Information overload is real.

How prospective customers respond to information has changed and how companies provide information that people need and want must catch up.

Brand Journalism is the key.

Brand Journalism involves telling stories about a company that makes readers want to know more. It means having conversations with them – not preaching at them. Heavy-handed, hard sells no longer work because people tune them out. People simply don’t trust one-way messages handed down from a corner office.

This credibility gap afflicts traditional press releases, corporate websites and company blogs. The Internet and social media tools have reshaped consumer attitudes, creating an appetite for authentic communication. Brand Journalism uses traditional journalism tools that include solid reporting and conversational writing to build brand awareness. Our team at Brand Journalists believes that, in today’s marketplace, attraction trumps promotion. This approach builds trust and distinguishes a company from its competitors.

One of the best descriptions of Brand Journalism comes from David Meerman Scott, an online marketing strategist and book author who writes Web Ink Now, a leading industry blog. “Brand Journalism is when any organization – a B2B company, consumer products company, the military, nonprofits, government agencies, churches, rock bands, solo entrepreneurs – creates valuable information and shares it with the world,” he writes. “Brand Journalism is not a product pitch. It is not an advertorial. It is not an egotistical spewing of gobbledygook-laden corporate drivel.”

It is honest, informative and engaging.

Brand Journalism goes beyond product launches and year-end sales stats to tell stories about a company’s industry, visionaries, customers, suppliers, communities and even its struggles. Of course we treat big news appropriately, but the overall strategy is finding and telling bits of the story – in press releases, websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other new tools always coming online – that clearly show what the company is about and where it is going. This integrated strategy produces results far beyond the norm.

Smart companies are learning that early content models for websites—dry tutorials with bullet points—do not connect with target audiences. They know that a catchy news release still gets traction and creates buzz, often starting on industry blogs and then hopping to television affiliates and newspaper stories. They understand social media is part of the bigger picture but struggle to keep up with it.

We are in the midst of a huge shift in marketing and public relations, and forward-thinking companies realize they need a different approach but don’t know where to start.

We do.

Need a breakthrough? Start a conversation with us:

Thomas Scott

615-483-4923

tscott@showhomes.com