How journalists can market their content

1. Digital content
marketing
How to your promote your work online
BuffyAndrews
By @Buffyandrews

2. Social media
• Perhaps the most important tool in your marketing toolbox
• It’s the new word-of-mouth advertising (Facebook, Twitter,
Digg, review sites, etc.)
• Efficient, allows you to connect with people interested in your
work
• Helps you engage with your audience
BuffyAndrews

3. Who should promote
• Every journalist should promote
his/her work using a variety of social
media channels.
• The responsibility for promotion
begins with you. Not your editor or
anyone else.
• No one cares about your work more
than you. Own it.
BuffyAndrews

4. Why promote
• Bring content to the attention of
those most likely to be interested.
• By building audience, we build
more opportunities to stack digital
dimes.
BuffyAndrews

5. How to promote
• Share links in a conversational way in places where the links
would be relevant, welcome content. These include:
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• Linkedin
• Blogs
• Newsletters
• Websites
• etc.
BuffyAndrews

6. Identify audience
• Identify the audience for
your content (blog post,
story, video, slideshow,
etc.)
• If you want to hook fish,
you have to cast your line
where they swim.
• Use tools like Topsy to find
potential targets
BuffyAndrews

7. Match audience with content
BuffyAndrews
• Read Across America Day
• Seuss FB page
• Kids Craft Corner FB page
• PetSmart
• Petco
• Elementary teachers
• Elementary schools
• Children’s book publishers
• Etc.

8. Match audience with content
• Medical marijuana
• Epilepsy FB pages
• Epilepsy Google groups
• Epilepsy Twitter
accounts
• Etc.
BuffyAndrews

9. Look at metrics
• Measure value of your hard work; adjust if necessary
• Watch what gets the most traffic, most links, most social
shares, most comments
• Social media audience will help spread your content if they
find it worthwhile
• Content that attracts most attention tends to be well-defined
and focused
BuffyAndrews

10. Journos juggle it all
BuffyAndrews

11. Facebook
BuffyAndrews

12. Facebook tips
• Find relevant Facebook pages
• Be conversational; don’t want to come across as a spammer
• Comment within thread that makes sense
• Tag people in comment when appropriate
• Include links, keywords, hashtags in post
• Peak time = 1 to 3 p.m., also sweet spot in evenings
• Higher engagement on weekends than during the week
• When sharing breaking news, make sure to identify it as
“breaking” or “breaking news." Analysis shows increase in
engagement.
BuffyAndrews

13. Facebook
• Found Whitney Musem’s
Facebook page
• Saw post about Jeff Koons’
retrospective
• Embedded link to our
coverage within comment
thread to post
BuffyAndrews

14. Facebook tips
• When you post within comment thread on Facebook, check to
see who shared the post. Those who shared post are potential
targets.
BuffyAndrews

15. Twitter
BuffyAndrews

16. Promote: Twitter
BuffyAndrews
• Research and find relevant Twitter handles to include in tweet

17. Twitter tips
BuffyAndrews
• Research and find relevant hashtags to include in tweet.
• Handwritten posts better than automatic posts.

18. Twitter tips
• If you start tweet with Twitter handle, put period in
front so all your followers and all their followers will
see it. Otherwise, only those you have in common will
see it.
BuffyAndrews

19. Google+
BuffyAndrews

20. Google+ tips
• Research and find relevant
Google+ accounts to tag
• Type “@NAME” to locate
accounts
BuffyAndrews

21. Google+ tips
• Research and find
relevant hashtags to
include
• Type “#SUBJECT”
BuffyAndrews

22. Google+
• Find relevant Google groups to join and share content
BuffyAndrews

23. Google+
BuffyAndrews
• Medical marijuana story
• Helps child with seizures

24. Linkedin
BuffyAndrews

25. Promote: Linkedin
BuffyAndrews

26. Promote: blogs
• Post on appropriate
blogs to draw more
eyeballs
• Find forums, fan and
news sites that
dominate a niche
relevant to your
story
BuffyAndrews

