Editor’s note: Lisa L. Snedeker is the Director of Communications and Public Relations at the Wake Forest University School of Law.
DURHAM, N.C. – I had the opportunity to attend last week’s first-ever “Experiential Media Event: Entrepreneurship and Innovation” held in the beautiful Durham Bulls Stadium Complex in my role as the Wake Forest University School of Law’s Communications and Public Relations Director. It was a great event, chock full of tips from national news outlets to social media influencers regarding digital content and how organizations and companies can get their original content shared with larger audiences.
The following five themes came up repeatedly throughout the day’s sessions:
1. It’s all about the content.
The best content tells a good story. But remember bad content is worse than no content at all. If your content is irrelevant, void of expertise, or disconnected from the reader, no one is going to read it or share it, says Sanyin Siang, executive director of the Coach K Center on Leadership and Ethics (COLE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and LinkedIn influencer as well as contributor for The Huffington Post and Forbes, among others. “Writing isn’t easy, but good writing is a way of connecting with your audience.”
2. Make it relevant.
The relevance of your content is key. Struggling with how to define news? “News is whatever people are talking about or would be if they knew about it,” says Rick Willis, news director for Time Warner Cable News. “What makes good TV is a good story, and what makes good stories hasn’t changed since the Bible was written. It’s about people and people you can get emotionally attached to. If the story is about a thing, it’s hard to get emotionally attached to a thing.” Willis adds that successful crisis communication management is getting out in front of the story and being truthful.
3. Engage your audience.
Make sure you know who your audience is and write specifically to speak to them. You also need to write in a way that engages your audience, which means providing value. Associated Press Business Writer Emery Dalesio says he needs to be able to tell his aunt across the dinner table why your story is interesting and valuable for him to write about it.
4. Avoid jargon.
Founder of Experiential Communications and organizer of the event Kevin Anselmo shared the key to avoiding the dangers of using industry jargon in content is to always remember the three “S”s: short, simple and stories. How can you make sure you are avoiding using jargon? Apply the following jargon test: 1. Does your family understand the message you are trying to get across? (Use stories to illustrate). 2. Develop an elevator pitch (again keeping it short). 3. And it bears repeating: Keep it simple (the final “S”). Too much information can dilute or confuse your message.
5. Build relationships.
Now that you have written good, relevant and jargon-less content, you need help getting it out there. Reporters and editors respect well-written, newsworthy content that is timely, relevant and provides value to their listeners/readers/viewers and are more than willing to share interesting stories. Social media is another way to share your content but you must have relationships in place where you share each other’s content because it’s not all about you.
Laura Lee, assistant news director for NPR’s WUNC, says if she reaches out to a PR person and he/she says they can’t help but tell her where she can find what she’s looking for, “that builds trust and I am more willing to call you next time.”
And Lauren Ohnesorge, a reporter for Triangle Business Journal, says providing photos the media has a right to use will also encourage the use of your content.
