Moving from Journalist to Content Strategist

I've had a number of journalists email me recently about making the transition to become a content strategist.

So, I've been sending out notes to a few content marketing / content strategy experts to get some responses to that question. My good friend Simon Kelly from Story Worldwide was nice enough to offer his expertise in this area.  Here are some outtakes from our email discussions. 

Joe - How would you define a content strategist?

Simon - I would define a content strategist as someone who marries the best practices of investigative journalism, magazine editorial planning, information architecture and marketing planning.

Joe - Sounds like a tough task.  How would this be executed?

Simon - The content strategist needs to pay closer attention to story-listening (the investigative peeling away of layers to unearth the brand truth and take a narrative, as opposed to data-driven, approach to consumer, brand and category insights) to define a brand’s story platform. This platform informs the brand’s authority to publish content and enables the content strategist to create a content plan that supports both the marketing objectives as well as the audience information needs.

Content strategists that are trained in journalism know that a content plan needs to engage an audience over time and build trust through a consistently authentic voice that delivers useful and entertaining experiences each time (aka publishing), as opposed to most branded web-site launches that may start off with a bang but soon fizzle over time due to lack of a long-term content plan.

Joe - What do journalists need to do to make the transition to becoming a content strategist?

Simon - In order for journalists to successfully make the transition to becoming content strategists they have to add another dimension to their editorial mind/skill set - that of the brand: its story, its needs, its filter and voice, then go about it following familiar editorial steps.

*********

I truly believe that we are seeing an amazing opportunity for journalists, but not in the jobs and roles that made journalism famous. Brands are the ones that need the help of journalists now more than ever. Why? Because in order to survive as a business today, you have to learn how to tell a story that is relevant to your customers. Journalists can do that.

Simon's advice is a great start for those who are looking for the next great opportunity.

Subscribe  -  Junta42  -  Find Content Vendors  -  Get the Book

Comments

[Megan Tsai, Red Wagon Writing]

As a former TV journalist turned copywriter and consultant specializing in content creation, I finally know what to call myself. Thanks for the great insight and for recognizing the unique skill set former journalists bring to content marketing.

[Dave Pool]

Simon Kelly should also appreciate that a journalist turned content strategist (buzzword alert!) or whatever should have learned somewhere along the line the difference between "its" and "it's"

[Joe Pulizzi]

@ Megan...wonderful news.

@ Dave...that's my fault. Lack of proofreading. That's what I get for blogging when I'm in sunny Florida. Thanks for the heads up.

[Scott Frangos]

Hi Joe -

Great post. Years ago, I began as a Journalist and my blog writing tool was a Smith Corona manual typewriter. Then.... whoosh, and fast forward, blowing past those who said "I'll never use a computer", "the computer cannot do typesetting", "the computer cannot be used to do art", and (sorry photogs), "digital will never replace film".

This is just another way of saying that a number of skills have been encapsulated into communications work. You still need some specialists (designers are not usually good copy writers and vice versa), but as you laid out -- some skill sets continue to converge. The trick is to know the difference. And yes, we can use more than 10 percent of our brain capacity.

[Julie Espinosa]

I think that many journalists are leery of swearing allegiance to corporations, and may not feel comfortable aligning with a brand for its communications needs. The dilemma may be informed by the traditional split between PR and journalism. But there's more to the practice of content strategy than merely shifting your allegiance. It's truly about blending the considerations of reporter, editor AND publisher, and getting all three aspects together is no easy task.

But for those of us attempting it, we're finding more opportunities "to engage an audience over time and build trust through a consistently authentic voice that delivers useful and entertaining experiences each time." And that's a potentially very satisfying challenge!

[simon kelly]

Thanks for your comment Julie. I think the dawning realization is that in this new post-advertising age the brand is the publisher. For sure, many journalists are leery of this shift, but as some people have realized, its not journalism that needs fixing, but advertising. The new advertising model is a collaboration between publisher (brand), editor and audience.

[Rachel Lovinger]

I feel the need to point out that Content Marketing is not synonymous with Content Strategy. Yes, Content Strategy is concerned with branding, business needs, and storytelling, but there are many aspects of the practice that have nothing to do with marketing or messaging. For example, in my work, I'm very focused on the "data-driven" aspects of content and user experience that, for some reason, Simon Kelly claims Content Strategists don't have to think about.

[Joe Pulizzi]

Thanks Rachel...I agree with you that content marketing and content strategy are two different things. Probably better to say that content marketing is a subset of content strategy. Especially for online, content strategy employs a number of UX/IA issues that have not normally been a part of the content marketing process.

Perhaps Simon has a take on this as well?

[SEO Web Design]

good job