Tag Archive - Brand journalism

Writing: If you can’t do it find someone who can

April 24, 2013 in Branding, Writing with 0 Comments

Years ago I led a workshop for adult learners all wanting to more clearly communicate their work. I flippantly made possibly the most profound statement of my 20-plus years as a professional communicator: If you can’t write, don’t; find somebody who can.

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I am more convinced of the profundity of that statement 13 years later. Weak writing is the Achilles Heel of most communications efforts. In this age of brand journalism and content marketing, good writing is the backbone that should give organizations a lift over their competition, but poor writing torpedoes good strategy. Plainly stated, how well you write could mean the difference between success or failure. Continue Reading…

Content marketing strategy: shifting from urgent to strategic

March 12, 2013 in Branding with 0 Comments

The first step to solving a content marketing problem is admitting you have one. Unfortunately, what organizational leaders often think is the cause may actually be an effect.

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Content marketing and brand journalism are increasingly recognized as important elements of an organization’s branding and marketing effort. However, some organizations crank out copy like it is being fired from a Gatling Gun thinking quantity is the key to success. Leaders become frustrated with a lack of return on the effort and miss the point that quantity doesn’t necessarily equate to quality. They fail to accurately identify the tyranny of the urgent as the root problem. Continue Reading…

Writing words that matter; 5 tips to improve your communications

August 13, 2012 in Writing with 0 Comments

Words are the molecules that create the science of language. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary people, estimate there are approximately a million English words, but rightly explains – as does Slate – there is no way to know for sure an exact number. We do know, however, there are several that downright annoying people.

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Ragan Communications recently published its list of 25 Least Favorite Words, compiled through an informal survey on its Facebook page. Among those making the list were: Essentially, basically, methodology, vetted, align, aforementioned, functionality and irregardless. To this list I’d like to add: Bandwidth, group-think, synergy and its cousin, synergistic. Unfortunately, the perpetrators of these offending words are often organizational communicators. Stop it! Continue Reading…

Content marketing done the “right” way

August 10, 2012 in Branding, Social Media with 0 Comments

I found it humorous the other day when my brother-in-law was reminiscing about the early days of the Internet. He was just 12 years old when, “Welcome, you’ve got mail,” introduced itself to American culture. His point, however, was how everything has changed because of the Internet, most notably the way we do business.

 

Fast forward to 2006 when blogging was all the rage and Twitter was a newborn in diapers. A few people like Brian Solis were rightly prognosticating the future of social media and its impact on business, but it has really only been in the past three years that businesses are catching up. Unbelievably, some businesses haven’t yet left the social media marketing station while others simply don’t know there is a train to board. Continue Reading…