27. Promote: Pinterest
BuffyAndrews
• Image marketing

28. Promote: Pinterest
BuffyAndrews

29. Promote: Pinterest
BuffyAndrews
Sharp-dressed shoes contest

30. Promote: Pinterest
BuffyAndrews

31. Pinterest tips
• Pinterest is more suited to feature and sports stories than
hard news stories (Exception: Most Wanted Board)
• Pin should have strong visual element
• Pin photo from website so it back links to site
• Can use to extend life of stories
ie. Remember Series
• .
BuffyAndrews

32. Promote: Via contests
• Consider contests that get others to promote your content
• Example: Pinterest board contest
• Readers design board (ie. YDR Favorites)
• Images must come from your website(s) and back link
• Drives traffic to your site
BuffyAndrews

33. Pinterest contest board
• Create board to promote contest and share entries
BuffyAndrews

34. Promote: Newsletters
BuffyAndrews

35. Promote: Newsletters
BuffyAndrews

36. Promote: Newsletters
BuffyAndrews

37. Promote: Newsletters
BuffyAndrews

38. Newsletter tips
• Connect with people who want your content
• Decide what type of newsletter (ie. Feed based)
• Keep it short and sweet
• Make sure it has value; not just selling
• Make it personal; build relationships
BuffyAndrews

39. Promote: National websites
• Submit unique, weird or important posts that could go viral to:
Digg
Fark
Reddit
StumbleUpon
Drudge
Boing Boing
Jezebel
etc.
BuffyAndrews

40. Promote: Digg
• Users submit links, which get voted up and down and
commented upon.
• Categories include business, politics, lifestyle, science,
sports entertainment, etc.
• Share national and international news, news of the
weird, celebrity/politico/athlete bad behavior, funny
news, political tidbits, etc.
BuffyAndrews

41. Promote: Fark
• Users submit links to funny, weird content
• Separate categories for photos and videos
• Put news organization as the source
• Has to be good for Fark to pick it up; read what’s on site
BuffyAndrews

42. Promote: Fark
BuffyAndrews

43. Promote: Fark
BuffyAndrews

44. Promote: Reddit
• Users submit links, which get voted up and down and
commented upon.
• Lots of categories
• Submit anything that will have a national/international
resonance
BuffyAndrews

45. Promote: Reddit
BuffyAndrews

46. Promote: StumbleUpon
• Submit pages for users to stumble upon, add up to 5 tags
• Shows readers random pages that have been liked/submitted
in the categories you select
• Share anything interesting, amusing or useful
• Put badge on site so readers can recommend your page
BuffyAndrews

47. Promote: Drudge Report
• Submit weird political
stuff, things that make
government look bad,
crazy crime stuff
• Email
Drudge@drudgereport.com
OR
• Submit via box on
website
BuffyAndrews

48. Promote: Boing Boing
• Submit strange, rare
news items
• Weird crime
• Astonishing video
• Funny
• Technology
BuffyAndrews

49. Promote: Gawker
• Submit technology,
media, entertainment,
and business
BuffyAndrews

50. Promote: Jezebel
• Celebrity, fashion, and sex
• Send tips to tips@jezebel.com
• Include brief description of story ALONG with web
address/URL
BuffyAndrews

51. Promote: Other sites
• Deadspin
• Huffington Post
• The Daily What
• Delicious
• Etc.
BuffyAndrews

52. Promote: YouTube
• Video sharing website
• Think outside the box
ideas: partial recordings
for books, articles etc.
sending listeners to site.
BuffyAndrews

53. Promote: Storify
• Notify people that you quote in your story
• People like knowing their voice has been heard (akin to “When
will the story be published?”)
• They will often share with their followers
• It’s NOT spam. Only people who are following both sender and
recipient will see the notification.
BuffyAndrews

54. Promote: Storify
BuffyAndrews

55. Promote: RebelMouse
BuffyAndrews
• Your social front page
• Connect social networks and hashtags to page
• Populates website with images, videos, headlines etc. from
chosen accounts and hashtags
• Can embed and has social share buttons
• Curate around topic (Gettysburg 150th
, Hurricane Sandy)

56. Promote: NewHive
BuffyAndrews
• Start with blank page
• Create and share web pages, call Expressions
• Combination of multimedia (videos, text boxes, audio clips,
etc.)

