search-volume across different geographic locations and languages.

If you want to see an example of Google Trends in action as a research tool, Gini Dietrich had a great one in this post.

5. Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is an online social listening tool that allows anyone to check on what content is most popular for a given timeframe, keyword, or phrase.

It's available as a free or paid service and allows you to find out what others share most, when, and through which social channels.

Sometimes reading some of the most popular content in your target subject area will trigger the idea avalanche you're seeking!

You can also use this tool to gain insights into which social channels to use for distributing different types of content.

Last, but not least, doing some research with Buzzsumo can help you identify new publications and potential partners to pitch.

(Now say that three times fast.)

6. Mindmeister

For brainstorming ideas, I love Mindmeister, a web-based mind mapping tool.

You can create private mind maps, or you can share them to collaborate with clients or team members.

Like many creative types, I'm a highly visual person.

I love to see all my ideas written down in a big cloud.

It's satisfying to see progress.

Often, the act of writing even leads to new ideas, variations on existing ideas, or new questions and answers.

I've used this tool for everything from event planning to meeting planning, to generate ideas for articles and pitches or marketing campaigns, to brainstorming art projects, to reorganizing website architecture.

7. Mural

For design problem-solving and for turning vague concepts into concrete plans that I can share, I like Mural.

It's a virtual whiteboard especially great for team collaboration, but I have also used it on my own for brainstorming and getting down my ideas for content or design work.

This tool is marketed to designers, so it might not be one of the first things you'd think of as being useful specifically for content and PR work, but give it a try!

I've found it's perfect for collaboration with remote teams, SWOT analysis, group (or solo!) brainstorms, mood boarding, and beyond, especially when your project has a visual element that would benefit from being moved around free-form.

Content Marketing Tools to Create the Final Product

8. Google Docs & Sheets

Nothing fancy here: to get your content done, you have to sit your butt down and write.

You can use whatever word processing tool you like, but no discussion of tools or apps for writers and marketers would be complete without a mention of Google Docs.

I more or less live my life in Google Docs and Sheets, tracking time, projects, consulting clients, research, budgets, and lots of other miscellaneous data.

I write my blog and article drafts in Google Docs.

And I share those drafts with collaborators and editors in Google Docs while making liberal use of the "suggesting," "editing," and "comment" features (so much more convenient than using MS Word and track changes to handle edits).

And my final articles?

Yep, Google Docs as well for final articles and archives.

9. Hemingway

Most content creators I've spoken with love Hemingway.

This web app parses your writing as you type and points out super long sentences, suboptimal vocabulary choices and more.

The goal of Hemingway is to identify common writing errors or bad habits to help you write clearly.

Personally, I don't like to use this app for composing my writing.

However, I often copy and paste it in to check on things such as average reading grade level, or some complex sentences (my weakness).

While I don't use it as heavily as some, I've found it very helpful for the final polishing step, especially when I'm aiming for a particular level of simplicity.

10. Your Own Amazing Brain!

I've talked about all of my current favorite content marketing tools so far.

Of course, the most important tool is free and doesn't require wi-fi...it's the one between your ears.

Now it's your turn!

What do you think about the tools I'm using here?

How does your writing and project management process stack up?

Are you using other, fancier and more fabulous tools that we should all know about?

Let me know in the comments!

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10 Content Marketing Tools to Keep You Organized

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Keeping your content marketing organized can sometimes feel more difficult than the actual writing. If you're anything like me, you probably have those days where your head feels like it's exploding with random ideas, deadlines, and a million to-do-someday items. Most of us rely on at least a few content marketing tools and systems to help us get our work done more efficiently.

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This week, a Slovakian journalist named Filip Struhárik published a post to Medium that quickly ricocheted around the digital publishing industry. Titled "Biggest drop in Facebook organic reach we have ever seen," the piece details the effects of Facebook rolling out what it calls an "Explore" feed in six countries - Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Cambodia. What this meant is that Facebook stopped showing posts from Facebook pages in the main newsfeed that a user sees when they visit the site. Instead, the user only sees posts from their friends and family, and if they want to check out posts from pages they've liked, they have to specifically click on the "Explore" tab.

