OUR WEEKLY COMMUNICATIONS WRAP-UP

Before enjoying the weekend, sit back, relax and read up on how social media is reshaping the news, why young people are more open to brands and how you can get a client in the news through your pitches.

Social Media:

About 5,000 digital news sector jobs are now being claimed by the ever-developing digital news world. The importance of social media in storytelling and engaging audiences is being emphasized by many digital companies. Monica Anderson, research analyst at the Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project and Andrea Caumont, social media editor at the Pew Research Center answered five questions about social media and the news. Outlined below are the five questions that were answered. You can read each answer in the link below.

• How do social media sites stack up on news?
• How do social media users participate in news?
• How do social media users discover news?
• What’s the news experience like on Facebook?
• How does social media impact the discussion of news events?

“How social media is reshaping news” (Pew Research Centre)

Consumers:

According to the latest in Havas Worldwide’s Prosumer Reports series, young people are more open and willing towards brands than older generations to let them be a part of their lives. However, the report also outlines that youth values are changing and to reach them brands will have to contribute to what youth feel is important. To read more information about this study and its findings you can take a look at the link below.

• Among the respondents between the ages of 16 and 34, 45% said brands play an essential role in their lives.
• 44% of respondents aged 16 to 34 said brands aren’t taking young people seriously enough.
• Half of young people said their attitudes and personalities have been shaped by the pop culture they consume.
• More than half of respondents (across all age groups) said they could live happily without most of the items they own.

“Young people hot on brands but cold on consumerism: study” (Strategy Magazine)

Pitching:

Daniel Novick, senior manager of content marketing for Golin, used to be an Emmy-award winning television news reporter, anchor and photojournalist. He has a lot of experience with receiving pitches and he shares six steps to not just writing the pitch, but that can get your clients in the news and cut through the commotion.

1. Remember that you are a bull rider – you have less than 8 seconds to get their attention.

2. Get past the preview pane – six of those eight seconds will be spent reading your subject line, this part needs to be creative.

3. Keep it casual – do not use formalities (Mr. or Ms., etc.)

4. Do your homework – take 10 minutes to learn what the journalist writes on and mention their latest article in a sentence or two.

5. Answer the question, “Why should the journalist’s audience care?”

6. Also answer, “What exactly are you offering?” Don’t forget to also have the essentials of who, what, where, when and how.

“6 ways to ensure a journalist will love your pitch” (PR Daily)

Thought of the day:

Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein

Image via connectednomad.com