25 Journalists in Content Marketing: Part 3

Sean Johnson

Public relations and social media specialist, Weidert Group
Twitter: @sean_p_johnson.

His journalism chops: "Journalism degree from Marquette University. Worked as a reporter, editor, and in online news operations for newspapers in Missouri and Wisconsin; taught at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh; and freelanced for regional business and higher-education magazines."

His gig: "I work with the team at Weidert as both a content creator and editor. I help to plan and execute content internally, as well as assist clients with content needs."

His info diet: "I scan a lot of information from a wide variety of sources each morning. It’s an old journalism habit, I guess. My essential reads these days include blogs from HubSpot, Kuno, PR 20/20, and Social Media Examiner. I also scan The Wall Street Journal every morning and have several marketing- and content-related keyword streams set up in Twitter. I use the LinkedIn news section a lot as well. I follow several industry streams and publications, and I will drop interesting articles into a spool account for later viewing. The LinkedIn news feed is also where I find a lot of the third-party content that I share with our followers."

His pride: "I’m proud of the blog we have been able to create, Whole Brain Marketing Blog. We still consider it a work in progress, but it always amazes me how much of a boost we can get from a good post. I both contribute and serve as an editor, planning content for the blog and working with the rest of the team to develop their posts. It’s a great team effort.

"Sites such as Business2Community and Social Media Today regularly pick up our blog posts, and when we really nail a post, it’s fantastic to see it spread across Twitter and other social media. I’m proud of the fact that we have established ourselves as a credible source and that people will share that with their followers. That has helped us to build some new client relationships as well."

His fave tech tools: "I’ve got a couple of favorites. I really like Buffer and Spool for sharing and curation because they make it so easy. Everything is one-click. I have to admit, I’m a bit of a Twitter guy. It reminds of being in the newsroom and perusing the Associated Press wire feeds. I tend to use it as a real-time news feed."

His creative inspiration: "I look to some of the major players, particularly in inbound marketing, and I make sure I’m keeping track of what they are doing. I follow a lot of other blogs, and I’m always thinking, 'How did they think of that?' But some of it is also engaging those journalism habits and asking myself, 'What do people want and need to know about X?' The content created from asking that question has been the most successful."

His content marketing advice: "I'll pass along the advice our company president, Greg Linnemanstons, gives to clients and prospects: You need to think like a publisher. Consumers are looking for information that addresses a need. Successful companies will anticipate that and develop content to address it."

Jesse Noyes

Managing editor, Eloqua
Twitter: @noyesjesse

His journalism chops: Former reporter for the Boston Herald and Boston Business Journal; freelancer for magazines and online publications.

His gig: "My role is to ensure our content appeals to a large swath of B2B marketers by delivering value. In effect, our goal is to treat our readers and viewers as an audience, not just potential buyers. I do this by creating—and helping others in the organization, from marketing to sales, to create—content that educates and entertains our audience and that helps them do their jobs better. We do this through a variety of content forms.

"I manage our award-winning blog, It's All About Revenue. I also manage our series of Grande Guide e-books, working with outside influencers to provide marketers with much-needed advice on various subjects. I develop other content programs, such as e-books and customer stories, on a piece-by-piece basis. Finally, I serve as in-house editor, helping teams throughout the organization—from the executive team to demand generation to product marketing to sales—in their own content-creation programs."

His info diet: "Personally, there are a lot of voices I listen to around content marketing. Some of the most influential to me are Ann Handley, C.C. Chapman, and Mark Schaefer, to name just a few. But by and large, I use the same content sources I used as a reporter to bring value to readers. I need to identify facts and trends, which requires interviews with experts, but I also need facts and data to do this. Some of the places I look to are academic papers and case studies; blogs of nonprofit think tanks like the Pew Research Center; eMarketer, the Content Marketing Institute, MarketingProfs, Business Insider, and any place that provides valuable research and data. A big source is Eloqua itself, which has tons of benchmark data on marketing behavior and trends."

His pride: "I'm extremely proud of our blog. It serves as our content hub, so just about everything we do finds its way onto the blog. It's an example of how a company can serve customers, future customers, and an entire field without being overtly promotional. We provide a service and, in turn, earn the trust of the marketplace.

"I'm also really proud of our Real World Marketing Syllabus. Many people talk about content curation but really just mean aggregation. This was a true curation project, where we carefully pulled together the best content around a bunch of marketing topics, laid it out like a syllabus, and gave credit and links to the creators of that content. We freshened up the content by also adding new articles from influential people in the field. It was a success in generating both awareness and demand."

His fave tech tools: "I would say news apps: AllThingsD, NPR, The New Yorker, CNET, definitely Flipboard. My goal is to help marketers stay on top of trends, dissect them, and provide helpful advice. I'm constantly on the move, so these apps are especially helpful."

His creative inspiration: "I am extremely lucky to work with some incredible marketing minds at Eloqua. There are lots of outside sources of inspiration. Yet, by and large, my own colleagues across the organization are a never-ending source for topics and ideas. I would especially call out our vice president of content marketing, Joe Chernov, who is always thinking about the next big thing, and our director of marketing programs, Elle Woulfe, who brings her creative panache to demand generation."

