You’ve planned, outlined, and drafted some content that clearly communicates the points and messages you set out to convey. Time to sit back, relax, and think about what’s next, right?
Not exactly. Before the content appears publicly, it must go through the editing process. The more people who are involved in the process – writers, marketers, executives, subject matter experts – the more lengthy and convoluted the process becomes.
Welcome to the “dark side” of the editing process, as Joel Schwartzberg writes in Harvard Business Review, which may be characterized by excessive nitpicking, numerous disagreements, and competition over authority and expertise. Fun times all around!
However, editing doesn’t always need to be so painful. To improve the editing process, keep in mind the following three tips:
Be mindful of version control: Given that editing often figuratively involves several cooks in the kitchen at the same time, it’s important that those cooks work from the exact same recipe. In the public relations world, this means that we must ensure that all editors work from the same version of the content. This is easy in the beginning, but the process often breaks down as individual editors simultaneously make changes to the same Word document.
Three editors may equate to three different versions of the same content, creating challenges in reconciling what may be contradictory edits. To avoid this, develop a plan that includes all the individuals who will need to make edits, and send the document to them one at a time. Separately, shared cloud-based tools such as Google docs can reduce problems with version control but may bring their own set of issues with competing voices.
Resist the commenting urge: We all understand the urge to include edits in comments in the right-hand margin of a document or the body of an email. Resist the urge. Comments in the margin lead to confusion, misinterpretation, and inefficiency. Instead, if you think a change needs to be made to the text, simply make it. Save comments in the margin for genuine questions – not edits. Doing so will reduce the time and ambiguity associated with the editing process. As an alternative…
Make use of track changes functionality: The tools “Track changes” in Word and “Suggesting” in Google docs can be an editor’s best friend. By using these tools, the reviewer can make desired changes clear to the writer without the ambiguity and confusion associated with right-margin comments.
Editing can be a pain, but it is a necessary step when creating great content to ensure all participants are on the same page. To increase efficiency and create content that drives key messaging, practice the three tips above.
The first blog was created in 1994 by a Swarthmore College student who posted his own writing as well as links to websites he liked and thought his readers would enjoy.
Incredibly, that formula still holds up after more than 30 years of the internet. What other aspect of the online world can that be said about? Of course, a lot has changed about blogging (SEO, the addition of video and audio, different platforms, AI), but the objective of expressing your thoughts and sharing interesting things remains fundamental to successful blogging.
That’s true for businesses that blog as well as college students. Blogs have been around so long that they can be viewed as internet relics, like MySpace and Napster, but there is a reason they persist. They’re effective – as long as they’re done right.
There is some interesting research on the tactics of blogging: how to use SEO, how long to write, formats, how frequently to publish, even when to publish. Here’s an earlier Amendola post with some interesting research about blogs. That is helpful for the experienced blogger who wants to become expert, but I find the rules for a successful corporate blog are similar to those for being a good guest at a party:
Have something to say
Corporate blogs that simply recycle company press releases and other internal announcements are dull, like party guests who can’t carry on a conversation. No one, least of all a client or customer, feels obligated to read a dull blog. The content should be either interesting, educational, entertaining or some combination of the above.
It’s not about you
The first rule of successful socializing is expressing an interest in others (even if it’s feigned). The party guest who talks only about himself is a boor. It’s the same for companies that blog only about themselves. No one – not even their employees – is that interested in them. Blogs should take a more expansive view of the universe. I don’t mean medical device companies should be commenting on sports and Oscar nominations necessarily, but dealing with tangential topics add variety, demonstrate a wider world view and make it easier to draw in readers.
While there is no exact formula, a good rule of thumb is roughly a 50/50 mix between company content and other material.
Mingle with others
Blogging alone in your corner of the internet while ignoring all the other content out there is like refusing to interact with other party guests.
Acknowledging and making use of other companies’ relevant content is a great way to gain an audience and show off your insights.
This doesn’t mean promoting the competition, just recognizing that you don’t have a monopoly on interesting things to say. If a media outlet writes a compelling article about your industry, you can link to it and offer your thoughts. You can even invite guest bloggers. It’s a great way to build an audience.
Don’t overstay your welcome
No one likes a guest who shows up early, insists on being the center of attention at all times and lingers after the hosts have started cleaning up. In other words, don’t blog too often. It’s only large B2C brands that might need to be out with new material every day. For B2B brands, once or twice a week is fine. That also makes it less likely that you’ll have to post weak content. Just like at a party, you want to leave them wanting more.
