American University graduate student Michael Flynn, also a reporter at NBC 4, asked Bell how journalists working for news organizations could make independent names for themselves, saying some employers place limits on what journalists can do.
Professor Amy Eisman said in the world of objectivity that journalism is based upon, displaying your opinion is where things could become challenging.
Bell suggested writing about passions that journalists aren't addressing during the day, but Eisman said you also can't speak out about things that might conflict with your job. The issue sparked debate among students, many of whom argued that when you walk out your door, you are your company.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Branding yourself
There are a lot of lessons to be learned between marketing and journalism, Bell said.
He doesn't understand why more journalists aren't jumping at the chance to build their own brand. One student asked if Bell thought more journalists would jump at creating their own brands with the layoffs occurring across the country.
Bell said he believes if journalist expect to make a living out of this business in the future, he thinks creating your own brand will be a necessity.
He doesn't understand why more journalists aren't jumping at the chance to build their own brand. One student asked if Bell thought more journalists would jump at creating their own brands with the layoffs occurring across the country.
Bell said he believes if journalist expect to make a living out of this business in the future, he thinks creating your own brand will be a necessity.
Measuring success
KPI, or key performance indicators, is important, Bell said. Know how you're going to measure success for your company.
"The bottom line is...that you are of course working in a highly measurable environment," he said.
Ogilvy measures by search reach, search visibility, conversion and engagement, Bell said.
Engagement is "the new thing," he said. It looks at word of mouth and site activity.
(Side note: He doesn't want to draw a chart on the blackboard. It involves chalk. Chalk is "weird.")
"The bottom line is...that you are of course working in a highly measurable environment," he said.
Ogilvy measures by search reach, search visibility, conversion and engagement, Bell said.
Engagement is "the new thing," he said. It looks at word of mouth and site activity.
(Side note: He doesn't want to draw a chart on the blackboard. It involves chalk. Chalk is "weird.")
Five simple rules
Bell discussed marketing blogger Rohit Bhargava's rules of social media optimization:
1. Increase your linkability.
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy.
3. Reward inbound links.
4. Help your content travel.
5. Encourage the mashup. (Don't be afraid for people to take your content.)
1. Increase your linkability.
2. Make tagging and bookmarking easy.
3. Reward inbound links.
4. Help your content travel.
5. Encourage the mashup. (Don't be afraid for people to take your content.)
Creating your digital footprint
Don't drive people to one experience, drive them to many.
Bell's social graph is vast. He's got his blogs (his "homebase"), his Twitter account (a "staple" of the industry) and his Facebook page (good "fuel" for the social graph). He syndicates content to BusinessWeek - which aggregates content - and womma. He creates lists on Amazon.com, like reading for creative directors.
"If you are building yourself as a personal brand, doing this self-consciously is probably a good thing to do," Bell said.
Bell's social graph is vast. He's got his blogs (his "homebase"), his Twitter account (a "staple" of the industry) and his Facebook page (good "fuel" for the social graph). He syndicates content to BusinessWeek - which aggregates content - and womma. He creates lists on Amazon.com, like reading for creative directors.
"If you are building yourself as a personal brand, doing this self-consciously is probably a good thing to do," Bell said.
Focusing on SEO
Ogilvy worked with Select Comfort, which makes sleep number beds, to optimize its site's search engine optimization.
It needed more third-party corroboration. People were talking about the product, but they weren't very influential.
So Ogilvy aggregated mentions of the bed, pulling them in to beds.com, which allowed people to talk about their experience with the bed. It reached out to people with issues to address their problems, and allowed people with interesting stories ("This bed saved my marriage!") to post their anecdotes.
Eventually, the site became much higher ranked on Google and other search engines, Bell said.
It needed more third-party corroboration. People were talking about the product, but they weren't very influential.
So Ogilvy aggregated mentions of the bed, pulling them in to beds.com, which allowed people to talk about their experience with the bed. It reached out to people with issues to address their problems, and allowed people with interesting stories ("This bed saved my marriage!") to post their anecdotes.
Eventually, the site became much higher ranked on Google and other search engines, Bell said.
An example of outreach
Ogilvy assisted Lenovo, which sells computer products, in helping athletes tell their stories leading up to the Olympics, Bell said.
"It became a really interesting way to get involved in the story...," he said, adding it was also a way for Lenovo to have a global reach.
"It became a really interesting way to get involved in the story...," he said, adding it was also a way for Lenovo to have a global reach.
Under the influence
Ogilvy's Bell told students they need to understand who's influential.
He presented a model for a bank that diagramed all the moments where people are thinking about money: new cars, babies, retirement. Within those categories, he identified bloggers who discussed those issues.
"This becomes important to us," he said, adding journalists need to realize many people who are not journalists are influential.
He presented a model for a bank that diagramed all the moments where people are thinking about money: new cars, babies, retirement. Within those categories, he identified bloggers who discussed those issues.
"This becomes important to us," he said, adding journalists need to realize many people who are not journalists are influential.
Taking the time to listen
Bell says journalists can learn from digital marketers. Listening, he says - to what's on blogs, message boards and Twitter, for instance - can have big rewards. There are tools that can help us do that.
