|
|
That feeling of needing to do more with less is not just in your head, communicator.
As a recent survey found, chief communications officers have 30% more functional responsibilities compared with just last year.
Far from busywork, these new demands are critical to the functioning of organizations and their ability to grow. Just think of the role of communications in managing distributed and digital workforces, competing for scarce talent, and navigating constant change.
And yet, when it comes to communications, the focus is often on the message, not the medium. Want proof? Just visit your average corporate newsroom. As an industry, we’ve created information graveyards. And it has to stop.
Every mediocre newsroom is mediocre in its own way. But there are common pressures we see time and time again that reduce its effectiveness.
“Clearing house syndrome”—often at the behest of an internal business leader screaming for “coverage”—means that every sundry announcement or non-news news gets turned into a press release or an article. Combine that with hard-to-search, by-committee-designed sites and complex legal and regulatory requirements, and you often come away with a digital property that leaves stakeholders fumbling for the information they need and guessing at your company’s main priorities.
There are also reputational implications for putting out too much of the wrong content.
As we unpacked, while 75% of companies think their content is at least somewhat successful, as many as 62% of B2B decision-makers ignore the content they encounter. This becomes a problem when you consider that 42% of B2B audiences search company blogs when they’re researching businesses.
So, what exactly is that press release graveyard doing for your business?
At SJR, we’ve long believed in a different type of newsroom. Using our journalistic sensibility, we’ve spent the last decade helping major companies move away from the press release and shape their innovation narratives with pioneering B2B content sites. By now, we’ve built, refreshed, revamped and/or managed more than 100 newsrooms, and we’ve developed deep expertise on how to effectively run and grow them.
Every newsroom we create is tailored to the specific challenges our clients are solving. But we always champion a site architecture that highlights your strategy and values. We take an expansive view of a digital newsroom and slot company news releases into the framework of continuous editorial storytelling. And we ensure that our sites mirror the best digital experiences around the web and are optimized using data insights and benchmarking.
Yes, we’re asking you to tear down your graveyard and build something truly dynamic in its place. Because a fully realized newsroom can set corporate agendas, drive thought leadership, define corporate purpose and build a strong talent brand. And, most importantly, you’ll have a destination worthy of the careful thought and expertise that goes into your communications strategy.
