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How to captivate your audience with engaging content
July 12, 2023
Working in a fast-moving, news-related industry means keeping a close eye on current headlines and trends is essential. Things can change fast – the story of the moment is soon yesterday’s news and before you know it, everyone’s attention has turned elsewhere.
For those of us in the PR industry, we see these trends and focuses as news hooks – something that can drive content and introduce relevancy – worthy of grabbing readers’ interest. But with an ever-faster news cycle and, let’s face it, our attention spans increasingly shortening, how can we make sure that content has that extra layer of topicality?
Today’s top news stories are…
By monitoring the latest news, you can be primed and ready to jump on a story that’s pertinent to your industry. This could be within an area you’re particularly passionate about, it could relate to your key messages, or be in an entirely new market you’re looking to break into.
Piggybacking on, or ‘newsjacking’, a news story gives spokespeople the opportunity to put their own spin on a particular conversation. Journalists often seek expert commentary around big stories to provide insight into how the industry is reacting. Being included in such pieces not only gives spokespeople the opportunity to add their opinion and expertise, and cement themselves as a thought leader, but it also gives them content to share across their social channels.
At Pumpkin, we hold a morning news meeting every day. We all have our assigned news titles and everyone scans the past 24 hours of coverage. We come armed to our meetings with the best stories ready to discuss as a team. This is a great way to identify hooks for our clients and proactively pitch reactionary comments or vox-pops when we’ve spotted an appropriate story.
There are stories that can be discussed due to their potential impact on the industry, such as Linda Yaccarino being announced as Twitter’s new CEO, or the debate around Ben & Jerry’s axing its Twitter budget. And then there are the downright bizarre stories that have to be shared to add some light-hearted fun to your content, like the Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg cage fight.
Backing up your claims
Many pieces of content such as op-eds and comments are built around opinion, and supporting this with data validates your opinion and creates credibility. New reports and research are constantly published – often giving us new information to steer our content.
Data about consumers’ spending habits and attitudes show they are in constant flux with the cost-of-living crisis having an even greater impact on our spending than the pandemic. Content needs to reflect this and include the latest data to show that insights are current, relevant and responsive.
For instance, recent IPA research found that 60.9% of consumers plump for the lowest-possible priced products, indicating that it has become increasingly difficult to maintain a loyal customer base. Such research can provide an up-to-date narrative as part of your content.
What are your customers saying?
Speaking to your customers can guide your content strategy. What are the current challenges they’re facing? What are their most common questions? Use this knowledge to write and create content that addresses their needs – and help secure you a platform to demonstrate your expertise and specialisms.
Emma Walkom