57. Promote: NewHive
BuffyAndrews

58. Promote: NewHive
BuffyAndrews

59. Promote: NewHive
BuffyAndrews

60. Promote: Tout
• Record 15-second video clips and share on social sites
• Great reporting tool
• Use to promote content
• Record via desktop web cam or smartphone
BuffyAndrews

61. Promote: Tout
• Promotes what’s on editorial page
BuffyAndrews

62. Promote: Tout
• Build Tout widgets to embed on blog or website
• Populate widget with Touts from users or hashtags that you
choose
BuffyAndrews

63. Promote: Think outside box
• Goodreads
• Forums
BuffyAndrews

64. Promote: Misc
• When your content relates to another community, send a link
to news sites in that community.
Example: Story about a Penn State football player that
appears in Centre Daily Times (State College) could be sent to
news outlets in the guy’s hometown (newspaper, TV, etc.)
• Remember to look for fan sites. There is a fan site out there
for just about any person or topic, where you get your link in
front of those passionate fans.
• Consider guest blogging
• When sharing, write SEO headlines, posts etc.
• Integrate keywords into content in key places (title tags, meta
descriptions, within hyperlinks)
BuffyAndrews

65. Promote: Misc.
• Tablet use and Facebook engagement is strong in the evening
• Tablet use surges 8 p.m. to midnight
• Smartphone traffic fairly constant throughout day
• Computer traffic strongest in morning, peaks at lunch and falls
sharply in evening (Most people on PC at work)
• Bitly found: Twitter best window is 1 to 3 p.m. Monday –
Thursday; Facebook, 1 to 4 p.m. and Tumblr, 7 p.m. to
midnight (mostly younger people use Tumblr)
BuffyAndrews

66. Cross promote
• Cross promote between platforms
• Consider weekly blog “Link Salad”
BuffyAndrews

67. Promoting yourself
• Build a branded web presence
• Flavors.me
• about.me
• Linkedin professional
networking site
BuffyAndrews

68. Layar
• AR or Augmented Reality
(vision based)
• Add digital content to print
media
• Use free smartphone app to
scan print for enhanced
content
• Makes “print world
clickable”
• Use as promotional tool
BuffyAndrews

69. Layar: Promote you
BuffyAndrews

70. Layar
BuffyAndrews

71. Layar: Promote content
• Call to action
• Connects to author via
email, phone, Twitter,
Facebook
• Links author’s blog
• Links related app
• Allows reader to share via
Facebook, email, Twitter
• Also supports QR codes
BuffyAndrews

72. Layar
BuffyAndrews

73. Layar
BuffyAndrews

74. Parting words
• Content finds readers; they often don’t look for it
• Best content provides value to reader
• Use SEO best practices
• Don’t be afraid to try new things and fail
• Be a visionary
BuffyAndrews

75. Follow me
BuffyAndrews
• Buffy’s World:
http://www.yorkblog.com/buffy/
• Buffy’s Write Zone:
http://buffyswritezone.blogspot.com/
• Author website:
www.authorbuffyandrews.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Buffyandrews
• Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/buffy.andrews
• Google+:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/10264693623
6475852585/posts

76. Follow me
• Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/buffyandrews/
• Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/buffyandrews
• Storify: http://storify.com/buffyandrews
• Instagram: buffyandrews
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?
id=40047960
• RebelMouse: https://www.rebelmouse.com/Buffyandrews
• Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7370309-buffy-
andrews
BuffyAndrews

77. Contact
Buffy Andrews
Assistant Managing Editor
Features and Niche Pubs
Social Media Coordinator
York Daily Record
Email: Buffy@ydrcom
Phone: 717-771-2052
BuffyAndrews