Five things journalists can learn from PR

Julian Reichelt, Chairman of the BILD Editorial Board, announced in his keynote speech at this year's Communications Congress in Germany, that the rise of social media in particular is turning journalists and communicators into competitors. He sees the merging of PR and press articles in particular as a threat to journalistic work. He therefore emphasizes the different processes and tasks that separate the two professions. Nevertheless, he is aware that both have their justification - as long as the authors and objectives of the articles remain recognizable. mynewsdesk would like to use this keynote as a starting point for a discussion and ask ourselves the question: What can both areas learn from each other, despite their different objectives? Countless articles explain what PR professionals can learn from journalists. We turn the tables: what skills can journalists learn from corporate communicators - and what advantages do they bring with them? According to a recent study by Mynewsdesk, journalists are being asked to do more and more, so that the quality of media reporting often suffers as a result - as the study participants admit. High-quality articles cannot be written every minute. Trust in the media has declined in recent years due to various factors, such as fake news, meaning that media companies have to work on maintaining their credibility. In order to restore this and highlight their own content, they need good public relations. And this is something you learn from PR professionals. The benefits of self-promotion are not only useful for freelance journalists: in an employment relationship, you give your media house a face and thus contribute to branding, which has the pleasant side effect of making you a difficult employee for your employer to replace.but how does self-promotion work? Many journalists are still far too reluctant to present themselves and their achievements and put them in the spotlight. In an age of information overload, however, this is precisely one reason why articles with very good content go under. Mynewsdesk gives journalists a few suggestions that they can integrate into their everyday work to help their articles attract more attention:1. clearly emphasize your main topics and your positionBe clear about which specialist areas and which key topics you would like to establish yourself in. Whether you have been researching this area for a long time and have published articles on it, or whether you have to cover several specialist areas due to your current job situation - you know best what you find particularly appealing and what you would like to spend more time on. Use this intrinsic motivation and communicate this on your social media platforms, at your next networking event or on your website (yes, website! More on that later). Share insights and news on the topics to establish yourself and your opinion. This will develop an association between you and the preferred topic area, which may lead to unexpected stories.2. find the right channelsYou don't have to have a profile on every social platform. Analyze your target group - who would you like to reach, which contacts would you like to make? Think a little laterally. Is your specialist area also of interest to other readers that you haven't yet considered? Perhaps the topic is also relevant for colleagues from similar industries, which can lead to a lively exchange of ideas, for example: you write articles about fitness, your target group is primarily recreational athletes. You can use B2C portals such as Facebook or Pinterest to exchange ideas and feedback for your articles. However, personal coaches are also interested in the latest news from the industry: share this on your Xing account, for example, and network with colleagues here. Join relevant groups and encourage discussions. Are there blogs that write about your topics? Write guest posts and gradually generate attention for your articles. Forums and specialized communities can also help you build a name for yourself: Use your expertise to help ensure that people follow your other content too. Never forget to enter all your contact details (including social media channels) in your forum signature or profile.3. present yourself and your portfolioOnce you have written a few posts, bundle them into a portfolio. For example, you can use the Xing function to upload article excerpts and add links. However, a better alternative is to have your own website: It doesn't need a deep page structure, an "About me" page with a short biography, main topics and interests as well as a page with references are completely sufficient. Don't forget the mandatory imprint with contact details and all legally required information. You can create websites quickly and free of charge on about.me, for example. Don't forget to add your various online profiles and briefly mention what can be expected on the respective channels. For example: You regularly post articles worth reading on Twitter, and there is a weekly review of your articles on Facebook.4. recycle old contentContent creation takes a lot of time and effort. So why not recycle "old" content that is a kind of evergreen? Search through your content for articles that you can use to fill gaps from time to time. There are often topics that only need a small adaptation to be up to date again. You can also distribute posts that are generally very well received several times. It is often a question of the right timing to achieve a better reach. This also means that articles that may not have good reading stats simply did not get attention by choosing the wrong timing. Give them a second or third chance!5. develop a distinguishing featureIn addition to your preferred topic focus and your attitude, which were discussed under point 1, you should think about how you can differentiate yourself. There are a lot of journalists, bloggers and YouTubers on the subject of fitness. But how can people recognize your style, your personal touch? Do you have a particularly distinctive style of writing, can you write witty Twitter posts that people like to share? Are you particularly direct and do you like to take a stand on controversial topics? Perhaps you prefer to be the thoughtful type who focuses on a specific niche topic in posts and prepares them very conscientiously, including controversial voices. If you have problems identifying your own distinguishing feature, ask your colleagues or friends what makes you special. And if in doubt: Fake it till you make it! Think about how you want to be perceived and create a strategy for this. Best practice examples often help here. You can find an interesting compilation here here.