Ogilvy launched a blog for HHS in the last year that was part of a much larger program to get us all prepared for pandemic flu. It brought in leaders from different parts of the community to help them understand how they can lead their publics to get prepared.
In the process, Bell said he discovered Flubies and Flublogia, non-professionals who had been talking about pandemic flu and preparedness. They were invited to be part of the larger discussion.
What that did was "allow the conversation to go forward and not be torpedoed by a fringe element," he said.
Ogilvy launched a blog for HHS in the last year that was part of a much larger program to get us all prepared for pandemic flu. It brought in leaders from different parts of the community to help them understand how they can lead their publics to get prepared.
In the process, Bell said he discovered Flubies and Flublogia, non-professionals who had been talking about pandemic flu and preparedness. They were invited to be part of the larger discussion.
What that did was "allow the conversation to go forward and not be torpedoed by a fringe element," he said.
Ogilvy executive VP dishes with American University graduates
John Bell, executive vice president/creative director of Ogilvy in Washington, D.C., a marketing, advertising and public relations agency with an international reach, spoke today to graduate students at American University about marketing and branding themselves.
Bell runs 360 Digital Influence, a global word of mouth marketing discipline using social media and digital marketing. He says what he's really good at is figuring out who's influential right now--both people and communities. Bottom line is anyone can be.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Opinion and perspective
There is reported analysis in The Root, but even that often comes with a first-person perspective. But there are many reporters with traditional reporting jobs that write for it.
There are other people, like Jack White, who writes only opinion. White most recently wrote "A Thank You to White Voters."
Clemetson said if Obama had won, and won handily, White was going to have to reconsider his core beliefs about white America.
"This piece takes that on," she said.
When people come to a site like The Root, "they want honest talk about the things they're really feeling," she said. "...One of the things we say is we debate, we don't rant."
There are other people, like Jack White, who writes only opinion. White most recently wrote "A Thank You to White Voters."
Clemetson said if Obama had won, and won handily, White was going to have to reconsider his core beliefs about white America.
"This piece takes that on," she said.
When people come to a site like The Root, "they want honest talk about the things they're really feeling," she said. "...One of the things we say is we debate, we don't rant."
Reaching across audiences
Slate.com picks up stories regularly, as does MSN.com, she said. When pieces are picked up on other sites and the audience changes, responses to stories will vary.
People have many different opinions about stories, but Clemetson said she just believes those reponses help to foster dialogue. There haven't been any real instances of true abuse, she said.
"It would be out of sync with the Web to turn the comments off," she said.
People have many different opinions about stories, but Clemetson said she just believes those reponses help to foster dialogue. There haven't been any real instances of true abuse, she said.
"It would be out of sync with the Web to turn the comments off," she said.
Writers and stories
The Root's staff is small and its background is varied. It is an all-freelance publication. It has regular writers who write almost every week.
"That's its own challenge, dealing with all freelance pieces," she said, adding you might know what you want to do, but don't have someone to call up quickly and ask to do something if the story needs to be done right away.
But it's better to do fewer things and do them well and make them interesting than do everything, Clemetson said.
"That's its own challenge, dealing with all freelance pieces," she said, adding you might know what you want to do, but don't have someone to call up quickly and ask to do something if the story needs to be done right away.
But it's better to do fewer things and do them well and make them interesting than do everything, Clemetson said.
The write stuff
Publications from around the world have asked to reprint "In Our Lifetime" by Henry Louis Gates Jr. It is one of the many serious essays published by The Root that has generated household discussion.
But The Root also has several lighter pieces. "5 Obama Hair Don'ts," by The Root staff, ran the Friday after the election, Clemetson said.
But The Root also has several lighter pieces. "5 Obama Hair Don'ts," by The Root staff, ran the Friday after the election, Clemetson said.
The Root editor plants seeds in the minds of AU grad students
Lynette Clemetson, managing editor of The Root.com, a daily online magazine published by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive that provides commentary and analysis on news through a variety of black perspectives, spoke with American University professor Amy Eisman's Comm 535 class Saturday afternoon about her work and the recent election of Barack Obama.
Clemetson left the New York Times to start The Root at the end of October 2007. The idea for the site was a cool idea, she said, and almost immediately after it launched, it became "an incredible idea."
As a niche publication, she said, she is able to decide what the publication will and will not do. For instance, the magazine does not focus on sports, but on politics and news.
The publication models on the Web lead to entertainment, she said, because "that's what gets clicks. And everything is about clicks."
"But really, it has been good for us," she said, adding readers have asked for more harder news items, like politics and health.
Clemetson left the New York Times to start The Root at the end of October 2007. The idea for the site was a cool idea, she said, and almost immediately after it launched, it became "an incredible idea."
As a niche publication, she said, she is able to decide what the publication will and will not do. For instance, the magazine does not focus on sports, but on politics and news.
The publication models on the Web lead to entertainment, she said, because "that's what gets clicks. And everything is about clicks."
"But really, it has been good for us," she said, adding readers have asked for more harder news items, like politics and health.
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