Snapchat and Infographics
By Evelina Peterson
A demand for visual news bites on social media apps such as Snapchat is giving infographics a new lease of life.
Graphic visualisations of research and insights came to the fore on the back of the online news boom, giving editors a dynamic piece of content that is appealing to internet audiences.
But now they have found new avenues thanks to various social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and, most recently, Snapchat.
Thanks to the new ‘Discover’ channels, graphic statistics and news content have taken on a more important role as publishers strive to reach a more millennial audience.
As a platform that is more intimate and absorbing than other social networks, infographics have found a more natural fit on Snapchat’s easily-to-consume news channels, and it’s an area that is playing into the hands of PR firms.
Chocolate gets snapped
A recent 72Point story distributed on behalf VoucherCodes garnered significant traction after it was picked up by The Sun’s discovery channel on Snapchat.
With a reported 150 million daily-active users on the channel it demonstrated tremendous value for money for the client, driving users to a wide spread of online coverage.
Senior Designer Matt Harvey from 72Point, emphasises the success of infographics, saying: “Content marketers are well aware of the value of visuals like infographics as they increase engagement that connect your audience to your brand.”
“To maximise engagement and their value it is important to tailor infographics for the platform they are published on and supply in formats that are easy for editors to use.
“For example supplying infographics as one image but also design it so it can be split into sections, providing options and maximising the chance of pickup.”
“It is also important to strike a balance between creating content that is engaging but also uses a visual style that ties the content to the brand”
Why Infographics?
One of the most powerful aspects of an infographic is the way that colour can be used to help suggest which emotion should be felt by the reader, therefore making the content seem more personal and connecting the individual to the information being processed.
This can be deemed particularly important as readers don’t want to be ‘sold’ to but expect the brands they associate with to enhance their experience with useful resources, which is exactly where infographics come in to play.
At 72Point we always aim to target our infographics to specific audiences to make the graphic as captivating as possible in order to catch the eye of other audiences.
Research by MIT, which conducted an extensive study on the way the human brain processes visual information, revealed that poorly designed infographics are useless to the brain, no matter how interesting they are.
As users demand more special interest content that is in bitesize format and easily digestible the need to keep up with methods of presenting ideas will increasingly become mission-critical.
Get in touch to see how we can help you today, and to follow 72Point’s new Snapchat channel, please see @ThisIs72Point.
GDPR inbox avalanche
Sun Consumer Writer Jane Hamilton on why the avalanche of GDPR emails is nothing compared to a journalists' average day...
BURIED under an avalanche of GDPR emails? How many do you reckon you’ve received? 100? 250? More than 500? Well that’s fewer than an average morning’s in-box worth for a national news journalist.
The forthcoming data-rules change has unleashed a deluge of emails on ordinary Brits causing ‘in-box rage’ and mass deletions - but this is something us journalists deal with every single day.
While the emailed press release remains a useful tool in the PR armoury, public relations firms are always stunned - and a little shocked - when I reveal just how many we journalists actually receive.
As a national hack writing on issues covering consumer to careers and parenting to property, my ‘beat’ sees from 400 to over 1,000 releases drop in relentlessly each day. And on a ‘calendar occasion’ such as Black Friday or a Bank Holiday, this escalates to an out of control level, topping the 2,000 mark.
When you consider an eight-hour working day contains just 480 minutes, you don’t have to be a maths whiz to work out there’s no time to read them all.
And don’t get me started on follow-up calls - I really don’t need 1,000 of those a day.
Instead - and in common with almost every other journalist I know - we skim, select ones from our key contacts, or seek out the top-line tales which look like they will work.
It hasn’t always been this way. Even five years ago, in-boxes were manageable; we had time to spend with key contacts and agencies, and were able to spend more time crafting exclusives.
But staff cutbacks and the demand for rolling online content means every journo now needs to pen more stories in less time. And interestingly, fewer hacks has meant more PRs - and more releases - as ex-wordsmiths swap careers and head to the darkside.
Recent figures revealed since 2013, the number of PRs has risen by 50 per cent, while the number of journalists has fallen by nine per cent. This trend will only continue, so how can we manage it so it works for both sides?
Firstly, however grumpy a journo is, most of us do need - and even rely - on PRs. A good PR who understands your readers and your ‘patch’ is a very valued contact. Aim to be that PR who we will answer the phone to.
Secondly, a release has got to be what the publication wants - not what the client wants. It has to be a ‘new news’ story to entertain and inform a readership or viewer.
Thirdly, If the client wants it a certain way and won’t bend, remember YOU are the expert. If the client could do it himself, he would and save paying you. He can’t, so work on him until he takes your advice. Client won’t budge? Then he needs an advert, not PR.