The impact of this change was felt immediately. "Pages are seeing dramatic drops in organic reach," Struhárik wrote. "Reach of several asked Facebook pages fell on Thursday and Friday by two-thirds compared to previous days. Sixty biggest Slovak media pages have 4 times fewer interactions (likes, comments, shares) since the test."

Despite this test being limited to a relatively small geographic area, the digital publishing industry reacted with alarm. Some began theorizing what will happen " when the Facebook traffic goes away." This story was fueled by the already-existing anxiety publishers have been voicing for a couple years now that Facebook has been increasingly throttling back Facebook page reach for publishers, possibly in an attempt to get them to pay for exposure they once got for free. Perhaps in response to this story, The Oatmeal published a comic that summed up publishers' anxieties pretty succinctly.

In the wake of this story going viral, some publishers were relieved when they read a post from Adam Mosseri, Facebook's head of news feed, stating that "we currently have no plans to roll this test out further."

But while it may be true that these six countries are the only ones seeing a page-free newsfeed, it's become increasingly clear in recent weeks that, at least for some American users, pages are virtually disappearing from the news feed.

Let me explain: There have been several times in recent weeks in which I've been scrolling through my news feed and then suddenly realized that I hadn't seen a single post from a page. So I'll keep scrolling, and scrolling, and scrolling until I either finally see a post from a page I follow or give up trying to find one.

Today, I decided to put this to a more official test. I scrolled through the first 100 posts on two different versions of the news feed. The first, called "most recent," is about the closest thing Facebook will serve up as a reverse chronological feed in which you're shown posts in the order that they've been published, regardless of source. The second, called "top stories," is the default feed you see when you log into Facebook. Even if you toggle to "most recent," it reverts back to "top stories" the very next time you visit Facebook.

I started going through the "most recent" feed first, and for each post I came across I tallied whether it was from a Facebook page, group, or friend. I ignored all sponsored posts.

As I was scrolling through this feed, the first thing that struck me was how many posts I was seeing from pages I'd completely forgotten I subscribed to. Facebook's algorithm supposedly only shows your posts to your most engaged followers, but for many of these pages I had no opportunity to engage with their content because I simply never saw it.

So by the time I reached the end of the first 100 posts in the "most recent" feed, I'd seen 31 posts from pages, 10 posts from groups, and 59 posts from friends. Here's a pie chart to illustrate:

That seems like a pretty healthy mix between page and friend content to me.

Next I switched over to the "top stories" feed and began tallying up the different groups.
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I should note before I get into the actual results that I didn't see a single post from a Facebook page for the first 55 posts I scrolled through. So in addition to showing me far fewer page posts, Facebook was making me dig a hell of a lot deeper just to find them.

Now, as for the results. Of the first 100 posts in the "top stories" feed, 12 were from pages, 17 were from groups, and 71 were from friends. Here it is in pie chart form:

1. This is obviously a tiny sample size based on one user, but there's some larger data sets out there showing that decreased page reach isn't a figment of our imagination.

2. There could be two reasons for why Facebook is showing us fewer pages. The first is that the conspiracy theories are true and this is Facebook's way of squeezing more ad dollars out of publishers that have grown addicted to its traffic. The second is simply that Facebook has data showing that users are much more interested in seeing content from friends and family than they are in seeing posts from a brand.

3. While I didn't see many posts from pages, I did see plenty of posts from friends/family who were sharing links to news articles and content. If you're a publisher, perhaps this means you should place less emphasis on your own page and more emphasis on activating your fans that are most likely to share you content to their networks.