His content marketing advice: "Think bigger than the next sales cycle. I always say that our content, at least at the 'top of the funnel,' should deliver value to the readers, viewers, and listeners, whether they ever become a customer or not. It's about building a reputation today that will help you prosper many quarters from now. Besides having sound ethical principles, content is your best means to establishing this reputation. To do this, think beyond standard marketing hires and consider bringing in people who know how to deliver value to an audience and are not purely focused on promoting products. They know how to talk to people, not just 'buyers.'"

Chris Hawley

Managing editor of digital content, Raytheon
Twitter: @chawley1

His journalism chops: Reporter for the Associated Press, USA Today, and The Arizona Republic.

His gig: "I am in charge of planning and editing the content that we distribute through our social media channels. That means assigning stories, planning packages for our website, making sure our videos are aimed at the right audience, finding articles to link to, picking photos, and occasionally writing articles myself.

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His info diet: "AviationWeek, Avweb, Defense News, The New York Times, Politico, FlightGlobal, and the various clipping briefs that our communications team assembles. I also keep an eye on the FlightGlobal and NYC Aviation Twitter feeds, among others.

His pride: "I have a few. [One] is a piece about Ray Tomlinson, the inventor of email, who was recently inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame. This started as a dry press release, but in just two days we were able to create an actual news package to go with it. Readers could download a photo of the computers Ray used, a first-person account that he wrote a few years ago, a copy of his 'R@y' autograph, and his photo. I interviewed Ray and quickly wrote a colorful description of the day he sent the first email.

"Also, in early May [2012] we launched a campaign called Hashtags for Heroes to support the Wounded Warrior Project, a group that helps veterans. We encouraged people to download a smartphone app that automatically loads a message supporting veterans into the unused space in their Twitter messages. At the same time, we built a micro-site featuring profiles and slideshows of wounded veterans. We were hoping to get 30,000 characters donated; by May 23 we were closing in on 300,000.

His fave tech tools: "I like Ubersocial’s iPhone app but have been using the HootSuite mobile app for work. For metrics I use Webtrends, Hashtracking, Tweetreach, and Twitter Streamgraphs. We also have a contract with Traackr to find influencers in different fields."

His creative inspiration: "Often the people with the best ideas are the engineers actually doing the work."

His content marketing advice: "Approach these things like a journalist: What’s new about this? What things are happening in the world that make this even more newsworthy? Why should this matter to people? What is the problem we’re trying to solve?"

Fiona McIntosh

Independent journalist, editor, and media consultant
Website: FionaMcIntosh.com

Her journalism chops: "Former editor of Elle UK; launch editor-in-chief of Grazia UK; former editor-in-chief with Bauer Media (London). Currently, a consultant at the international division of Mondadori publishing, as well as on fashion e-tail projects. I also write for Grazia, the Sunday Mirror, and The Times (of London)."

Her gig: "After a career spent creating and managing content for Britain's best-selling glossy women's magazines, I am now using those skills to help develop digital content for e-tailers and publishers. For example, I recently took on the challenge of rebranding and redesigning the content for the luxury fashion e-tailer my-wardrobe.com. The right imagery, tone of voice, and editing is just as important to the success of digital businesses as it is to print media. I can also draw on the skills of a wide network of designers, writers, stylists, and photographers to deliver beautiful, highly functional sites that create a dynamic environment for brands."

Her info diet: "My personal information diet includes news websites, particularly The Huffington Post, Mail Online, Mirror Online, and BBC news. My favorite magazine site is New York magazine, because it is so pithy, fun, and makes me feel like a complete NYC insider even though I don't live there. I use LinkedIn for professional networking and have recently developed an addiction to Pinterest, which cleverly mashes my work and personal interests. As far as entertainment goes, I am moving away from pay television and would much rather watch a catch-up show on BBC iPlayer or 4oD on my iPad."

Her pride: "I'm most proud of the launch of Grazia UK. Launching the U.K.'s first weekly news and style magazine was exhilerating. It has now significantly changed the women's magazine market."

Her creative inspiration: "I use a mix of magazines, blogs, Twitter, and websites. I believe you still find the most mind-blowing photography and most incisive articles in print, but blogs and Twitter are best for keeping up with the constant flurry of new ideas."

Her favorite tool: "I follow Twitter, particularly when a big news story is breaking. Over Easter, I was in Malaysia with my family on holiday and we had a tsunami warning. All the hotel guests huddled at the top of the hotel, furiously tweeting and shouting out updates. It was an extraordinary example of a medium working at its best. I am ashamed to say I am a rubbish personal tweeter, as I can't see why anyone would be interested in what I had for breakfast."

Her content marketing advice: "Don't underestimate the power of content. The right design, tone of voice, photography, and editing of information (less is more) can transform the perception and usability of any digital brand. I also believe, and have seen, how digital and print can work together in powerful harmony as they each serve entirely different functions."