Guarantee your content marketing engages customers, builds trust and converts more, with this unique guide to using brand journalism to enhance B2B content, written by the former television news journalist for the BBC, Sky and ITN, Gay Flashman.
Global audiences are sceptical about advertising content, banner ads and promotional messaging at the best of times. In the B2B space, building an authentic brand is even harder because buying decisions are more complicated and take much longer. Building brand trust and credibility requires time and effort.
Addressing these changes, Powerful B2B Content will help readers understand the importance of building a brand narrative and demonstrates how successful organizations can create brand journalism that has influence and impact.
Using the rigour of journalistic practices to construct content that is developed and crafted with a journalist's sensibility, this book will help any B2B company to ensure its stories are engaging and eye-catching, so they can develop trust and attract the attention of the right audiences.
Building on many years' experience in award-winning newsrooms, Gay Flashman explains:
- What makes a great story?
- What audiences want to hear;
- And shows the most effective ways to deliver it
By demonstrating how to create focused content that is tailored to a B2B audience, this book will help any b2b marketers or communicators to listen, observe and understand their customer's goals, to deliver an experience customers know they can trust.
Author(s): Gay Flashman
Publisher: Kogan Page
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 288
City: London
Cover
Contents
List of figures and tables
About the author
Foreword
Acknowledgements
01 Why use brand journalism as part of your content marketing mix?
Making your brand a contender
A crisis of trust
The opportunity: brand purpose
The complex path to a sale
Finding ways to connect
The rise of brand purpose
Notes
02 A newsroom approach: defining brand journalism for the b2b marketer
Brand journalism: a definition
How to create brand journalism
Approaches to story creation
Notes
03 Building your storytelling strategy
Creating your approach
Define your goals and outcomes
Map your audience
Agree your style and tone
Find your rhythm
Develop a commissioning process
Notes
04 Finding the narrative: telling the stories that matter
Sourcing stories with impact
Which stories should your organization create?
Finding stories that resonate
Planet: Researching the conversation ecosystem
Purpose: Leading with your values
People: Demonstrating your human side
Process: Researching your business or industry environment
Product: Your business making a difference
Don’t forget ‘the brand’
Notes
05 Story mining: uncovering your powerful brand journalism
Establishing your process
Building a range of story types
Sense-checking with an editorial board
Know your rivals
Notes
06 Choosing your format: audience needs and the power of text
Planning your approach
How to start writing great content
Choosing the right approach
Arresting the scroll with your content
Notes
07 Choosing your format: developing visual, video and audio content
Video delivering brand journalism
Short-form social videos
Interview video
Live video coverage
Using imagery for your complex storytelling
Audio: the rise of podcasting
Notes
08 Content hubs: finding a home for your stories
Taking the blog to the next level
The standalone brand name
Find the right stories
Create a clear structure
Notes
09 Distribution and amplification: growing loyal audiences
Optimize organic distribution
Integrate search
Max out on social media
Build with paid distribution
Other paid strategies
Other paid approaches
Notes
10 Thought leadership: insight from your people
Establish your vision and outcomes
Developing your talent pool
Employees hold the key
Thought leadership inspiration
Content success factors
Ideation and creation support
Notes
11 Measuring impact: building a metrics framework
Investing for the long term
Measurement throughout the customer journey
Stretching the value
Notes
12 Bringing your newsroom to life
Finding the smarts
Outsourcing of content
The perfect team
Reflecting the newsroom structure
Notes
Index