4. It's interesting that Facebook groups were punching above their weight when it came to their distribution in the feed. This aligns with recent reports that Facebook is placing increased emphasis on growing its groups, where it's seeing highly-engaged communities form. What does this mean for publishers? Well, that perhaps, in addition to maintaining a Facebook page, you should also think about launching a group. Vox did it by creating a group around its The Weeds podcast, and it even got written up in a Facebook case study.

5. It's worth noting that organic reach is low on all platforms, not just Facebook. I have 6,300 followers on Twitter; my average tweet that isn't retweeted by other users has 220 impressions, which is 3% of my following. I have 38,500 followers on LinkedIn, and lately my average post there has received between 300 and 400 impressions, so about 1% of my overall following. I have over 8,000 followers on Medium and I'm lucky if that drives 50 to 100 views on the platform (not counting links from outside sources). Anyone who works in audience development can tell you that it's extremely difficult these days to drive organic distribution of content. Users are bombarded with so many photos, Snaps, videos, tweets, and articles that the competition for their attention is fierce. I have a strong suspicion that if Facebook were to revert to a reverse-chronological feed, most pages wouldn't see a significant increase in page reach, simply because they're simply competing with the 1,500 other posts that are published within the average user's news feed every day.

6. If it's not obvious yet, you really need to diversify your traffic sources. Your goal is to have your users subscribe to your content on as many platforms as possible. It's not a coincidence that you're seeing more and more publishers launching newsletters lately; email is seen as one of the last distribution methods that aren't impacted by some kind of tech behemoth.

7. A few hours after I did this experiment, I suddenly started seeing more pages - including pages I hadn't seen in a while - in my "top stories" feed. Maybe the simple act of switching to the "recent" feed signals to Facebook that you're hungry for more diverse content.

So yes, right off the bat we can see that, while Facebook is still showing pages in the news feed, it's drastically tampering down on page posts and burying them further down within the feed.

I have a few observations and thoughts about the results of this tiny experiment:
FULL DISCLOSURE: Want to know how I was paid to write this article? I explain it in Simon Owens is a tech and media journalist living in Washington, DC. Follow him on

,

, or

. Email him at simonowens@gmail.com this video.
So I think that wraps up my observations. If I had to sum up my advice into a single sentence: produce the best content you can while also optimizing as best you can for distribution. While I don't think simply creating good content is enough to guarantee an audience, I think it's the one major differentiator with all things being equal. As Matthew Yglesias put it, the "Facebook-induced traffic boom just devalues pageviews." In other words, Facebook turning on the traffic hoses in 2012 rewarded cheaper content at increased speed. The news could use a little bit of slowing down.

***

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The Facebook page purge has already begun - Marketing And Growth Hacking

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This week, a Slovakian journalist named Filip Struhárik published a post to Medium that quickly ricocheted around the digital publishing industry. Titled "Biggest drop in Facebook organic reach we have ever seen," the piece details the effects of Facebook rolling out what it calls an "Explore" feed in six countries - Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Serbia, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Cambodia.

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Finally, after years of work, your startup has launched its first or most important product-and you want the world to know about it.

A well-timed article in a major publication could be the golden ticket many small startups need to get noticed by customers and potential funders. But convincing a journalist to write about your startup is easier said than done. Of course every reporter, editor, and publication is different, but there are some general rules that make the difference between getting your pitch deleted and getting a second look. I spoke to almost a dozen of my colleagues at Fast Company to see what they do and don't like to see in a pitch. Here are the things most of us agreed on.

Do: Contact Journalists Through Email

If there was one universal agreement among the journalists I spoke to, it was our preferred contact method: email. Though this communication method may seem antiquated in the social media age, it's a medium that works best since a single message (if you craft it correctly) contains everything we need to know-and it's one we can read and reply to at our leisure.

In fact, not one journalist I spoke with had a desire to be contacted via social media. "Twitter and LinkedIn are not good ways to get in touch," says Fast Company s enior editor Kathleen Davis. "I don't check LinkedIn frequently, so it's not the best way to get hold of me, and if you don't include a message with your connection request, I likely won't accept it because I don't know who you are."