Fourthly, craft it like a news story. Help me out and give me the ‘who, what, why, where and when’ it the top paragraph. Don’t give me the client’s company mission statement.
Finally, you may have the best release in the world, but if it gets missed, it won’t get in. With in-boxes clogged, sadly it does happen. Targeting and delivery is everything, so aim to build a relationship with your key journos so we open whatever you send. Or use a purpose-built delivery agency like 72Point who guarantee to get your story under the nose of news editors.
I hope this has helped and I’m happy to chat further with you if you’d like to talk more. Just put in the email subject line that it’s an important one for me to read!
Trust, Transparency and Traditional Media
Why these are the top takeaways for brands right now
Although the advent of digital news was supposed to – and to some extent has – heralded an end to the finite number of pages that once restricted the profession, it has also given birth to new challenges as brands go in search of meaningful metrics in a landscape where the demand for column inches has seldom been so great.
Last month a new readership measurement standard for the news publishing industry was launched to give a single, “de-duplicated” view across all platforms to publishers and advertisers.
Compared to the NRS, which is a print-focused survey with digital figures taken in addition, Pamco offers a breakdown by platform across print, phone (mobile), tablet and desktop, giving a “total brand reach” that is more robust than the measurements used to date which are subject to generous interpretation and easily corrupted by cookies and bots.
As NMA chairman David Dinsmore said, the measurement keeps news brands in “top position when it comes to transparency” in an age when the measurement of some media is “highly questionable”.
The results of the survey will make for daunting reading for some, because at their heart they show a renewed reliance from consumers on traditional publishers. The Sun was revealed to be the most read news brand in the UK, followed by the Daily Mail and Daily Mirror, all of which boast more than 25 million monthly readers.
It means that an increasing number of brands will consider the success of a campaign based on its ability to make a splash in the national press, but with a tsunami of content blocking the way a splash can easily become a drip if due care isn’t taken, which can be a hard pill to swallow after countless hours of creative work and client liaisons.
Which is why we include national media exposure as a guarantee with all our packages at 72Point. Thanks to our heritage as part of the SWNS Media Group and our ability to work content so that it has mainstream media appeal we have an unrivalled money-back pledge on our projects, which is underpinned by our confidence in our creative.
We are compelled by design to put integrity at the heart of everything we do, as our content is used by the vast majority of national publications, making up for a significant percentage of “front of the book” stories. We don’t publish overtly branded stories and have to pass rigorous controls carried out by news editors to get the story filed, and the media trust us as a result.
But we would be nothing if it was not for the ingenuity of the team to deliver content that works across publications and across channels. 72Point is made up of top flight media experts and PR professionals who make up an enviable hub of creativity. We have former print news editors, a current online news editor and a range of ex-media talent that ensures we deliver projects that are stitched up from both sides, with the best creative being delivered with unrivalled access to the media.
It’s a combination that couldn’t be more apt in today’s media environment. According to this year’s State of the Media survey by Cision, which polled 1,355 journalists from across six countries on their perceptions of the media and communications industries, journalists rely on public relations partners now more than ever, with the traditional press release being the most trusted piece of content.
In an age where budgets are thin and brands are increasingly being relied on to fund content generation, the results are hardly surprising. Out of all the issues the industry is facing, 28 per cent of the journalists surveyed said staffing and resources were the biggest challenges in the industry over the last 12 months.
But before we start popping the champagne corks it is worth considering what this actually means for the PR industry. For a start, this isn’t a call to start bombarding hacks with every piece of ill-conceived content you can get your hands on. It doesn’t mean we should pick up the phone every two minutes and busy the already chaotic desks with more queries. Rather, we should pick out the warnings in this report to unveil where we can really make a difference, and at the top of the list for journalists is sending stories with a “clearly stated news hook” and content that’s “accurate, newsworthy and can be used to enhance their coverage”.
As a result of renewed scrutiny of the sea of content that surrounds us - successful PR needs a more robust benchmark. The smoke and mirrors of digital reach is no longer giving brands the ROI they need. Trusted content in trusted media outlets is what's important now as brands demand more transparency with their campaigns. This is our USP, and it is why, increasingly, 72Point is been seen as a direct line to the news desk.
PRWeek Top 150 - Our Story
72Point has become synonymous with news generation thanks to its ability to put brands at the heart of national conversations.
It’s unique position as a PR consultancy with journalistic talent at its core has helped the agency punch above its weight.
