From Good To Epic The
Principles Of Journalism Applied to Content Marketing

Plenty of so-called journalistic practices
have infiltrated marketing departments in recent years.

Marketers are employing
editorial calendars

Marketers are employing
style guides

Marketers are employing entire brand
journalism teams and

While brands are pumping out
content more efficiently, they’re not necessarily doing it more effectively.

As described by the world’s
top universities, here’s how marketers can apply the principles of journalism to their own work – lessons from content experts.

Respect
for the
truth

“Journalists must pursue the truth
in a practical sense. This ‘journalistic truth’ is a process that begins with the professional discipline of assembling and verifying facts… Journalists should be as transparent as possible about sources and methods so audiences can make their own assessment of the information.” Principle #1: Source: Pew Research

This is a golden rule
for journalists, and should be for content marketers, as well. Your credibility and your company’s reputation are at stake.

Loyalty
to the
people

“While news organizations answer to
many constituencies, including advertisers and shareholders, the journalists in those organizations must maintain allegiance to citizens and the larger public interest. This commitment to citizens first is the basis of a news organization’s credibility.” Principle #2: Source: Pew Research

Every piece of content you
create as a marketer exists to serve a business goal, but it's guaranteed to fail if it doesn't ultimately serve your audience’s needs in the process.

Discipline for
verification

“This discipline of verification is
what separates journalism from other modes of communication, such as propaganda, fiction or entertainment.” Principle #3: Source: Pew Research

Journalism involves research, interviews, fact
checking and then rechecking. Your content creation should be no different.

Do your research, get your
facts right, include links to your sources, and double check all before you publish. Accuracy is vital.

Independence from
what they cover

“Independence is an underlying requirement
of journalism, a cornerstone of its reliability… While editorialists and commentators are not neutral, the source of their credibility is still their accuracy, intellectual fairness and ability to inform–not their devotion to a certain group or outcome.” Principle #4: Source: Pew Research

The value of a whitepaper,
eBook or other content asset naturally diminishes if it is perceived as nothing more than glorified marketing collateral.

Third-party gated content assets tend
to generate more downloads, and also produce better leads, on average, than company-branded content assets.

Monitor
reality

“Communicators have an obligation to
protect freedom by not demeaning it in frivolous use or exploiting it for commercial gain.” Principle #5: Source: Pew Research

Yes, your ultimate goal is
to sell. But content marketing is a marathon, not a short sprint. Your real goal is to create better customers over the long term.

Provide
a public
forum

“Accuracy and truthfulness require that
as framers of the public discussion we not neglect the points of common ground where problem solving occurs.” Principle #6: Source: Pew Research

Sometimes marketers forget about their
audience and talk to the CEO or to themselves. They end up slipping into the corporate voice. Do that, and watch your audience slip away.

Make the
significant
interesting

“For its own survival, it
must balance what readers know they want with what they cannot anticipate but need. In short, it must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant. The effectiveness of a piece of journalism is measured both by how much a work engages its audience and enlightens it.” Principle #7: Source: Pew Research

Journalists can find a good
story in a sea of information and distill it into something that the reader wants to stay with. Your content should be every bit as riveting.

Keep content
comprehensive
and proportional

“Journalism is a form of
cartography: it creates a map for citizens to navigate society. Inflating events for sensation, neglecting others, stereotyping or being disproportionately negative all make a less reliable map. The map is only an analogy; proportion and comprehensiveness are subjective, yet their elusiveness does not lessen their significance.” Principle #8: Source: Pew Research

Your content should always be
comprehensive at every level. From individual pieces to your overall strategy, you must effectively describe the reality of your industry.

Exercise
personal
conscience

“Each of us must be
willing, if fairness and accuracy require, to voice differences with our colleagues, whether in the newsroom or the executive suite… This stimulates the intellectual diversity necessary to understand and accurately cover an increasingly diverse society. It is this diversity of minds and voices, not just numbers, that matters.” Principle #9: Source: Pew Research

It might seem difficult to
always produce content that is accurate, balanced, interesting, and focused on your audience.

But content marketers must remain
close to these values. In the end, this is the only way to make your audience trust your content, share it, and ultimately become loyal customers.

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