Tag: Journalism

The Art of the Interview: How to Get Better Stories from Subject Matter Experts

One of the most valuable things I brought from journalism to content marketing wasn’t a writing technique or a structural framework. It was the interview.

The best content doesn’t come from what you know. It comes from what you’re able to draw out of the people who do.

By Linda Pophal, MA, SPHR · Strategic Communications, LLC

Interviewing subject matter experts for content marketing is the practice of conducting structured conversations with domain specialists like executives, practitioners, researchers, or clients to gather original insights, stories, and perspectives that form the foundation of high-quality written content.

Done well, the expert interview is the single most powerful tool available to content marketers for producing material that is genuinely authoritative and distinctively voiced.

And, it’s impossible for AI to replicate.

 

Continue reading “The Art of the Interview: How to Get Better Stories from Subject Matter Experts”

What Old-School Journalism Still Teaches Modern Content Marketing

The principles of good journalism: they were developed to solve problems that have never gone away.

The fundamentals haven’t changed. They’ve just been forgotten.

By Linda Pophal, MA, SPHR · Strategic Communications, LLC 

Journalism principles in content marketing refers to the application of foundational reporting and editorial practices—including the inverted pyramid structure, the five W’s framework, source attribution, clarity-first writing, and the commitment to factual accuracy—to the creation of marketing content. These principles, developed over more than a century of professional journalism, produce content that is more credible, more readable, and more likely to be cited by both human editors and AI search systems than content that lacks them.

My background in journalism—the discipline of it, the habits it instilled, the standards it held me to—is probably the single most valuable thing I bring to content marketing work. And it’s something I find myself returning to constantly as I watch the content landscape evolve.

Because here’s the thing about the principles of good journalism:

Continue reading “What Old-School Journalism Still Teaches Modern Content Marketing”

Be Careful Out There! From Fake News to Fake Newsmakers—How to Best Protect Your Brand

content marketing, content management, newsjacking, social media, digital marketing, SEO, online marketingIn 2006, Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat character burst onto the big screen and became a huge success in the United States. Borat – a scruffy, socially awkward “journalist,” ostensibly from the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan – took a cross-country trip through the United States, mostly in the South, and interacted with and interviewed numerous unwitting participants who became fodder for Baron Cohen’s movie.

While Borat had been a staple of Baron Cohen’s Da Ali G show for years, the 2006 film marked the first time many Americans had been exposed to the character. From college students and driving instructors to rodeos and local news stations, many Americans were fooled into believing they were being interviewed for a cultural program for consumption in Kazakhstan, something that would not be seen in the United States.

Hilarity, embarrassment and lawsuits followed. Continue reading “Be Careful Out There! From Fake News to Fake Newsmakers—How to Best Protect Your Brand”

Thanks Google! Content Really is King Once Again.

 

The world suddenly seems to have a voracious appetite for content as online marketers compete with each other in an attempt to capture the eyeballs and eardrums of current and potential customers. Not just any content, but high-quality, unique and relevant content.

It wasn’t always this way. The bottom kind of fell out of the writing industry back in 2008 as the recession hit full force. Media outlets were laying people off in droves, or closing entirely, and the demand for freelancers was rapidly diminishing. I know because I had been a freelancer for a number of years. Even while employed full-time, I made a very nice “extra income” from writing for a variety of trade and professional publications.

It was this extra income that I felt would help provide me with a cushion when I launched Strategic Communications in 2008. But I was wrong.

Continue reading “Thanks Google! Content Really is King Once Again.”

A Wake-Up Call to the Newspaper Industry

I had an experience recently that made me think: “Hmmm. Maybe this is one of the reasons the newspaper industry is struggling.”

After landing a new account recently, I began setting up my files and processes for gathering information about the client and sources of information that would help me stay on top of issues impacting them externally. This generally includes some combination of online sources, industry trade publications, etc. In this case, because of the type of business the client does, I decided to subscribe to the local paper because I wanted to add it to my morning reading ritual.

So, I went online to their website to subscribe. And that’s when the fun began. Continue reading “A Wake-Up Call to the Newspaper Industry”

Looking for Media Coverage? Stay Off the Phones!

As someone who grew up shy and still has a strong aversion to “cold calling,” I was heartened to see the results of a recent Muck Rack poll of journalists regarding their preferred methods of contact. The good news?

Continue reading “Looking for Media Coverage? Stay Off the Phones!”

PR More Effective than Content Marketing? Probably! But…

Nielsen recently released a report, commissioned by inPowered which indicated that content marketing (the current, go-to communication tool for many B2B and B2C marketers) is actually 88 percent less effective than public relations (PR).

The news has the communication community abuzz online with conversations taking place in many of the social media groups I follow. Many are expressing shock, some disagreement, over the results.

But, when you think about it, it’s really just common sense.

Continue reading “PR More Effective than Content Marketing? Probably! But…”

Contributing Content: Big Opportunities in Content Marketing!

There are big opportunities these days in content marketing. All kinds of organizations, from traditional publishers and media outlets to businesses hoping to gain online traction through organic search are looking for quality content. That means big opportunities for content creators of all kinds. It also means big opportunities for businesses and individuals hoping to get media coverage for themselves and their products and services.

Why?  Continue reading “Contributing Content: Big Opportunities in Content Marketing!”

Do You Believe Everything You Read?

By now, just about everybody is aware that the news industry has been impacted dramatically by the ability of consumers to seek–and even generate–news themselves through a variety of online resources that may include their own blogs and social media accounts. When breaking news occurs, it is often shared first online where it grows and spreads exponentially. The problem is: it’s not always accurate! Continue reading “Do You Believe Everything You Read?”

PR Pro Thinks Blog Posts are the New Press Release — But, What do Journalists Think?

I read an interesting blog post today from Arik Hanson’s blog “Communications Conversations” titled News releases or blog posts: What is the future of media relations? In it, he suggests that companies and individuals hoping to gain attention through the media should give up on the outmoded use of traditional news releases in favor of blogs. Blogs, he says, offer many benefits including: Continue reading “PR Pro Thinks Blog Posts are the New Press Release — But, What do Journalists Think?”