Writing For The Web!! 7 Ways To Keep Your Audience Engaged!!

For journalists, writing and producing for broadcast or print can come somewhat naturally. Writing for the web however, is a whole new game. The online audience is constantly growing and more people are engaging in the online world nowadays, leading journalists to analyze these new trends and formulate a set of rules and guidelines to follow in order to keep their audience engaged in the content displayed on the web. Studies have shown that most internet users are consuming content while between tasks at work, rather than during their leisure time. In knowing this, it becomes extremely important to engage your reader immediately to guarantee they get the satisfaction they were looking for while visiting your site in a very short amount of time. I came up with the following 7 techniques that should be used by journalists to support audience engagement.

1. Journalists now need to make sure that they grab the reader’s attention with the first sentence on content. The opening of your story has to be much like a good broadcast lead, a good online lead jumps out at users and makes them want to read more. Using headlines like “How To” or “Why” always seem to be effective at grabbing attention online, especially when your directly address the reader. Use comments like “Check our current list for your hometown” to grab a reader’s attention and keep them involved in your site.    

      

2. Journalists need to make sure that they use present or future tense in the opening line, whenever possible. This technique will tell readers what’s happening right now. It’s important in order to engage an audience and secure the chances of them revisiting the site to update information as it changes, stay on top of a story and add/remove references as they become outdated or available. When doing this, make sure you promise your audience information will be updated as it is made available to the public. Exclusivity is also something that always grabs attention and keeps audiences engaged. Add additional unique content to your site that can’t be found anywhere else and make sure your readers are aware of that.

3. Journalists need to be relevant when it comes to online journalism. Make sure that you’re explaining why the story is relevant to the general audience. After the lead sentence it’s important to explain why the story matters, the goal here is to capitalize on the webs immediacy.  If your content isn’t relevant the reader refuses to be engaged and will not revisit your site.

4. Make sure the text is concise and conversational. To keep readers engaged journalists need to use short, declarative sentences and avoid clauses and passive writing. Readers want to get to the content quickly and conversational writing makes the content easier to absorb.

5. Journalists need to remember to write for the “scanners”.  Online readers skim content and look for information that grabs their attention. Make sure your giving readers lots of points of entry in your articles; places to jump in and start reading easily. This allows the reader to be engaged in part of the story or article that interest him/her instead of being automatically turned away by long continuous extensive reading. By using sub-headlines, bullets and frequent paragraph breaks, readers are easily able to find what interests them.

6. Most importantly, you need to keep your online site interactive. Ask questions, respond to comments and share your opinion. You should give your readers the option to customize your site. By allowing the option to enter or select information relevant to what their interested in and receive customized responses based off of that information, you’re increasing their interest to be engaged and constantly involved in your site.

7. Along with keeping audiences engaged on modern sites, it’s also important to make sure your directing people to your site. You can’t engage an audience if they can’t find your site. In order to make sure users are going to read your content instead of someone else’s you have to do everything you can to increase your search engine optimization (SEO). Think about the words someone would be using if they were searching for a story on your site, then put those words in your headlines, sub-headlines or in the first sentence of the story. In doing this, people will be more likely to engage in your story and/or site. 

Dont Underestimate The Power of Social Media Marketing

I believe that the majority of people today underestimate the power of Social Media and how it can be a successful tool in marketing yourself and/or your business. Social Media allows businesses to target their audience in a fun, easy going and casual but engaging type of atmosphere. More businesses should take advantage of this innovative opportunity in order to better market themselves and connect with their consumers on another level. Using Social Media to market yourself or your business can be tricky. Make sure you understand that every “friend” “like” and “follow” are just simply clicks of the mouse for most online users. Just because someone follows you doesn’t mean they automatically become fan or consumer of your online presence. If you want real attention fight for it, ensure your audience that you want to be heard; there are many effective ways to use social media in order to do this successfully.

