Keynote presentation given at Join the Conversation in May 2009. All businesses are essentially publishers these days. As both a longtime marketing executive and a publisher, I share my experience as a publisher to these new “publishers”. Included in the presentation are topics heretofore thought of as a publisher’s responsibility but have parallels for businesses of all sizes in their marketing. These include the following:
* Editorial planning
* Breaking News
* Syndication
* Content as marketing
* Metrics & Analytics
This shows how a marketer thinking like a publisher can cost effectively communicate with their community.
17. www.altusalliance.com 719 2 nd Avenue, 14 Floor, Seattle Dave Chase [email_address] 206-384-4594 The Art of Revenue Traction
Hinweis der Redaktion
Thank Eric & Amy for bringing me out for my 2 nd trip to Tennessee and first to Memphis Great title for this seminar. Jaffe’s “Join the Conversation” book. Realized I had a unique perspective as both a long-time marketing executive and as a publisher many, many parallels Every company has some communications challenge. Example: MSFT’s image had problems in the tech industry until Robert Scoble became an early corporate blogger. It put a human face on the company that was portrayed as “Darth Vader”. Being more transparent helped people understand Microsoft’s rationale. Even if they didn’t agree, they appreciated being heard. Later in my talk, I’ll highlight how Dell evolved from getting hammered in social media to using it as a very useful tool.
Big brands used to be able to shout over their competition and customers. That’s no longer the case. Who would you rather be? 1)CBS Evening News & Dan Rather vs. bloggers 2)Dell on bloggers as zoo animals (“look but don’t touch”) – Google “Dell Hell” and see what happened and effect on their stock prices.
No media filter for us or our customers Traditional media built on scarcity of assets (e.g., printing press, broadcast licenses); Contemporary media built on abundance - everyone is a publisher ==> quantity is infinite, quality is varied. Trick is getting noticed
Whether you are a commercial or corporate publisher, these are 6 keys in today’s environment. I’ll speak initially to how I look at this as a commercial publisher and then I’ll go into each item speaking to how it is relevant as a corporate publisher. 1. editorial plan = coherence over time 2. ex: growth (a la MSNBC) via breaking news 3. tapping experts who have forgotten more about some topics than our best journalists know 4. we republish our content & also have a 2-way dialogue with our community whether it’s on specific stories or our site direction 5. we track what’s working and what’s not “weed & feed” 6. lots of turmoil in local media – the smart publishers are capitalizing
Create an editorial plan: Drip Irrigation [Visual of drip irrigation schematic] - think about seasonality. Everything from seasons (e.g., winterizing) to sports seasons (e.g., March Madness, College Football). Reservoir of content used in drip irrigation at frequency customers are comfortable with. Helps ensure top-of-mind awareness.
Key to be quick on your feet, be creative and respond to opportunities when they arise.
Breaking News - both good and bad [Visual: Breaking news globe]. Bad: Weather, Flu outbreaks. Good: Local sports team or athlete does well. Though the timing is unpredictable, most events are predictable they’ll happen whether it is weather events, flu outbreaks, team successes (e.g,. Memphis Tigers, Memphis Grizzlies, etc.)
Expertise is currency - content as marketing; [Visual of expertise or simply coins/currency]. Examples: Autozone - Gas mileage and gas prices; Healthcare - Wellness, flu prevention.
More publishers are looking at content coming from their community. NYTime’s About.com. Examiner.com.
Create once, publish many
Metrics & Analytics - subs, profiles, time on site, frequency. Historically marketing has been least accountable areas of most businesses. Example: A company selling software saw a bunch of Bank of America employees on the site. Sales rep tracked down the decision maker to let them know about heavy use of the product by BoA and it resulted in the largest ever sale for the company. I’m seeing marketing teams hiring ace math undergrad majors out of Ivy league schools to optimize their online efforts.
The Great Restructuring. [Visual of logos of Microsoft, GE, HP & Disney]. Coincidentally, 3 of the 4 have a foot in the media business. Cite my "how brands thrived during the Great Depression" article ( http://imediaconnection.com/content/20821.asp ) . Comment on how archaeologist research was basically a pitch for advertising. Avoid the fate of closed media organizations like Rocky Mt News that didn't adapt. IBM – from big iron to largest services firm in world. Great response to challenges they faced. Add more quotes, book references, etc .
IBM – from big iron to largest services firm in world. Great response to challenges they faced. Cisco - European customers, for instance, convinced him that so-called smart-grid technology was a form of routing and switching, something that Cisco already understood and that customers needed. Chambers tells me about the time the CEO of USAA asked him to come down and help the financial-services company figure out what to do with the Internet: "I said, 'Sir, I'm not in that business.' 'If you do it,' came the reply, 'I'll give you all my networks.' And I said, 'Sir, I'm in that business!' “