Trade journalism vs. Influencers
Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.
About trade journalism:
- T.J. reports on the movements of the business world by way of articles or analysis.
- T.J. may focus on the latest news from within any particular trade, from banks to medicine or to the legal field.
About influencers & influencer marketing:
- It’s another form of collaboration with the business world.
- A business collaborates with an influential person to promote something (could be a product, service, or campaign).
The main difference?
- a journalist’s aim is to find the truth and tell the story
- an influencer’s aim is to advocate for a brand and tell the story
Influencers have appeal because they can be quantified — the number of posts, stories, videos can be agreed upon in advance; topic areas can be flushed out; there are known numbers of people an influencer can reach.
Journalists who publish through an established channel/program are less quantified. We can certainly calculate the reach of the media they write, but there is no guarantee or control of the article angle — because they are guided by the journalistic integrity of finding the truth and telling the story.
The biggest challenge for businesses is to understand -who their target audience is-, and which of these influencers, journalists or why not journfluencers will produce content that will resonate.
In a world demanding free content, the truth is that traditional journalism is struggling to survive even if we will always need journalism and great stories.
Funded influencers, trained in journalism could be trusted sources of authentic content in the future. But that’s not necessarily the way it is today with a focus on “fame” instead of “truth.”
The best companies have to understand that influencers are needed to tell an honest story, not to fool the audience with products.
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