Social networks were designed to make it easy and fun for people to interact. This means that you should use your social media platforms to build important relationships with your consumers that will help market your business. You should constantly be looking for other social media sites similar to yours who have a large following who are a good fit for your product or services. Usually sites like this come from bloggers, authors, vloggers or columnists in the mainstream media who like to share engaging, creative and favored content with their followers. This allows your smaller business to gain notoriety in the online world by simply “making friends” and sharing content.

Blogging is becoming a growing trend day after day allowing bloggers to have a very big impact in the online advertising world. People are starting to get their news, information, resources and references from the web and most people happen to stumble upon blogs when searching for specific information. One thing bloggers are using to their advantage that can also help to market your company is paid advertising, product placement and advertorials. 72% of bloggers are actually getting paid by companies for advertising space on their site, that’s a pretty high percentage. Also put into consideration that more people today trust references and referrals from personalized online blogs then traditional advertising (print, radio and broadcast) because it gives them a secure sense of personal outreach and trust in the advertising posted on your site. Put two and two together and you have the perfect source for marketing your business/company/website in this type of social media space. 

Synchronizing your online content and activity across all social media platforms is also a great way to market your business quickly and effectively. When doing this you are automatically able to reach multiple platforms by simply posting the content on one channel (twitter, facebook, instagram, pinterest etc.)

You should also be aware of your timing when using social media. For instance, if you’re main line of communication and engagement with your audience is Twitter, it would be useful to know that “tweeting primetime” is during the middle of the work day. Don’t waste your time in posting important information or content during any other hours, be pro-active and reach the maximum amount of people possible. If you’re a reporter for the morning news at your local station and post videos to twitter mostly in the am, make sure you re-tweet those stories during primetime so that more people are able to engage in your news stories and coverage.

Viral videos are another way that have a big impact on the social media world and can be effective in marketing your business. Creating a video at home and allowing it to go viral using social media placement online involves little time commitment and zero involvement of studio space, talent or spokespeople; making each hit on the video an increase in possible revenue since you spent close to nothing on advertising the product.  Posting a video on any social media platform, especially YouTube gives it a pretty good chance in going viral due to the hundreds of thousands of online users constantly sharing and delivering content across multiple platforms. Viral videos extend the life of your marketing abilities and allow your product or business to be exposed to not only one targeted audience but many different types of people that you probably wouldn’t have considered targeting with traditional media. 

New Media Properties: How they are causing sports entities to shift the way they do business

Newer media properties and technologies, such as digital, broadband and wireless mobile devices differ than traditional media properties in that athletes, teams, leagues and owners have very limited control over the content that is easily made available to the general public. Since these new technologies have taken an increasingly prominent place in the sports media landscape, it’s become a major issue for sports entities and it is causing them to shift the way that they traditionally do business.

Sports entities take notice of these rapid changes and try to evolve their business models around these new platforms. The NFL ended its association with Sprint, for instance, and signed an exclusive 4 year agreement with Verizon (valued at $720 million), starting with the 2010 season. This deal gives fans access to live footage of every game, something previously available only through a satellite package. The agreement also allows live streaming of Sunday Night Football and Thursday Night Football and includes game highlights, on demand video analysis and love radio broadcasts of every regular season and playoff game etc. Other leagues and Auto Racing have made their way into the wireless device world as well and have closed exclusive cellular deals. Sprint closed a deal with NASCAR and users are now able to access live race audio, real-time data, breaking news and information, video on demand and instant alerts about race results, qualifying, season stats etc.

All of these technological advances sound like they are benefiting the fans but what about the sports business itself. Increasing popularity of these types of technology platforms will without a doubt generate more revenue-enhancing deals in the sports industry for the next 10 or so years to come. This will also have a major effect in the way that sports information is dispersed, released and streamed to the general public. Like Michael Champagne mentions in the video, these new media technologies will forever change and enhance the way that sports fans view and interact with their sports. Bright House Networks realizes that without being physically connected to the internet, TV or computer; mobile users may become the primary audience in the next generation. To move towards this more than likely trend, researchers and developers are playing around with some new cool devices that take advantage of this concept. They are developing ideas around rental devices (wireless) that gives the user the ability to listen to live sporting events at home with multiple camera angles (player views, audience view, bird eye views) and the ability to socially interact with other networks using platforms like twitter and facebook.