The firm’s offering has evolved substantially which has culminated in its inaugural entry into PRWeek's Top 150 PR Consultancies list in 2018 - coming in at number 54.
At the heart of the company is a creative team of former journalists and editors with an enviable understanding of the media landscape. They are able to help brands with guidance on both campaign ideas and content copy, this has proved integral in removing the risk from earned media, with guaranteed coverage now a staple of the agency’s offering.
72Point’s dedicated and growing digital team was recently shortlisted for the PRCA’s in-house Digital Team of the Year and works to maximise the impact of client stories across online channels. Last year the team achieved 5,269 pieces of online coverage for their clients and 635,000 social shares.
Recent wins for 72Point have included a project for online parenting community Channelmum. The firm's creative handling and media distribution services boosted Channelmum’s story on the ‘gender price gap’ around the difference in price of clothes from boys to girls.
The Digital Outreach team landed 170 pieces of coverage and five top 10 national news sites, generating a public conversation around the issue of the “pink tax”.
Other wins this year included an integrated campaign for Heathrow Express. 72Point’s content marketing team created a visual puzzle that challenged the public to spot a train going in the opposite direction to the others in a busy setting. The puzzle, which achieved both print and digital coverage, provided the client with an asset that attracted people to their new site and promoted the rail link’s high-quality service and reliable 15-minute journey time. The project achieved 769 social shares and an online readership of over one billion.
For Healthspan, seeking national news coverage to support their ‘Live Long You’ campaign, 72Point conducted a survey which elevated Healthspan’s key messages centring around the idea that great health starts with good nutrition and eating well, to a national scale, landing in over four national publications and achieving both digital and print coverage.
A digital revolution
Alongside its creative and distribution work the agency has comprehensive digital and social media services. With international offices and an increased headcount, the firm is working alongside some of the biggest brands and most dynamic SMEs in the country.
72Point’s Managing Director Chris Pharo, says: "The last few years have seen a remarkable transformation at 72Point.
We have evolved from a one-stop-shop for news gen into a creative content powerhouse with several services to complement our unrivalled distribution.
"It is our sincere hope that these will continue to flourish over the next year as we work with more exciting brands and develop national campaigns that solidify our position as a market leader for compelling news generation and exposure in the media."
72Point’s biggest asset is its proven track record, according to Pharo “Our projects have a 100% success rate, delivering an average of 27 pieces of coverage, 460 social shares and 1,327,962 impressions per project.
"We have generated national media exposure for household name brands, including Sky Mobile British Airways and National Express and have advanced the reputation of some of the country’s most promising start-ups and SMEs with creative content and targeted media exposure.
"As a result, we have cultivated our offering, expanded our client base and achieved sustained growth through our sales, achieving new record figures on a consistent basis for the past two years. And as far as we’re concerned, we’re only just getting started."
Bitz and Bob - Outstanding Social Results!
Our social project for new Cbeebies programme Bitz and Bob has achieved 488,000 views and 115,000 comments, likes and shares, tackling gender stereotypes in such a fun and creative way.
For a full breakdown of the project click here.
The Art of Keeping Things Simple
We all know it - simple is best. It is a cross-industry fact that the most successful businessmen and women, musicians, sports people, journalists, media companies and indeed Meerkat comparison sites all have one thing in common; They focus on doing the simple things well. I myself have had countless debates and full blown arguments with friends on what is the main stumbling block for creatives, and we always agree that it often boils down to an urge to make things unnecessarily complex. And the same can be said for pretty much any profession.
On JOE’s recent podcast interview with Eric Cantona, the iconic former Manchester United footballer said; “Simplicity is the most difficult thing, like in football, the most difficult thing is to score a goal when 11 players touch the ball once and the last one puts the ball in the back of the net, so simple but so difficult.” What he’s implying is that simplicity is difficult to obtain and harder to maintain, but that’s where the creative and productive energy lies, not in over-complicating things to the point of losing their essence but in bringing them back to basics.
Musicians have echoed his thoughts, stating that the biggest hits have come from the simplest of writing processes, rather than almost trying too hard to create an obscure piece of art that, again, will not engage the average listener. Oasis’s Noel Gallagher, speaking to Evening Standard on the smash success of his debut solo album As You Were, had this to say on the matter; “It’s been mega. It’s not curing cancer. but there’s an appetite for a good album. The world moves so f***ing fast and everyone’s trying to reinvent the f***ing wheel. I’m not interested — the wheel’s alright.” It’s a typically honest observation from one of the most recognisable and successful figures in modern British music.
