For too long brands have had difficulty getting their stories to the general public. They’ve been at the mercy of traditional media and PR agencies, both gatekeepers to publication. Content marketing has helped improve the situation but companies must commit to building their own news sites to gain real benefit. With the advent of the brand newsroom, business now has the ability to wield as much influence as traditional media.
B2B Brand Newsroom Example
Our latest project, Traction News is a great example of a brand newsroom. Published by Matthew Walker of Tireweb Marketing, Traction is embracing brand journalism to quickly become a fresh voice in the tire industry in America. Traction is operated by a team of professional journalists. Walker has opted to forgo advertorial about his company and focus on becoming a credible news outlet. The editorial mission statement for the online magazine is:
“Traction News provides tire business owners and their employees with news, opinion and information to run a successful tire business in America. The online magazine focuses on product information, business advice, industry events and original research with new articles published every day.”
In other words, don’t expect to see press releases passing for new stories on Traction.
Editorial team essential to success
The roles in a brand newsroom are the same as in traditional media. While the publisher is the one underwriting the project, it’s the editorial team who are responsible for publishing. The people involved on a daily basis include:
- Online advertising
- Newsletter advertising
- Sponsored Content
- Native Advertising
- Webinars
- White papers
- eBooks
- Original research
Ideally, all sponsored content and native advertising should meet strict editorial controls to ensure the audience won’t be offended, confused or bored. If you already have an audience of subscribers you can tap, revenue generation begins right away. If you’re using a brand newsroom to build an audience, it may take longer before you begin to generate income.
Revenue isn’t the only goal behind setting up a brand newsroom. Business can benefit from many other advantages.
Hub for all your content
It’s very easy to scatter your content across multiple channels, especially if you have digital content. A brand newsroom acts as a repository for all your content.
You become an industry authority
Instead of waiting to have traditional media notice you or run your story, a brand newsroom allows you to take a leadership role in your industry. By deploying an objective editorial servicing a wider group, you instantly become an authority in your own market.
Journalists become part of your organisation
Journalism has been a brutal profession over the past 20 years. Most news agencies are operating with a skeleton crew and stagnant compensation packages. As a result, many experienced and talented journalists are available to report for brands and that allows you to change the way you communicate.
You continually build an audience
When you publish every day and back it up with an integrated email strategy, building a list of subscribers might be easier than you think. If you’re publishing online, you have the ability to incorporate list-building technology into every article.
Your content becomes a long-term asset
You don’t have to run a huge operation to develop a profitable brand newsroom. The more you work in a specific niche, the more opportunity you have to monetise your audience by providing value-added content. Your brand newsroom becomes a content brand that exists independently of your business. Think of The Red Bulletin from Red Bull or JykseBank TV for examples of independent content brands.
You receive ‘all access’
Once you start publishing, a whole new world opens up for you. Being part of the press allows you to approach notable people or businesses in your industry for interviews. All major industry conferences give out press passes, usually free of charge, or reserve days specifically for media. What’s more, people in your industry will start to seek you out so they can be featured on your brand newsroom.
Traction News demonstrated this when Managing Editor Dan Hatch conducted interviews at the SEMA conference in Las Vegas:
He who controls the news, controls the views
Perhaps the best reason to adopt a brand newsroom marketing strategy is you control the news. You lead the conversations. You influence how the world views your industry and your business. Instead of being at the mercy of traditional media outlets, brands can create their own media. If you’re looking at content marketing, why not build your own brand newsroom?
Why not build your own brand newsroom?
Lush are experienced at helping companies build and run brand newsrooms. If you’d like to explore how your brand can become a news organisation, let’s talk it over. We have the people and processes in place to help you build your own Traction News.
-by Sarah Mitchell