There is, however, one major issue with the new shift in technology and the way future sports fans digest their content and it’s with media and sponsorship rights. When fans at home are now able to capture images of individuals in the stands and other advertising material an issue arises of who owns the rights to these images. Public domain rights are going to be a hard thing to hash out with teams, stadiums, advertisers, media rights holders and fans all in the same territory. The use of wireless devices like iPad’s and mobile phones have created complex sponsorship and media rights issues that could affect and are affecting hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue that leagues, sponsors and rights holders need to work though. One major question around this issue is; is a tablet just another TV in the home? And if so should it cost any more for your cable provider to stream programming to it? There is currently a major struggle going on between distributors and content owners because everyone wants to get directly to the viewer. It comes as no surprise to me that these issues are arising with the world of broadband, the internet, social networking and wireless devices being so vast and ultimately uncontrollable. For big sports properties and everyone else in between, the future holds a major headache to construct an economic deal around digital and mobile rights that make sense for everyone in the end. 

Importance of Building A Personal Brand

Brands are more important today then they have been in the past. I think that the main reason for this is the immense leap our generation has taken into the digital and online world. Instant brand recognition is so important in the online world. A brand allows you to connect with your customers, it allows your customers to identify your services/products and its one of the best ways to advertise yourself. Having a strong brand in an over populated platform will ensure that you and your business will stand out.

There are many reasons for someone to build a personal brand, its something that you will more than likely need to do as a job seeker, as a marketing professional (in any industry) and as a sports business professional. If you’re just starting out in your industry or even if you’re still a student, don’t worry! Get a head start on your brand now! Chances are your brand will evolve with your career overtime, like most major brands do. As you gain experience as a professional, your brand should reflect that. Your personal brand is all about who you are and who you want to be known for. Here are a few tips on how to get started on your personal brand.

1. When you first start to develop your brand, think about what your motto or mission statement should be. This is a good place to start when trying to decide exactly how you want your audience to view your brand. Don’t overthink this, your motto/mission statement should stay short, simple and too the point. Think about brands that you can relate too and what they stand for. For example, American Airlines has “Fly the American way”, The Army has “Be the best you can be” and Burger King “Have it your way”.

2. A good way to get your creative juices flowing is to start a list of words you feel best describes you. Think broadly about your personality and how it affects the experience someone will have with your brand/service or product. If you don’t have a brand/service or product yet, think about the way you affect your friends, family and co-workers. Are you funny, serious, organized, optimistic, full of energy? All of these things can help you to gather a few words that best describe these features of your personality.

3. You should also keep in mind what you would like your brand to be, not ONLY what it will reflect. Ask yourself what field or industry you want to be in, what type of work you will be doing and who your potential target audience will be.

With the surge of social media nowadays you not only have the ability to create your own brand online but you also have the ability to manage and shape your brand into your personal vision as well. You want to be in control of how others see you and social media gives you the tools you need in order to become your own PR professional. Once you’ve developed your brand get it acquainted with as many social media accounts as possible. Having separate personal and professional social media accounts can really pay off. Make sure you start out on the major platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

If you constantly put out valuable content and brand it with your name, you should have no problem creating buzz and interest in the services and products you have to offer. 

Maximize Your Brand Presence Using Twitter's New Profile Features

I’m not sure if everyone’s noticed, but Twitter has rolled out a new profile/header layout. One of these changes includes a new profile header image. This new feature reminds me of Facebook’s “Cover Photo”. This image is strategically placed to catch the viewer’s eye almost instantly and functions as a “welcome page” of sorts. Honestly, it’s a slight change of focus and many of you thinking from a “personal” and “non-professional” stance might just look at this new “renovation” as a mere aesthetic change, but I need to express the importance and improvements this feature can have on your brand. From a business professional point of view, so much can be leveraged with this subtle shift in visuals.