Do: Be Concise

Another universal agreement among those I spoke to was to get to the point quickly. "Be incredibly concise," says Fast Company senior editor Harry McCracken. "Focus on the news or story you have, and describe it super briefly, remembering that I get a gazillion pitches a day and don't have time to skim a lengthy pitch, let alone read it in its entirety. If I'm intrigued, I'll ask for more."

Fast Company staff editor Jeff Beer agrees. "Send an email, maybe ONE follow up. Get to the point very quickly: What it is, why FC readers might be interested, and why you're pitching me specifically," he says. This should be obvious, but it bears mentioning: Write a unique pitch for each journalist/publication and make sure it's clearly formatted. "Don't create a form letter pitch in some weird font that looks like a spam email newsletter. That's almost an immediate delete."

Do: Explain Why Your Story Is Relevant

A concise pitch is a must, but in that brief one- to two-paragraph explanation of why you are contacting us, one of the most critical things a journalist wants to know is, why, specifically, is your story relevant? "Show me how it fits in a trend or what's going on right now," advises Davis. "Show the scale and impact that it's had. Ask yourself, Why now? Why would we cover it now? And why would people care? What's in it for the reader? What value are you bringing? Keep it short and readable, and give me a useful and clear subject line on the email."

Anisa Purbasari, an editorial assistant at Fast Company, sums it up like this: "Treat it like you would pitch a VC: What problem are you solving, why is your solution unique, what makes you the right person to solve it?" Do that convincingly and you've gone a long way to getting us interested.

Don't: Bother If Someone Else Has Already Written About You

While it's true journalists always are looking for things to write about, we're more likely to ignore a pitch if someone has recently written about it already. As Fast Company staff writer Cale Weissman says, "Don't talk about past recent coverage of the same thing. If Forbes already wrote about you, why would I want to?" If readers have already read the story of Startup X's development somewhere else, why would they want to read the same story again?

Do: Take The Time To Learn About Who You Are Contacting

When you reach out to a journalist, you're asking them to dedicate their time researching and writing about your company. So why wouldn't you show them the same respect and get to know what they cover and the kind of stories they're interested in? For example, if your startup just made the latest killer app, don't waste your time (or hers) in contacting an editor who covers leadership when you should be contacting a tech editor.

"It's pretty clear what my section covers from just a quick scan through the page and my past coverage, and it will benefit you greatly to get yourself acquainted with that before pitching," says Eillie Anzilotti, who covers sustainability and social for Fast Company. Oh, and one more, simple, thing: "Do spell my name correctly. I know it's a weird one, but I will respect you so much more if you do."

Don't: Try To Flatter Us

This isn't a date. Flattery will get you nowhere, and it's actually a big turnoff and a bit insulting to the journalist that you think it will help you. "I'm willing to believe some people do so sincerely," says McCracken. "But I get so many people trying to butter me up through unsolicited praise that I'm immediately suspicious of anyone who says something nice and then tries to sell me on a story."

Don't: Make Us Do Your Legwork Or Tell Us How To Do Our Job

Journalists don't work for you, they work for their readers. And like you, they are really busy with their job, so asking them to do things for you to help you get your work done is a nonstarter. "Don't give me more work: Don't email me just to ask me to introduce you to someone else at Fast Company. Don't email asking me for what I'd like to be pitched or telling me that you have something great with next to no info and ask me if I want to learn more," explains Davis.

And no one likes to be told how to do their job. "Do not try to instruct me on how to cover the thing you're pitching, or suggest that we 'work together to come up with an angle.' That's my job, not yours," says Fast Company 's Anzilotti.

Don't: Stalk Us

This was another issue many journalists I spoke to brought up. While most colleagues said that a follow-up email was fine if they had not replied to your pitch, what wasn't cool was going all-out stalker on them. Don't hear back? Wait a few days before following up-but only follow up once, and do so via email. Don't text, Tweet, Facebook Message, or call. Their work email should be the only method of contact unless you already have a good existing relationship with them.