Film is another industry to suffer from over-complexity with more and more producers losing key audiences due to their commitment to creating works of art that are just so convoluted that they only appeal to a finite number of people. Anyone who had the misfortune of watching The Cloverfield Paradox earlier this year will know what I mean.
Unfortunately, in the increasingly tech-dominant media world we live in, the art of keeping things simple can also fall by the wayside amongst a myriad of complex techniques thought up to maximise reach to a target audience. Which is why here at 72Point, we let the content and coverage speak for itself.
Cision’s state of the media report indicates that if there’s one thing PR professionals can do to help journalists do their jobs better it is to ensure that any press releases they do send out have a clearly stated news hook. That was something 45 per cent of respondents said when asked how press releases can be more efficient. Writing conversationally is also important, as 27 per cent indicated that they dislike press releases that feel templated and include jargon. More simple quotes and multimedia elements would help, too.
An effective press release is creative and intriguing but for it to convey a message then it has to be simple enough for people to understand - something that is often forgotten in the PR industry. Toiling over creative briefs for weeks-on-end searching for the most complex idea wastes time and energy and often results in a solution that misses the mark because it’s far too convoluted to engage the general public.
It stands to reason that key messaging of clients could be potentially lost amongst a sea of confusing copy in a press release. At 72Point, our brilliant creative team craft stories with a dedication to simplicity, knowing that it’s what journalists want, and the results speak for themselves, with 5,269 pieces of coverage and 635,297 social shares in 2017 alone. When you know you have a winning formula, why over-complicate it?
Journalists need reliable public relations partners now more than ever
“If there’s one thing PR professionals can do to help journalists do their jobs better, it’s ensure that any press releases they do send out have a clearly stated news hook”.
That’s the findings from this year’s State of the Media survey by Cision which polled 1,355 journalists from across six countries on their perceptions of the media and communications industries.
The study found that journalists rely on public relations partners now more than ever, with the traditional press release being the most trusted piece of content.
Seven in ten hacks said their relationships with PR professionals remained as important as ever, while 20 per cent said they are more valuable.
In an age where budgets are thin and brands are increasingly being relied on to fund content generation, the results are hardly surprising.
Out of all the issues the industry is facing, 28 per cent of the journalists surveyed said staffing and resources were the biggest challenges in the industry over the last 12 months.
Social networks and search engines bypassing traditional media came a close second at 25 per cent.
Fake news, blurred lines between editorial and advertising and issues around freedom of the press rounded out the list of challenges.
So good news all around for the PR industry, which seems to be going from strength to strength over the past few years.
But it would do us no good to rest on our laurels.
Hidden amongst the upbeat news on the PR industry are several warnings about a decline in standards.
As the opening paragraph suggests, diluting the news hook in favour of a more brand-driven topline seems to be one of them.
It is a common gripe that we contend with at 72Point.
As part of the UK’s biggest independent news agency our editors are among the most ruthless in the business when it comes to getting sign-off on news copy, and if the news hook isn’t compelling, the story doesn’t get filed.
It is a blessing in disguise in an age where news desks are getting bombarded with press releases on a daily basis. With former editors and journalists working in-house it allows us to overcome the first hurdle of ‘pitching in’ before the story goes out, which is why all our stories come with a guarantee of coverage.
As the Cision report notes, most journalists are happy to work with public relations professionals, “provided they’re receiving information that’s accurate, newsworthy and can be used to enhance their coverage”.
In a nutshell, that is our USP.
We provide stories that are properly researched, current and have a strong news hook that will start national conversations.
According to the data, 22 per cent of journalists said original research on trends was important to them, with 45 per cent saying they want more press releases with a clearly stated news hook.
Another 27 per cent said PR professionals should have data and expert sources ready to go when reporters need them, with authors concluding that: “No matter what happens in the industry, eye-catching, fact-based storytelling is still paramount”.
They said: “The PR professionals who can help reporters and editors with their work — by providing accurate, information-rich press releases and by giving journalists access to sources — will be the ones who will enjoy the greatest success”.
Our 5,269 pieces of online coverage last year suggests that is precisely what we are doing at 72Point.
72Point Enter PRWeek's Top 150
April 23 2018
Entering PRWeek's Top 150 at an impressive #54, we demonstrate our unique offering as a PR Consultancy with an innate understanding of the news environment, able to tap into the media landscape across all platforms in a way that most traditional agencies can’t.
Why a strong content base should be part of your marketing strategy
Traditional marketing is becoming less effective by the day. Instead of simply pitching your services and products to potential clients, the way to achieve vital cut-through now is to provide them with truly relevant and useful content that gives them actionable insight.