I’ve spent a lot of time lately learning how to utilize social media platforms from a brand or business point of view… and it’s really interesting to uncover what these social media tools can really do for a business. In my opinion, telling a story through visually stimulating content keeps an audience engaged and in today’s overpopulated digital world it’s critical to engage your audience. With this functionality, Twitter is giving users the ability to tell a more visually appealing story with ease and that’s impressive.

(If you haven’t already activated this new layout I’ll include directions below, it’s really easy! Don’t worry, everyone’s able to active this feature!)

Let’s first take a look at the new header image (you can see mine above). This new layout serves as a visually exciting backdrop for you to tell people more about your business. You are able to include your “existing” profile image, name, twitter name (@), mini bio, location and web address. Take the opportunity to think about how you want to portray your business. The options are literally endless… but be sure to choose an image that will tell the story of your brand. Here are some suggestions!  

SIDE NOTE: Twitter automatically applies slight gradient shading to the bottom of your image and the text/font AUTOMATICALLY appears white… you CANNOT change these features. Make sure you keep this in mind when choosing your image. I would even suggest experimenting with 2 or 3 different options; swap them out and see what one works best.

Okay enough with the rambling, here are a few ways you can take advantage of the new twitter features and truly enhance the visual presence of your existing profile.

- Show off your services or products, employees, customers interacting with your products, your business location (street view/office view) etc. Invite people to connect with your business through what you do, who you employee and what you stand for. This gives people the ability to visually see what your business does without having to take the time to read the mini bio. This allows them to instantly connect with your business. For instance, if you’re a yoga instructor, choose a photo of one of your favorite poses, or of your students participating in class.

- If you’re not a great decision maker and are stuck between a few different photos, that’s okay too! Take the time to create a meaningful collage of these images. Make sure you keep in mind the story you want to tell… you should always focus on supporting your business message. Don’t overdo it though; you don’t want your audience to get lost in a sea of photos. Visually engage your audience, don’t disengage them!

- Choose a photo that inspires your community or your surrounding communities. If you have an online presence/business then think about choosing a photo that shows what you’re passionate about or what inspires people within your industry. When you connect with a community brand loyalty is the outcome. Communities will support a business they feel cares about them. If you support an organization, charity, or national awareness campaign use an image that establishes that. You will be pleasantly surprised to see an increase in engagement from not only others within your industry, but with others who are also passionate about giving back to the same organizations.

- Struggling to find a photo you feel confidently conveys the right message for your business?? Try using a custom graphic or logo that’s associated with your business/brand. If you don’t already have a logo it’s really easy to obtain one! They have FREE websites like www.logomaker.com that can assist you in creating a customized logo quickly and easily. You can purchase or use software on your pc or mac like Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Don’t worry about being too fancy, keep your logo and graphics simple and easily recognizable; you don’t want your fans to get lost in the image.

As promised here are the steps you can take to maximize your Twitter profile: 

Step 1: Find the Gear Icon (top right hand side of your Home screen). In the drop down menu, click on Settings.

Step 2: Click on the Design menu

Step 3: Scroll down until you find the “Customize your own” section.

 Step 4: Click on Change Header

Step 5: Click on Choose Existing Image and upload your photo. You should see a yellow confirmation banner on the top of your screen. Click on “Me” (top left part of the screen) to view your profile with the new header image!

***KEEP YOUR MOBILE PROFILE IN MIND AS WELL. THE MOBILE APPLICATION MIGHT NOT ALIGN WITH HOW YOUR PC DISPLAYS YOUR NEW IMAGE. CHECK YOUR NEW HEADER IMAGE ON ALL WIRELESS DEVICES. YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR BRAND STAYS CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL PLATFORMS.