Brand journalism has exploded over the past several years. More and more brands – B2B and B2C alike – are finding unique ways to insert themselves into the storytelling scene. Cisco was a trendsetter in this sense when it began its online technology news site, The Network, back in 2011.
Since then, Cisco has recognized the need for constant innovation with its online newsroom. The demand for content that was more visual, more tailored to specific verticals and less brand-focused continued to grow, so Cisco sought out ways to leverage its existing brand journalism site to reinstate the brand's place as a storyteller in the technology news space.
With more people consuming mobile content than ever before, text articles and press releases are seeing fewer clicks while content such as videos, infographics, and sharable posts are thriving. Consumers and businesses are also looking to connect with and buy from brands that understand the spaces they're in, whether they are directly related or linked to broader industry trends.
In order to capitalize on this demand for news-related content, Cisco launched multiple brand journalism efforts in 2013 and 2014, using its online newsroom The Network as the launch pad and host for a thought leadership initiative designed to bring unbranded technology news to consumers.
By reinvigorating its online newsroom, Cisco hoped to become the ultimate destination for the latest technology news, trends and Cisco insights. The team created a broad array of content in order to appeal to those seeking Cisco-specific updates, as well as readers looking for more general information about the technology industry. This diverse content was intended to help Cisco extend its reach to a broad, global audience, gain industry recognition from media, analysts, businesses, customers and social media users, and position Cisco as a thought leader in the technology space. Ultimately, the team aimed to foster a 'Take, Share, Engage' campaign in which interesting, sharable content would increase Cisco's share of voice and drive bottom-line results.
In order to reinvigorate The Network, Cisco's corporate social media team first developed an innovative 'writers program.' After conducting robust research, the team hand-selected 15 esteemed business and technology journalists from around the globe to serve as Cisco's satellite content team. These journalists are tasked with keeping their fingers on the pulse of technology, spotting real-time opportunities around trending topics and drafting content for The Network. Not only do they help Cisco produce prolific, timely and relevant content, but they also keep the team honest, ensuring content remains lightly-branded and non-biased so the team is practicing true brand journalism. Each journalist also lends third-party credibility to Cisco's content and helps the team reach a broader audience, as they regularly share with personal followers. Beyond relying on these journalists to share content, the team also leverages relationships with top media and influencers to curate articles and share content, expanding the team's reach.
In addition to enlisting a team of savvy technology journalists for content creation, Cisco's social media team has built a robust, living and breathing content calendar consisting of visual, sharable content such as blog posts, infographics, videos, podcasts and quizzes around technology trends key to Cisco's core businesses. Most importantly, the team creates ample content around the Internet of Everything, Cisco's flagship vision for connecting people, processes, data and things around the globe and a popular, trending topic of online discussion.
The Network is home to a diverse array of content. In addition to serving as a hub for technology news, it is home to Focus, Cisco's online monthly thematic magazine. Each month, the team identifies a trending topic in technology. Then, to capitalize on existing conversation, the team creates a broad array of content on the topic, from articles and blogs to infographics and videos. To date, Cisco has produced 17 issues of Focus. Popular issues include Technology in Education, Women in Technology and The Internet of Everything. Each issue also includes a 'Follow the Leader' widget, which features five to ten experts on the topic who Cisco recommends readers follow to learn more on the topic. These experts often share Focus content to their broad audiences.
On The Network, Cisco also launched and curated a six-part mini-documentary series, True Stories of the Connected, which captures stories of people around the globe using connected technology to better their lives, businesses and communities. The series tells the stories of a Vancouver doctor who cares for patients in rural Canada via video conferencing, a Vermont vintner who perfects his grapes through the use of connected sensors, and a Cambodian technologist who trains underprivileged citizens on how to use computers. By showing how connected devices are positively impacting economies around the world, the videos demonstrate the power of the Internet of Everything. Because of its authentic, human storytelling, True Stories of the Connected has resonated with a diverse global audience.
The Network continues to set a precedent for B2B involvement in brand journalism. This online newsroom produces widely shared and highly respected content in collaboration with top-tier journalists and bloggers. Since January 2013, the site has accumulated 2.5 million unique visitors and a total of 7.3 million page views. 68% percent of visitors are new to the site, which experienced 41% percent growth in page views overall. The Network also accrued 242,000 social sharing referrals. This spike in new visitors can be attributed the virality of the site's content and shows that media outreach efforts and amplification across social channels are helping to drive new traffic to the newsroom. Since its launch in August 2013, Focus has accumulated 64,000 unique visitors, 94,000 total page views and 22,133 social referrals. True Stories of the Connected accumulated 16,722 views on YouTube and was shared across social networks via The Network more than 868 times.
