Companies are starting to realize and accept that content marketing is essential to growing a successful business.
Let’s call that Content 101. To advance to Content 201 is to understand the next, and even better, iteration: brand journalism. Brand journalists can speak to, engage and resonate with customers and potential clients in ways traditional content marketers often find more difficult — or in ways their schedules won’t allow.
However, business or brand journalism is more than just a form of content marketing. And as companies adjust to the impacts of job revolutions like the Great Resignation, this approach will become more critical than ever. Once you understand the basics of brand journalism and what it can offer, you’ll understand why your next marketing hire should be from this emerging field.
What is brand journalism?
Only about 30% of readers trust what they see on the internet, so brands have found that inbound marketing strategies are becoming a more successful route. Customers don’t want to be sold to; instead, they want actual value and the ability to make purchase decisions on their own. Unfortunately, even inbound content marketing isn’t as effective as it once was.
This is where brand journalism comes into the picture. The term “brand journalism” describes utilizing journalistic best practices — such as interviewing, reporting, fact-checking, and writing in a more formal, journalistic style — to teach consumers more about a company or specific brands.
Your blogs, white papers, eBooks, social media posts and videos can still tout the benefits of your company, but you want these pieces of content to be more educational and valuable than just an advertisement.
Why should you hire a brand journalist?
There are many advantages to using a brand journalist, which is why one of these professionals should be your next hire. When you learn about all the benefits your company gets when you outsource your content marketing and brand publishing, you’ll understand why so many businesses have already taken this step.
Keep Your Focus on Your Brand
Your audience wants great storytelling, not just facts; brand journalism experts know how to identify, create and tell a great story. When you hire a writer with a background in brand journalism, the rest of your team can focus on what they’re good at instead of trying to create content. You’re gaining a level of critical thinking and creativity you might not already have in-house.
Meanwhile, you’ll gain access to thought leadership because brand journalists are skilled in reporting, able to learn various fields and up to date on current events and industry trends. They can produce informative, engaging newsletters and other content to send to your marketing lists.
Gain SEO Experience
Brand journalists specialize in creating original, high-quality, compelling content and using SEO best practices, so your content can succeed as soon as it goes live.
Versatile brand journalists wear many hats and have an expert eye for writing, editing, social media, video, design and more. They are virtual editors for your brand who know social media best practices and why certain strategies and types of content work better than others.
Relevant and On-Time, Every Time
With a reporter’s experience, brand journalists know the importance of deadlines. A timely piece about a trending, relevant topic can do wonders for your company.
These types of writers often have “people person” personalities with good interpersonal communication skills who will excel at connecting with your clients and coworkers and can conduct good interviews. Marketing is about appealing to more than just one audience. These professionals understand this basic fact.
Hire a brand journalist today
These benefits are just the beginning. Building a successful brand takes a lot of work and the right people. When you’ve got talented, professional brand journalists on your team, you’ll see the value in no time and wonder what took you so long to make the decision.
Whether you’re trying to increase awareness and lead generation, build thought leadership within your industry or grow your business, hiring a brand journalist can help you meet your goals. Killer content for brands is a critical part of business success. Letting blogs, white papers, social media and other potentially game-changing content sit on your organization’s back burner is a lost opportunity.
PowerPublish is an innovative industry leader in brand and business journalism, with dedicated virtual editors available to handle all your content creation, production and distribution needs.
Contact us today for a demo to see how we can help you stop simply content marketing and start PowerPublishing impactful brand journalism content that drives revenue and delivers results.