From powerful journalists to impactful content marketers

Journalism is a unique profession that can make an impact on people's lives with stories that matter. It is all about storytelling that puts your readers first and competes with the best stories from other publications. What happens when this mindset and skillset take up the challenge of becoming a content marketer?

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Akansha Srivastava
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Many believe that journalists make good content marketers. And the growth prospect for a content marketer is increasingly visible across the spectrum if he or she has journalism or an editorial background.

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Kalyan Subramani

Kalyan Subramani, who entered the content marketing space about three years ago after spending a little over a decade and a half in mainstream media, believes having a journalism background is extremely useful. “Two skills journalists bring to the table are a) Ability to spot stories that are worth telling (this is the ideation part) and b) the ability to tell stories better. So the growth prospect for a content marketer is far better with a background in journalism,” he said.

The transformation from a journalist to a content marketer can happen more effectively when the writer understands the business needs better.

“A journalist in many ways is a generalist, while a content marketer takes the role of a specialist. This means the understanding of a particular sector or industry vertical has to be much deeper. The target audience for a content marketer is also much narrower, which means the style of writing has to be a little different from that of a journalist, said Subramani.

But the transformation isn't easy. As a journalist, a person has the power of words to make or destroy anything. When the same journalist shifts to a profession that requires him or her to create content that helps a brand grow irrespective what they feels about it, is not a cakewalk.

The journey from being a journalist to a content marketer is like travelling from North to South pole. It's entirely a different ball game.

HT Brand Studio's Head Roudra Bhattacharya, who was a journalist with leading publications before taking up the business role, said, "Being a content marketer is a very different role from a journalist. The journalists have editorial power, which is not there when one becomes a content marketer. Being a content marketer, one has to build the business, manage the P/L and revenue, and it has its own challenges."

He said, "When journalists become content marketers, they realise their freedom is restricted by what the brand wants. As a journalist, you can be your boss, even if your editor is above you. But as a content marketer, there are restrictions. As a content marketer, your ideas are only as good as what the owner of the brand thinks."

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Vishesh Sharma

Vishesh Sharma, Head, Corporate Communications and Content Marketing, Angel Broking, too comes from an editorial background. He said journalists aren't driven by a lot of compulsions, and when they become content marketers, not everyone can take that pressure of losing one's editorial power to creating content that the brand demands.

"When you are a journalist, the only expectation from you is to be true to your story. But when you become a content marketer, you require a lot of business specialism. Many people can't handle that. Earlier, you weren't working in that zone, where ROI was expected from you. Then the breakdown starts happening at the psychological level. If any editorial person can sustain the initial transformation, he will become a great content marketer," said Sharma.

Journalism, as mentioned in the beginning, is a passion and it transcends into the nature of many passionate professionals. Narrow target audience, minding business compulsions and what not: does content marketing carry the danger to become suffocating for a hard-core journalist by nature?

Suggesting how important it is for a journalist to balance it out, Subramani said, “I continue with my passion for journalism along with being a content marketing expert whenever I get the time. In many ways, this is also a healthy release for creative energy and helps to be in touch with subjects and issues outside the narrow confines of our work.”

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Roudra Bhattacharya

Journalists bring a strong understanding of content to the table when they become content marketers. So their journey to become great content marketers is more comfortable in comparison to the people coming from other professions.

HT Brand Studio's Bhattacharya, said, "The journalists have the right nose for creating relevant content and know their audiences well. As a journalist, you know the basic concept of storytelling. One has to create content that is engaging throughout for the audience. It is about the first impression. One can't have the main part of the content buried deep inside, and this is true even when one makes a video. No one will watch until the third minute of the video if the first 10 seconds are not engaging. As a journalist, it helps more."

But, according to Sharma, having an understanding of content is not enough to become a successful content marketer.

He said, "You have to start accepting the fact a lot of business-related decisions will drive your content. Even if you don't believe in some content, you will have to deliver it because the consumer demands that. The business compulsions take precedence over everything else as a content marketer. A lot of journalists refuse to accept that."

Journalists make great content marketers, but that doesn't mean people coming from other backgrounds are any less.

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Bhavana Mittal

Bhavana Mittal, Vice-President, Media and Digital, RPSG Group, commented, "I know people who have done MBA and then move to the content side of the business. Irrespective of your previous work experience or skills, if you have a creative bent, then it's not difficult. If you look at Abhishek Asthana aka Gabbar Singh, he is a Twitter influencer; he was in our digital team in Reckitt (past organisation). He comes from an engineering and MBA background, but now he's got more than a million followers on Twitter and has opened his own agency doing creative work across clients. He was an engineer but what he's doing now is completely different. You just need to have a bent of mind towards creative and know what the brand wants."

Mittal said only when you are doing a textual long-form content or PR releases, then being a journalist in the past comes handy. For quick and snackable content, it doesn't matter what background you come from.

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Dheeraj Kummar

Dheeraj Kummar, National Creative Director, Brand and Consumer Experience, Motivator (GroupM), said those who are from non-editorial / journalism background could also become good content marketers as they do consume news/editorial content regularly. The efficiency varies on the basis of their inclination and passion for it. Some are extremely good, and some may be good enablers.

Coming from a non-editorial background, Kummar himself is an expert at content marketing. Sharing his thoughts, he said, "During my broadcasting days, I worked closely with people from insurance, banking and finance selling media inventory and content solutions. With a reasonably good understanding of content and broadcasting business, they became proficient in the first six months. So, people from the non-content background are not dealing with technology and products-building that needs a qualification but having a fair understanding of the eco-system and formats is good enough for them to lead."

A marketer who didn't want to be quoted in the story told BuzzInContent.com that one of the biggest problems working with journalists who become content marketers is that they are very adamant in their thought process. They think that they know the content more than anyone else even if their content is not according to the brand's expectations.

Bhattacharya seconded, "If you become a content marketer and still believe you are a journalist, then, of course, it is a challenge."

He concluded, "The point is that when one changes over from being a journalist to a content marketer, he or she has to be flexible, open-minded, ready for the new life and for what is expected from him or her in this new life."

From powerful journalists impactful content marketers