"Don't call my cell phone, that's not a number that's listed, so if you got it somehow that's really going to creep me out," says Davis.

Speaking of creepy, don't bother buying contact info. "Don't ever contact me at an email address not ending in @fastcompany.com, says Fast Company associate editor Rich Bellis. "If you bought my personal email address from a third party that scraped the internet for it, congratulations for being a lazy, unprofessional creep-you just got blocked."

Don't: Be A Lying Passive-Aggressive Jerk

You'd be surprised how deceitful some people can be in the hope that that tactic will get a journalist to write about their company. "I have had a few instances where people have told me I 'accepted' a piece I never did, or even go so far as to craft a fake email I never sent," says Fast Company 's Purbasari.

What's almost as bad as outright lying is thinking passive aggression will get you anywhere. "Never guilt me into writing a story by saying, 'You've covered my competitor before, why aren't you covering me????' or 'I have been pitching you for one year, why aren't you responding to me????' says Fast Company staff writer Elizabeth Segran. "This undermines my editorial judgment and makes me inclined to never work with you in the future."

Do: Build A Relationship With Us

And it's Segran's last point that is perhaps the most pertinent for everyone who wants to get their startup's story told: Journalists want to work with you. They hope you have a killer pitch they just can't wait to turn into one of the best stories they've ever written. But for whatever reason, your story might not be right for their audience at this moment in time.

Your startup's story is likely only just beginning, and though you've followed all of the advice above and haven't seen your company's name in print yet, it doesn't mean you never will. The key, above all, is to cultivate relationships with journalists. You do that by understanding what their duties are to their readers, the types of stories that interest them, and by treating them with the same respect as you would any other person you want to build a long-term relationship with.

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How To Get A Journalist To Read Your Pitch

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Finally, after years of work, your startup has launched its first or most important product-and you want the world to know about it. A well-timed article in a major publication could be the golden ticket many small startups need to get noticed by customers and potential funders.

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Blog

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Outdoor Fall Activities | TruGreen Midsouth

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Are you as ready for fall as the TruGreen Midsouth team? Learn about our favorite outdoor activities for this season!

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1 length of fun fabric = 10 great looks!https://t.co/7kzrXmXJXg
— Apple Vacations (@AppleVacations) July 11, 2016

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1 length of fun fabric = 10 great looks!
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How it's like journalism

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The following piece is a guest post from Anita Malik, chief operating officer at ClearVoice. Guest posts do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this publication. Read more about MediaShift guest posts here.
I went to journalism school. The degree gave me authority, in a fish-out-of-water sort of way, when I first stepped into agency life in the mid-2000s. I was there to fix the brand "content" problem.

Brand journalism was just beginning to take shape. While companies like Jello, Michelin and John Deere began producing content to engage consumers in the early 1900s - a cookbook, travel guide and a magazine targeting farmers, respectively - many credit the true, modern arrival of brand journalism to McDonald's. In 2004, the then global CMO of the hamburger franchise, Larry Light, unveiled a plan to approach communications "the same way an editor approaches the creation of a magazine, with its array of different content aimed at a variety of interests - but with a coherent editorial framework."

The idea took shape: Expand your brand's messaging beyond a singular sales focus to speak to audience interests and build connections that drive high customer lifetime values. The concept made sense then and still does today, but over the last decade many companies have struggled to achieve Light's vision.

In the hustle to create, companies are trying to be something they are not. The story is getting lost. Success lies in understanding what a brand's content is, what it should be and what it is not.

Why It's Not Journalism

The content created by or on behalf of a company is not journalism. It is branded content or content marketing. It is naturally biased content. Think of it as the op-ed of the journalism world.
"Objective journalism and an opinion column are about as similar as the Bible and Playboy magazine." - Walter Cronkite
Being the "Playboy" in Cronkite's analogy is not a bad thing. It's just different. The takeaway in Cronkite's wisdom: Pure, unadulterated journalism is not a requirement for building a strong community around content.

