Micole Mayfield – Lava Surf

What is Newsworthy?

Posted on July 17, 2019 by Micole Mayfield

What is Newsworthy?

One of the most important questions to ask before publishing a story, tweet, news article, blog posts, etc, is whether or not the content will be interesting to your audience. Before you even put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) the first thing to figure out is how newsworthy your story really is. What makes something newsworthy? Thank goodness there’s a study for that! If you’re into that kinda thing, you can read it on allacadamia.com. However, we have rounded up the top 7 best news values for your skimming pleasure. If your story has at least one of these values you are more likely to capture the attention of your audience.

1.Timeliness

How new is the story? Just think about it- the word “news” denotes that the information given is, in fact, new. Something timely is happening right now and it is something the public has yet to hear about. People lose interest incredibly quickly thanks to the immediacy of the internet. Therefore, the most impactful story will be about things happening right now, not yesterday or last week. Staying up to date on current events and popular trends help to point out the most important stories for you to cover.

2. Impact

Some words that could replace “impact” are collision, crash, bang, jolt, whack, and smack! When the reader comes in contact with your story it should hit them harder than Monday hits after the weekend. How is this story going to affect your audience? What will happen if the reader doesn’t take action on an issue? If you answer these questions in your story, it will be hard for your audience not to pay attention.

3. Proximity

Location! Location! Location! Your audience wants to hear about things happening near them. It is not as effective if your story has to do with something/someone in another state or country. Even though the world has gotten smaller (thank you internet) we are still more likely to care about something happening in our town than in another place.

4. Human Interest

Two words. Emotional reaction! Nothing is more newsworthy than a story that stirs up an emotional response from the reader. (We’ve discussed the best emotions that trigger responses in an earlier blog post). Human interest stories are the perfect vessel for connecting with your audience.

Human Interest Story Ideas:

Rags to Riches
Interviews
Profile
Behind the Scenes (BTS)

5. Conflict

It’s human nature to be drawn to conflict. Think politics and religion – they are surely talked about frequently. We are glued to our TVs and Twitters during political elections and most everyone has an opinion about religion. Conflict makes a story interesting and worth following.

Imagine your reading Harry Potter, and Voldemort decided to call it a day and never bother Harry. There would be no story to read. It would just be a boy going to school. Without conflict, a story is- to be honest- boring. SPOILER ALERT: Voldermort does, indeed, torment Harry time and time again. And boy, am I grateful he does because we got 7 incredible books out of it!

6. Shock Appeal

Just as a snowstorm in the Sahara Desert would capture the attention of the entire world, anything that could be labeled rare or bizarre is immediately newsworthy. News Journalists have a saying, “When a dog bites a man, no one cares. When the man bites back- now that’s a story.” Find yourself a dog-biting man and you’ve found yourself a newsworthy story. (FYI: We do not condone the biting of dogs. ‘Twas but a metaphor.)

7. Prominence

Who would you rather attend dinner with, Kim Mayfield or Ellen Degeneres? A well-known person, like Ellen, has a stronger news angle than someone who isn’t well known like Kim (Hi, Mom!). A story becomes immediately newsworthy if a big name is attached to it. However, prominence doesn’t have to apply only to those who are famous worldwide. The mayor of your town may not be famous but if there is a story about them, it becomes more newsworthy to you.

Things To Pay Attention To

While a story with just one of these values would be newsworthy, it would be even more influential with more than one. If you seem to have caught the writer’s block, keep the following in mind.

Watch for:

Current events
Holidays
Fake Holidays
Current Trends

Those four topics are automatically newsworthy. They are a good place to start and easy to build off of. Keep it real. Keep it simple. Keep it newsworthy! You’ll thank us later.

How To Fix: Common Copywriting Mistakes

Posted on June 12, 2019June 19, 2019 by Micole Mayfield

Mistake: Too much focus on product

Your audience cares most about the “Why” behind your product. They care less about what your product’s features are and more about how your product will benefit their lives. When you focus solely on what your product does, how much it costs, or how it was made, you lose the attention of your audience fast.

Quick Fix:

Spell it out. For every feature you list, explain a benefit it comes with.

Mistake: Adjective overload

Adjectives are helpful in explaining the look of your product and what it does. However, too many adjectives are, honestly, a turn-off. Imagine looking for a new toothbrush and the ad says, “This new, sleek, stylish, easy-to-use, travel toothbrush was made just for you!” Be honest, did you read every single adjective? No, you didn’t. Neither will your audience. The key here is to be smart with your adjective usage.

Quick fix:

Keep it simple. Use only one adjective before a noun.
Choose wisely. Choose adjectives that make your audience feel something (Instead of using nice, good, great, use dashing, stylish, empowering).

Mistake: Too fact heavy

To you, the facts behind your product may be super exciting. Don’t get me wrong, you spent blood, sweat, and tears to perfect your product. You should be proud. Facts can be a selling point for some customers. They want to know if you are the leading brand in toothbrushes or how many of your toothbrushes have saved lives. However, relying only on facts is a mistake. Your audience wants to know how those facts and figures apply to their lives.

Quick Fix:

Storytelling. Tell your audience the story of why they should use your product. The story can be super short and to the point. However, stories open up your audience to your brand/personality and they are more willing to invest in your product.

Mistake: Not knowing your audience

The biggest mistake we see is when brands speak to themselves rather than their customers. This mistake comes from a lack of taking time to research and get to know those you are marketing to. Sometimes, you can see this when brands make assumptions about customers. For example, they use jargon their audience is not familiar with. This will kill your engagement and sales.

Not-So-Quick Fix:

Step back. Take the time to really get to know your audience. What do they care about? What keeps them up at night? Why is your product something they need?
Walk a day in their shoes. Visit the places they like to go and the stores they visit. Ask members of your audience the questions you may have.

Let’s Get Engaged

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Micole Mayfield

Let’s Get Engaged:

Wanna put a ring on it?

What does the word “engagement” mean?

No, we aren’t talking about the getting-down-on-one-knee/ diamond ring type of engagement. We’re talking about anything your followers do to interact with your brand online. We’re talking about your comments, shares, likes and follows.

Why is engagement important?

Engagement allows you to make and foster relationships with your followers. Just because you have a large following, does not mean that your online efforts are successful. Having an engaged following ensures that your followers are paying attention to you. Engagement allows for conversations to start about your product and increases your reach to your target audience. New followers will look to the engagement of your current followers to see if they can trust you as a brand.

How do you strengthen your engagement?

People invest in brands that they feel connected to. They purchase what they feel. Tapping into your follower’s emotions will be the quickest and most effective way to increase engagement. Try tapping into their humor, their fears, things that excite them.

While creating content, ask yourself:

What emotion will this envoke in my followers?
How will they respond to this content?
What does this content entice them to do?

Always leave your followers with an invitation for them to act on. Leaving a call to action allows them to act on that emotion they have tapped into because of your post. The stronger the emotion and the simpler the call to action, the more engagement you will receive.

When a couple gets engaged they are committed to each other. When we create engagement between our followers, we enter a committed relationship with them. We promise to create a meaningful experience for them while administering to their needs and they promise to become committed followers. Only when both sides of this promise are kept, will your engagement continue positively.

Author: Micole Mayfield

What is Newsworthy?

Let’s Get Engaged

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