The Emperor Has No News

Why Your News Feed Doesn't Work and How to Fix It

• Theory– How the concept of marketing news is

newer than you think–Why news is important to humans– How news helps us sell things

• Practice– Best practices for the news process– Survey results

“We’re gonna update it, Daddy.”

We’re at an odd point in the history of marketing where brands can talk to

us.

The concept of a post-purchase relationship with a customer is quite

new.

Relationship Starters

• Purchase process required an account

• “Liked” them on Facebook• Tweeted about them• Registered at their website• Used discount card• Responded to some offer

We have an opportunity to converse with our customers.

How are we going to use this?

Where does our desire for news come from?

#1News reinforces the belief that we can

discover information.

“[...] there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know

there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know.

But there are also unknown unknowns —

the ones we don’t know we don’t know.”

News reveals the unknown unknowns, and we find security in this.

#2News gives us a shared information space with

other people.

• “I’m utterly lost”

• “It’s been just awful”

• “Being without papers is like being without shoes.”

• “I just can’t seem to relax. I used to come home from work and

relax with a paper. I can’t relax anymore. It’s terrible.”

• “I miss the gossip, the dirt. It’s like taking part of my life away.”

• “It’s pretty lonesome without papers. I feel a great void.”

• “I just don’t feel right, that’s all. I can’t put my finger on it, but

it upsets me.”

• “I sleep on the sofa to make the time go before work. I work

nights. Usually I lay down and read the paper. Now I just sleep.”

News connects us to other people; it gives us a sense of community.

How does news help you sell things?

#1News signals security.

“If you’re buying a CMS, you’re also buying into the community around that CMS. It’s just as much a feature of the product as anything the salesman showed you during the demo.”

#2News gives you a connection point

#3News is sharable.

Sharing feasts on novelty.

http://bigco.com/news/whizbang-5000-launched

1. How the Internet has accelerated marketing news

2. Why we love news3. How news helps us sell stuff

4. How do we create, deliver, and analyze news better?

1. Valentino’s2. Tomacelli’s3. Taste of the

Big Apple4. Boss’s5. Dominos6. Hy-Vee

The News Process

1. Editorial2. Delivery3. Analysis

Editorial

• Who do we write for?• What do we write about?• How do we write it?• What do we want the reader to do?

What is your biggest challenge?

• “…newsworthy content. ”• “…the time to interview [experts]…”• “Quality writing…”• “Finding interesting, relevant, timely

stories.”• “Lack of communication within the

organization about what is going on.”

• Content MANAGEMENT• Content MARKETING• Content CURATION• Content DELIVERY• Content ANALYTICS

• Content _____________ ?CREATION

Who do we write for?

• Customers• Influencers• Press• Potential Employees• Current and Potential Investors• Local Residents

Analyze your audiences…

Consider outsourcing content creation

Be aware of your call to action (CTA)…or lack

thereof.

What do you want them to do…

• Register for an event?• Buy a product?• Complete a form?• Click a link?

Explicit CTA

• What do you want the reader to do with the information you have given them?

Implicit CTA

• Sometimes the best you can hope for is just better branding

Editorial Best Practices

• Analyze your audiences• Consider outsourcing• Concentrate on CTAs

Delivery

• Where do we publish it?• Where do we promote it?• How do we get this in front of

potential customers?

News must be pushed.

News that isn’t pushed is likely wasted.

Publish in one place, promote in many

Traditional Media Outlets

• Cultivate personal contacts with journalists in your field of expertise

• Find angles that make for interesting news stories

“…the best pitches are those that come from PR people who have done their homework: they’ve read my stories, they know my beat and interests, and they’ve tailored their pitches accordingly.”

“When someone has asked me how to get their story on NPR, my answer has always been: Make it news.”

“…you need to be focused and relevant. You need to give reporters a real news story.”

Be careful with your credit.

Think twice before pushing “wishful thinking” stories.

Wire Services

Delivery Best Practices

• Always push news• Develop relationships with media

outlets• Calculate the ROI of paid services

carefully

Analysis

• How can we track it?• Who is reading it?• Who is acting on it?• Does it have value for us?

Ensure your CTAs are trackable

Coverage vs. Precision

Coverage

• How far and wide did your news go?• What channels resulted in most

amplification?

The Problem of Marketing Attribution

What single action or placement resulted in a conversion?

Precision = Conversion Rate

• What distribution channels drove the most traffic?

• What was your conversion rate?– General– Per channel– Differential

Analysis Best Practices

• Strive for trackable CTAs• Calculate marketing attribution

carefully

Survey Results

65% of respondents had done no demographic profiling of their

audience.

Over half of respondents have effective CTAs less than 20% of the

time.

75% of respondents claim to market news to other outlets, but over half

don’t track the result.

90% of organizations develop news content in-

house

News has to become less obligatory, more

purposeful.

Lack of intentionality.

Deane Barker

@gadgetopia

deane@blendinteractive.com