Ideation station: Finding stories to boost your brand newsroom in 2023
As comms teams plan for the year ahead, the Speak Media team takes a look at finding inspiration for stories – from taking note of colleague conversations to approaching every interview with a hearty dose of curiosity’.
Sophie Parrott, senior content producer
As teams have returned to offices, so too have ‘watercooler conversations’ – those spur-of-the-moment chats between colleagues. Discussion points vary, from weekend getaways and movie recommendations to work benefits, new departments or upskilling opportunities.
When looking for content inspiration, consider the everyday conversations that are happening inside the business. What are colleagues talking about? Why do they care about these topics? Will those topics also interest your audience? As comms leaders, asking yourself these questions can be a good starting point.
At Speak Media, we not only talk to clients to help uncover the stories that matter but also embrace team discussions as a starting point for generating new content ideas. A quick comment about a development initiative or workplace update might potentially become a full-fledged interview feature. In fact, it was a casual conversation between the copy team in our co-working space that sparked the idea for this article.
Sarah McGrath, junior content producer
It is easy to seek out inspiration in the same old places, like competitor sites or national news outlets. While these can be a helpful starting point for comms leaders, they will not necessarily help to generate distinctive content ideas for your brand.
Look further afield and scan a variety of websites, blogs, forums, podcasts, brand newsletters and YouTube videos to investigate the content brands outside your industry are covering – and how.
The topics they feature might not be directly relevant to your company’s products or services, but the formats, techniques and approaches used could provide food for thought. Think about multi-media elements, consider article structures – and see if there are lessons you can apply to your own strategy.
Take Vogue’s 73 Questions challenge – an online video series that invites celebrities to answer a range of quick-fire questions in short interviews. The themes covered in the series are unlikely to closely align with your brand’s corporate narrative (unless, of course, you are gearing up to promote your latest movie), but the quick-fire Q&A format could spark ideas for a similar format focused on your colleagues.
Here at Speak Media, we scour a whole range of external channels for ideas that we can bring to regular team meetings. One highlight is a monthly roundup, put together by our picture desk, analysing recent eye-catching visuals – from brands, newsrooms, apps and innovative photographers.
Even if we do not immediately apply what we have seen to the month’s content output, it is a consistent way for us to think about what works well, assess current trends and find references that can inform our image approaches.
Grace Nolan, account manager
Pay attention to the conversations that are happening on social media and in online communities to help you find inspiration for newsroom stories. Keeping an eye on the hashtags and topics that users are engaging with will help comms teams get a sense of the subject matters that interest audiences.
Our team of brand journalists – who manage the digital magazine Parkinson’s Life – saw members of the Parkinson’s community take to Twitter with messages of support when broadcaster Jeremy Paxman opened up about living with the condition in the documentary, ‘Paxman: Putting Up with Parkinson’s’.
Identifying that interest in Paxman’s journey prompted a timely article on how the online Parkinson’s community had responded to the documentary – with reference to relevant tweets that captured different perspectives and reactions.
Saskia Mair, managing editor
One of the highlights of working in Speak Media’s ‘always-on’ newsroom is getting the opportunity to hear perspectives from different people on a huge number of topics. Over the years, we have spoken to adventurers who have taken on awe-inspiring challenges, subject matter experts at the top of their game, and hundreds of interviewees who have been open to sharing their stories with others.
But an interview is not just an opportunity to gather materials for a single piece of content – it can also be a brilliant source for future story ideas.
The key is to approach every call or meeting with curiosity (one of Speak Media’s core values) and to listen to interviewees closely. Have they made a throwaway comment about a project they cannot wait to get started on? If so, send a follow-up email to ask how it is progressing. Or have they mentioned a trailblazing colleague? Ask if they can put you in touch for an interview.
Listen for unexpected details or potential follow-ups – and you will quickly find you have a steady succession of intriguing content ideas ready for you to research.