Biznology

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One of the more astonishing things about the social media revolution is that companies have had to dramatically loosen the reins on employees speaking publicly about their workplace over just the past few years. Until social media and blogging democratized the creation and distribution of online content, companies relied only on company spokespeople, and it was easy to keep a lid on unofficial communications, because there were few channels. Then user-generated online content was invented, first with blogging apps and then with social media, and in short order, companies large and small had to figure out this radically new landscape. Employees, executives and spokespeople had to figure it out too. Read the remainder of this entry »

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When blogs and social media rose to prominence about a decade ago, pundits were quick to declare that these innovations would likely spell the end of the news media. After all, the word “media” literally refers to being an intermediary (note the word “media” embedded in “intermediary”). If newsmakers could now reach their audiences directly via the Internet, what use would there be for intermediaries to carry the news? The news media, it was believed, would be one of the first industries to be “disintermediated,” a multisyllabic word for “cutting out the middleman.” Read the remainder of this entry »

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Content creation goes by many names, but one of the most intriguing is a relatively new term called “brand journalism.” The phrase itself is a bit of a head-scratcher to begin with. What would brands be doing in the journalism business? In truth, brands have long been integral to the media as the advertisers who paid the lion’s share of the cost of newsgathering. Now, however, they’re disintermediating the news media just like everyone else and going straight to consumers and B2B prospects with news, information and content. Some of that content is advertising, some of it is marketing materials, and some of it could be classified as “brand journalism.” Read the remainder of this entry »

Photo credit: Lawrence OP

As a trained journalist and former newspaper reporter, I’m conditioned to look and listen for details. It’s a skill that obviously comes in handy when you are doing marketing work. But you may have noticed that a lot of marketing and public relations content is oddly free of details. Companies would rather claim to be a “leader,” to offer “comprehensive solutions,” and tout their “fast-growing” status than provide information that would prove (or possibly disprove) these claims. This is not an accident, nor is it an unconscious action by corporate marketers. A tension exists between peoples’ natural curiosity and the desire on the part of businesses to keep details and specifics to themselves.

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Photo credit: MarkGregory007

Many of the other bloggers here on Biznology focus on the technological aspect of digital marketing, i.e., coding the content so it is likely to be found more easily via search. But no matter how much optimization you do, when your visitors arrive, what they will be looking for is not optimized content but interesting, well written, largely non-promotional content that’s worth their time to read and share. That’s what I’m here to blog about. Read the remainder of this entry »