Here's how you can smoothly shift from news reporting to content marketing.

The biggest mind shift that needs to take place for a journalist moving into content marketing is finding a company's unique point of view - it's not about "just the facts" it's about weaving in facts with stances and forward thinking - influencing thinking and decision making with emotive, factual, and forward-thinking points of view.

Journalists are excellent at distilling complex stories down into their core, hopefully without changing the facts. Making the switch from journalist to content creator is about leveraging this skill to help organizations deliver concise, engaging communications of many kinds. Specific examples are how to take long, text-based content or reports and translate them into short, interesting-to-watch videos. This involves a deep understanding of: 1) What aspects of the subject are most relatable to the widest audience? How can you focus on these pieces of the subject matter? 2) What aspects will make the best visuals? 3) What additional resources can you bring in to enhance the visual style? Animation? Clever use of stock footage?

Journalists can become great content marketers once they understand the purpose of the story they're telling and who the audience is. It really is a different mindset and you need to remember your audience grows smaller as they choose a path on their marketing journey. Not everyone plans to make a purchase or adopt a service. Plenty of people are simply fact-finding. Ultimately your job is to arm them with info and guide them to a decision. Journalists approach writing a bit differently, but that's OK. Let the marketing coaches coach you and you'll have no trouble transitioning.

Erkennen Sie diesen Wandel und nutzen Sie Ihre Storytelling-F?higkeiten, um markenkonforme Erz?hlungen zu erstellen, die eine emotionale Verbindung zum Publikum aufbauen. To-Do-Liste für effektives Content-Marketing: Zielgruppe definieren: Bestimmen Sie, wer Ihre Inhalte sehen soll und welche Bedürfnisse und Interessen diese Zielgruppe hat. Markenbotschaft entwickeln: Erarbeiten Sie eine klare Botschaft, die mit den Zielen der Marke übereinstimmt. Content-Strategie planen: Erstellen Sie einen detaillierten Plan für die Themen, Formate und Kan?le Ihrer Inhalte. Storytelling anwenden: Entwickeln Sie Geschichten, die emotional ansprechen und das Publikum binden. Erfolg messen: Setzen Sie KPIs fest

The biggest shift in moving from journalism to content marketing is understanding the subtle (or not so subtle) differences messaging. With content marketing, your job is to promote the brand. You are still informing your audience, but now you're doing so with specific results in mind. You are crafting a story that allows the audience to see themselves interacting with the brand in positive ways.

All of the skills you developed in J-school transfer to content marketing. Research will help you develop clearly defined goals. Collaboration and interviewing will give you deeper insight into the product. Writing that is clear and concise, while still being engaging, will build your audience. Editing is crucial for professionalism. Headlines that attract readers and leads that draw them in are just as important in content marketing as they are in journalism. And with much of content marketing occurring on social media, engaging photographs boost your storytelling skills just as they do on a news page. So that journalism degree will serve you well as you transition into other areas!

Many newsrooms and journalists know basic SEO, but you really do need to understand it on a deeper level for content marketing. While I haven't completely transitioned from journalism, I've spent months sharpening my SEO skills and the results have been eye-opening. Knowing SEO for content marketing is like having a new tool in your bag, and it's one you'll use alot.

SEO drives content marketing, so this is an important skill to learn. It's an important tool in helping your target audience find your message. The good news is, your journalism research skills have given you all the tools you need to tackle this. Once you have a deep understanding of SEO, using keywords in your content will become second nature.

Just as your newspaper or magazine sought to create a loyal readership, building an ongoing relationship with your audience is the goal of content marketing. Regardless of what you're promoting, interaction with your audience is imperative. Write and post in ways that allow your audience to feel personally engaged with your content. Ask questions. Request feedback. Writing for content marketing requires a less formal approach to writing. You'll likely still answer the 5Ws and the H in your written pieces, but you can do so through more relaxed and conversational styles.

Data doesn't lie, but it can tell a complex story that requires some unraveling. One metric I like to track is time spent on site. You don't always know how people responded to your content by the number of page views, but if they're spending significant time on your pages you can tell that you've published something engaging.

Analyzing metrics may be intimating for those transitioning from journalism. But learning this skill will help you improve your message over time to better meet the needs of your audience. Each number gives you a snapshot of how your message is resonating with your audience. Click through rates show that initially your are capturing the attention of readers, while time spent on your page shows how engaged they are with the message. It's worth spending time learning what the metrics measure so you can better analyze how your message is resonating with your audience.