5 Reasons Why Marketers Need To Think Like Journalists

For those who don’t know, I have a journalism degree. A little over a year ago, I left the journalism rollercoaster ride for the world of marketing and PR. That being said, there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t use something I learned while working in a newsroom.

For some reason, this surprises people. And as someone, who has made this transition, there’s tons of things marketers can learn from journalists and vice versa. Here’s my five reasons why marketers should think like journalists.

1. Seek out the truth
As a journalist, your goal is, well should be, to be objective and seek out the truth. This also should apply to marketers. Up until recently, marketers did everything in the power to spin their product, or message, in the most positive light with complete disregard of the actual truth. With the advent of social media, transparency and telling the truth (for marketers) is rewarded (in a big, soon-to-be very profitable way). Especially since it’s easier than ever for customers to spot the marketing bs and create a PR nightmare through Facebook, Twitter and other social media channels.

Think about it. Don’t you think United Airlines could have avoided a massive crisis if they would have just admitted they made a mistake and reimbursed that country musician. Instead, Dave Carroll wrote a music video, United Breaks Guitar, and it has over 10 million views on Youtube and several spoofs since the incident in 2009 .

2. Tell a story
Storytelling is paramount for both journalists and marketers. So, what’s storytelling? According to dictionary.com, “a story is a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or reader.” It should have a beginning, middle and end. Sound familiar? It should. Next time, you have a big marketing initiative coming up, try using these storytelling principles. You may very well be surprised by how much more organized and creative your efforts turn out to be.

3. Find your authentic voice
Every journalist has their own distinct voice or writing style. It comes naturally for them. They are the only ones, who can tell a story or write an article, the way they can. The same applies for brand marketers. What’s the voice your brand is portraying to the world? Is there a consistent voice? Is your brand’s voice changing? Are you conveying the authentic tone and message that you are hoping to convey? These are questions that marketers should be thinking about every single day.

4. Know your audience
Now, I can tell you that any journalist that you talk to knows a thing or two about their audience. Journos cover things based on their community. They have to be “experts” in their community. Just come to- or better yet participate- in a story pitch meeting. This quickly becomes evident when the news director or assignment editor asks the question, “Who cares?” or “Why should people care about this story” to a reporter. If the reporter can’t come up with a quick, well-reasoned answer, the story idea is dead.

This same thing needs to be enforced with marketers. I’d go so far as to say I wish every new marketing initiative and campaign started with a “story idea meeting.” Sadly, some marketers are so far out of touch with their brand’s audience. I’m going to venture out on a limb and say most lackluster or downright failed campaigns probably could have at least been mitigated had someone asked early on, “Who the heck is going to care about this?” You have to give your brand’s audience a sufficient reason to care, if you want your marketing efforts to be successful. Bottom line.

5. The 3 Second Rule
No, I’m not talking about the rule about eating stuff off the floor. I’m talking about the three second headline test. Most people decide in an average of three seconds whether to stay on a site. If it’s a blog, a headline is the easiest way to draw people in or lose them to other sites. A compelling headline- for a blog post, website title/subtitle or a news article- needs to compel people to read on. Journalists- in particular copy editors- spend hours upon hours perfecting their headline writing skills. It needs to follow what I like to call the 3Cs: Clear, Concise and Compelling. It’s an art form, and something that all journalists and marketers need to practice A LOT.

What else do you think marketers can learn from journalists? Please leave your comments below.

Jessica Malnik works with B2B SaaS and professional service firms to build marketing moat that compound over time using her signature content framework. As both a strategist and executor, she helps clients develop strategic content marketing roadmaps, scale content production, and provide guidance on campaigns and individual pieces.
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