You won't always be able to (nor should you) present a balanced picture. Including a competitor's view, for instance, would be counterproductive.

Most brands I've worked with outwardly champion "balanced reporting" in their guidelines, but internally, they are fearful of the results. The competitor, even when integral to the story, gets edited out 99 times out 100. That's okay - let's just save ourselves the time and set the right expectations. Businesses produce content to increase conversions and fatten the bottom line, and there's nothing wrong with owning that objective.

The Distinction Matters

The American consumer has undergone a significant period of corporate distrust. From the banking crisis and Occupy Wall Street to corporate scandals like Enron and even today's political landscape, where running as an "outsider" is an engaging strategy, today's customer has been conditioned to doubt the brand.

Consider the mass popularity of review sites, citizen journalism and user-generated content. We listen to our communities first. Consumers shop with a higher level of skepticism than ever before.

It comes as no surprise, then, that we've witnessed content rise up as the darling of marketing strategies. Why? Because it looks like journalism. With display advertising and SEO now regulated to supporting roles, the pressure is on content to deliver. Content is the path to trust, a way to quench consumer demand for greater transparency.

And while brand teams need journalism skills, calling what happens on a corporate blog journalism is counterproductive.

Journalism implies objectivity, balance and originality. The term carries weight with readers. Putting out content under the guise of balanced reporting only feeds into customer distrust.

Own up to the obvious bias in branded content - it goes a long way with readers who are simply searching for authentic, trustworthy voices. Don't try to hide or mask the subjectivity in your content. Instead, understand the difference and how it affects your strategy.

Build Content Like an Op-ed

It is OK to have an opinion.

In fact, if you are strategic about your opinions, it's not only acceptable but an effective way to engage readers.

Delve into the topics readers are passionate about that also align with the company's agenda or stance. Find what differentiates you from the competition and make that a prominent theme on the editorial calendar. Owning that area and building authority on the subject helps a brand cut through the content noise.

Just like the op-ed column of a newspaper, your content should be informed and substantive. Granted, not everything needs to be an "argument," but following basic op-ed guidelines demonstrates greater authenticity than trying to operate as a journalism outlet.

Start by showcasing a strong voice - the brand voice - and give your message depth and weight, without overtly pushing a product or service. Tell a story, with a strong opening and closing. Focus on quality. People connect to stories and points of view. Bridge them unabashedly to grow an audience.

Tell Stories Like a Journalist

Early in my "brand" career, a client remarked on my magazine, radio and newspaper background with this question: "What do you see as the difference in approach between client work and traditional publications?"

My answer was simplistic, but don't make the mistake of thinking that as the newbie, I was being naive. After more than a decade in journalism and now a decade on the brand side, this is still how I lead content teams no matter the size of the client, the budget, the platform or the theme.

"It's about the story. There is no difference in the execution. If we put the story first and foremost, the rest (read: the marketing mumbo jumbo) will fall into place."

With opinions defined and themes established, borrow from the school of journalism to construct the story. Hire journalists or educate existing teams in the best practices of engaging storytelling. Research, report, captivate and tell them why.

Great stories can still be told. Just don't call it journalism.
Anita Malik is chief operating officer at ClearVoice, a SaaS software and services company for content development. The product's streamlined, collaborative workflow is paired with an influencer/creator marketplace and content intelligence tools to help teams of all sizes create better content. Malik previously developed a booking solution for the events and wedding industry, and she was the founder and editor of the award-winning national magazine, East West.

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Brand Content Isn't Journalism, But It's Still All About the Story - MediaShift

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The following piece is a guest post from Anita Malik, chief operating officer at ClearVoice. Guest posts do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this publication. Read more about MediaShift guest posts here. I went to journalism school. The degree gave me authority, in a fish-out-of-water sort of way, when I first stepped into agency ...