By Maureen AlleySocial media, RSS feeds, newsletters, blogs, video and more are everywhere allowing for faster and easier news syndication and information sharing. Great news, right? Well, it could be hurting your brand if you’re not doing it right. Are you using the second-day story approach to producing content online? If not, then your website visitors won’t even bother to read what you have to say because they’ve already heard it from a hundred other people.
So what’s an editor and writer to do? Think analytically. When news hits your desk, are you looking outside the box? Are you questioning what hasn’t been covered yet? Or are you simply repurposing it? If the tremendous growth of Web products tells us anything, it’s that people love information. So give it to them. Make your brand a must in their need to stay informed.
A few examples lately can highlight the exhaustion of the same news over and over: Patrick Swayze, Michael Jackson, racism and senators, Google and eBooks, Kanye West and Taylor Swift, plus many more.
For business-to-business editors, the news is much more niche, with fewer news sources covering the same industry eliminating the level of exhaustion we feel from regular consumer news. However, it’s still something to keep in mind. Even though there are fewer players covering your industry, it doesn’t mean your readers won’t feel annoyed by seeing the same stuff everywhere. Consider what’s missing in the coverage and give it to them. If you’re providing readers with quality content, they will see value in your brand and continue to come back to your site – ultimately increasing consumer engagement, loyalty and increased traffic numbers.
Maureen Alley is managing editor for Website Magazine, a trade publication dedicated to Web professionals. She was formerly managing editor for Residential Design & Build magazine, a property of Cygnus Business Media. Alley graduated with a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and is currently attending Roosevelt University in Chicago for her Masters of Science in Journalism. She has been a member of ASBPE since 2006 and was a judge for the 2009 Azbee Awards program. She writes a blog at www.maureenalley.com about young journalists and new media. Contact her at malley13[at]gmail[dot]com.
Labels: Digital, Maureen Alley, Technology, Writing