The Content Marketing Institute’s annual research reveals that the vast majority of marketers are including content marketing as part of their strategy. They state that there are three key benefits for any enterprise that utilises content marketing, which include increased sales, cost savings and better customers who have more loyalty.
These are absolute no-brainers as to why content marketing should be a key aspect of your strategy. At the end of the day, marketing is impossible without quality, engaging content, so if you devise a strong content base to your overarching strategy then all aspects will greatly benefit.
Social Media, SEO, PR, PPC and inbound marketing are just some of the strategies that can be boosted by utilising clever content marketing. Using a diverse range of rich media serves to keep your customers engaged and grabs their attention instantly.
Infographics, videos, embeddable quizzes, animations and images are all methods in which you can provide customers with relevant high-quality content that can improve their loyalty to you and boost your brand exposure.
Here at 72Point, our in-house design team provide a comprehensive content marketing offering.
We worked in collaboration with Freuds on their social campaign for NHS England, putting together a number of assets including several animated GIF’s, static graphics and a short animation. This provided NHS with great content that was posted across their Twitter channels, and by various other health organisations - raising awareness of the services available via NHS111 and delivering the key messaging of their campaign in a creative way.
The team also crafted an animation for The Department of Culture, Media and Sport as part of their ‘free wifi’ campaign, which saw over 1,000 public buildings in cities across the UK transformed into free wifi hotspots, supporting their larger #BuildingBritain campaign. The package included a 45 second animation and a GIF of the final sequence. As well as this, we supported the campaign by providing social media graphics to be used by public organisations, raising awareness of the campaign.
Our infographics are divided into five different pieces, meaning that they can be posted out at different times across different social channels, providing clients with plenty of longevity on their campaigns, whilst our animations are perfectly tailored for social in length and design.
Whether you are looking for a high-quality social project to maximise your brand exposure (take a look at our breakthrough package here), or a clever piece of visual content to embed on your website or post across your social channels, 72Point should be your one-stop shop for all content marketing needs.
The Perfect PR Package For SEO
Why we believe we have created the perfect PR package for SEO
With SEO and PR markets increasingly merging agencies at both sides of the border have started to encroach on each other’s turf to sell their wares.
Firms that once specialised in web mapping and site structure are now huge content generators, while those who have spent years honing their media relations are now working their press releases around key words and link-building strategies.
While we don’t proclaim to be SEO specialists, we do believe we have built the perfect PR package to help firms boost their off-site SEO thanks to our unique position in the media market.
Here’s a run-down of what it includes:
Link building
Link building is one of the oldest SEO strategies in the book. Since the late 1990s search engines have treated links as votes for popularity and importance in the ongoing democratic opinion poll of the web, and as such brands are constantly on the hunt to secure follow links back to their site from high-DA and relevant sites.
Our Breakthrough package offers a money-back guarantee of two follow links from publications with a DA of over 90, and we look to secure as many links as we can elsewhere to ensure there’s a healthy mix.
What’s more, our link building strategy has been developed alongside the digital desks on national publications which means we are always one step ahead of the curve when it comes to changes in link policies on national newspapers. Given that this usually has a trickle-down effect, it’s always good to be in the know.
For more advice on how to link build, see our top tips page here.
Social signals
Although links remain an important part of the SEO mix, there’s an indication that Google is shifting from exogenous signals to a new approach that relies on endogenous signals. That means a big focus on quality and an even bigger focus on social signals such as how sticky a piece of content is and how many people interact with it.
As part of the Breakthrough package we include social media distribution of the story via our in-house social media channels that places the content in front of relevant people who are more likely to share and interact with it.
Take a look at how we achieved our first quarter-million share month for our clients here
Web presence
Garnering a wide spread of coverage is key to an effective SEO strategy. The popularity of a story can amplify your brands message and presence on the web, so creating powerful, engaging content that gets wide pick up is a silver bullet solution to getting noticed in search.
We distribute our Breakthrough stories to a guaranteed 137 regional sites, including the likes of The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and Lancashire Evening Post. On top of that we get guaranteed national coverage and widespread pick-up from relevant titles that deliver a healthy web presence almost at the click of a button.
To get an idea of the sort of numbers we can achieve, check our results from 2017
Content collateral
Finally, all the content we create for our clients as part of the Breakthrough package is theirs to own and use on their site and social platforms.
From the research to the video and visual assets, we provide clients with a range of content that will boost visibility on search and helps deliver longevity in the campaign. Our infographics are cut up as five separate visual assets which can be posted out on social media over a number of weeks or months, and our videos sit perfectly on landing pages that sip up that all-important SEO juice.
Get in touch with us today to see how we can help with your SEO strategy.