How Contextualizing Topics can Lead to Press-worthy Content for Your Brand

The writer’s views are solely his or her personal (excluding the unlikely occasion of hypnosis) and will not at all times mirror the views of Moz.

Extra manufacturers than ever are investing and producing high quality journalism to drive their earned media technique. They acknowledge that it’s a helpful channel for concurrently constructing authority whereas discovering and connecting with prospects the place they devour information.

However producing and distributing nice content material isn’t any simple feat.

At Stacker and our brand-partnership mannequin Stacker Studio, our crew has mastered the way to create newsworthy, data-driven tales for our newswire. Since 2017, we’ve positioned hundreds of tales throughout essentially the most authoritative information retailers within the nation, together with MSN, Newsweek, SFGate, and Chicago Tribune.

Sure approaches have yielded a excessive hit fee (i.e., choose up), and considered one of our most profitable ways helps add context to what’s occurring on the planet. (I discussed this as a tactic in my Whiteboard Friday, The way to Make Newsworthy Content material: Half 2.)

Contextualizing subjects, statistics, and occasions serves as a core a part of our content material ideation course of. At this time, I’m going to share our technique so you possibly can create content material that has actual information worth, and that may resonate with newsroom editors.

Make a listing of info and insights

You seemingly have a listing of normal subjects related to your model, however these topic areas are sometimes too normal as a launching level for productive brainstorming. Beginning with “private finance,” for instance, leaves nearly an excessive amount of white house to actually discover and refine story concepts.

As a substitute, it’s higher to hone in on an upcoming occasion, information set, or specific information cycle. What’s newsworthy and particularly occurring that’s aligned together with your normal viewers?

On the time of scripting this, Jack Dorsey lately stepped down as CEO of Twitter. That was breaking information and hardly one thing a model would anticipate to cowl.

However take the occasion and take a look at contextualizing it. Usually, what’s the common tenure of founders earlier than stepping down? What’s the distinction in public market success for founder-led corporations? In regard to Parag Agrawal getting into the CEO function, what’s the share of non-white CEOs in American corporations?

As you possibly can see, if you contextualize, it unlocks promising avenues for artistic storyboarding.

Listed below are some inquiries to information this course of.

Query 1: How does this evaluate to related occasions/statistics?

Comparability is likely one of the simplest methods to contextualize. It’s arduous to know the true affect of a truth when it exists stand alone or in a vacuum.

Let’s think about hurricane season for instance. There’s a ton of tales round present hurricane seasons, whether or not it’s highlighting the worst hurricanes of all time or getting a way of a specific hurricane’s scope of destruction or affect on a neighborhood.

However we determined to match it one other approach. What if we requested readers to contemplate what hurricane seasons had been just like the yr they had been born?

This strategy prompts a private expertise for the readers to match what hurricane seasons are like now in comparison with a extra particular “then” — one which feels significantly related and relatable.

I’ll speak extra about time-based comparisons within the subsequent part, however you may also evaluate:

  • Throughout industries/subjects (How a lot harm do hurricanes do in comparison with tidal waves?)

  • Throughout geographic areas (Which a part of the ocean is accountable for essentially the most harmful hurricanes? The place has essentially the most harm been completed all over the world?)

  • Throughout demographics (Which technology is most terrified of hurricanes?)

There are dozens of potentialities, so permit your self to freely discover all potential angles.

Query 2: What are the implications on an area stage?

In some circumstances, occasions or subjects are mentioned on-line with out the small print of how they’re impacting particular person individuals or communities. We would know what one thing means for a normal viewers, however is there a deeper affect or implication that’s not being explored?

Probably the greatest methods to do that is thru localization, which entails taking a nationwide development and evaluating the way it’s mirrored and/or impacts particular areas. Newspapers do that continually, however manufacturers can do it, too.

For instance, there are numerous tales about local weather change, however taking a localized strategy may help make the phenomenon really feel “nearer to dwelling.”

We put collectively a bit that illustrated important methods local weather change has affected every state (elevated flooding in Arkansas, the Colorado River drying up, sea ranges rising off South Carolina, and many others.). You might take this a step additional and have a look at a specific metropolis or neighborhood when you had supporting information or analysis.

In case you serve specific markets, it’s simple to implement this technique. Orchard, for instance, does an amazing job publishing actual property market development experiences within the areas they serve.

However when you’re a nationwide or worldwide model that doesn’t cater to particular areas, strive utilizing information units which have info for all nations, states, cities, ZIP codes, and many others., and current all of it, permitting readers to establish information factors that matter to them. When readers can filter information or work together together with your content material, it permits them to have a extra personalised studying expertise.

Query 3: What sides of the dialog have we not absolutely heard but?

The easiest way to faucet into the lacking items of a narrative is to contemplate how different subjects/topic areas work together with that story.

I’ll keep on with our local weather change theme. We did the story above on how local weather change has impacted each state, which feels complete in regards to the matter, however there’s extra to dive into.

Exterior of simply pondering how local weather change is impacting geographic areas, we requested ourselves: How is it affecting completely different industries?

Now we take a look at a extra particular angle that’s fascinating — how local weather change has impacted the wine trade.

When you might have a subject and need to uncover less-explored angles, ask your self a set of questions that’s much like the evaluate/distinction mannequin:

  • How does this matter affect completely different areas? (E.g. What’s wine’s cultural function in numerous nations?)

  • How does this matter affect completely different demographics of individuals? (E.g. Who income most from wine making?)

  • How does this matter affect completely different industries? (E.g. How have wineries/vineyards impacted tourism?)

  • How is that this matter impacted by these numerous issues? (E.g. How is the flavour of wine impacted by area? Who buys essentially the most wine, and the place do they dwell?)

This could create a very good brainstorming basis to establish attention-grabbing hooks that aren’t typically explored a few actually frequent matter.

Conclusion

Not solely will taking the strategy of contextualizing differentiate your story from all the pieces else on the market, it would additionally mean you can re-promote it when an analogous occasion happens or the subject developments once more sooner or later. Contextualized content material is usually this good mix of timeliness and evergreen that’s actually troublesome to attain in any other case.

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