There is nothing sadder than hosting a party which no one attends. It’s the same with writing blogs that no one reads. If you’re going to go to the effort of creating and maintaining a blog, be sure to follow the rules for making it interesting. Otherwise, you’ll be eating the cake all by yourself.
In today’s content-saturated landscape, thought leadership bylines remains a powerful tool for building credibility and influence. For example, 88% of decision-makers believe high-quality thought leadership content improves their perception of an organization, yet 71% say less than half of what they read actually provides valuable insights, according to statistics cited by The New York Times.
This gap underscores the importance of crafting compelling, meaningful bylines that stand out. To increase your chances of publication and audience engagement, consider these three essential tips.
Go easy on the self-promotion: The quickest way to lose credibility in a thought leadership piece is to turn it into a sales pitch. While it’s tempting to highlight your company’s solutions, most publications require bylines to be vendor-neutral. Readers seek valuable industry insights, not an extended advertisement. Instead of pushing products or services, share a fresh perspective, unique data, or a forward-thinking analysis of an industry trend. If your content provides genuine value, readers will naturally associate that expertise with your brand, enhancing its reputation without overt self-promotion.
Focus on an industry problem: Readers engage with content that resonates with their professional challenges. A strong byline should tackle a pressing industry issue and offer actionable insights, not just general observations. Rather than reiterating well-known problems, take a deeper dive: Offer a counterintuitive take, present real-world case studies, or challenge conventional wisdom. For example, instead of writing about how digital transformation is crucial in healthcare, explore why certain digital initiatives fail and what organizations can do differently. Thought leadership isn’t about stating the obvious; it’s about advancing the conversation in a meaningful way.
Respect your readers’ time: In an era where executives and professionals are inundated with content, brevity is key. Editors and readers prefer bylines that get straight to the point, typically around 800 words. If your article stretches beyond that, tighten your argument by removing fluff and redundant points. Strong, concise writing improves engagement and increases the likelihood of publication. Aim for clarity over complexity, and ensure every paragraph serves a purpose.
Final thoughts A well-crafted byline can elevate your thought leadership profile, but only if it aligns with industry standards and reader expectations. By prioritizing valuable insights over self-promotion, addressing real industry challenges, and keeping your content concise, you enhance your chances of making a lasting impact. As the data suggests, high-quality thought leadership matters, so take the time to refine your byline and provide content that truly informs and engages your audience.
Probably the greatest single piece of advice I’ve ever heard about content creation didn’t come from a college class/professional course, or a boss/mentor, or any other supposed expert source. Instead, it came from the movie “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” Here it is:
Yes, it’s said in anger and frustration as part of a much longer rant. The whole piece is brutally painful as well as brutally funny.
But within the comedy is a true pearl of wisdom: Try having a point.
Death of a story
We see this all the time. Someone at an organization recognizes that they need to produce content to demonstrate the organization’s expertise so they can gain a competitive advantage.
The organization’s subject matter experts (SMEs), who are very knowledgeable and have strong views on the topics in their wheelhouses, share their ideas and experience with the marketing team and PR agency. They have the makings of a great story that will capture attention and position the organization as a leader in the market.
The content is produced, and it captures the passion and expertise of the SMEs. Then the review rounds start, and by the time the organization is done scrubbing the content what was once a fat, juicy steak has been sanitized until it is reduced to a piece of limp broccoli that will be of interest to exactly no one including an editor.
Sometimes it takes the form of genericizing the content until it sounds like something a high school senior would turn in for a composition class after the grades have already been posted. It’s serviceable, grammatically correct and decently organized, but it no longer conveys the fire that the SME felt for the topic.
Basically, any sense of personality has been removed. That’s bad enough.
Worse are the reviews that take an interesting, informative piece and convert it into a blatant marketing piece for the organization. That might work on the organization’s website, but it won’t fly if you’re trying to get it past an editor for earned (read: non-paid) media.
Of course, even if you could make it past that gatekeeper, there’s really nothing in it for the reader. If they wanted to read marketing-speak they would have gone to your website.
Healthcare’s special challenge
Healthcare organizations have a special challenge because our industry loves us some jargon. It seems like healthcare as a whole never met a technical term or three-letter acronym (TLA) it didn’t like.
It’s almost as if the goal is to make the content as difficult to read as possible, like it requires some sort of book cipher to read it. Which of course goes against the most basic rules of successful selling, where you want to convey information in the easiest-to-understand language to reach the broadest audience possible.
Making content effective
The most effective content is the content that has a point to make and makes it convincingly. It doesn’t just convey information. It grabs the reader or viewer by the lapels and says, “Sit down and listen, because I’m going to tell you something you need to know.”
It then does just that: focuses on what the reader/viewer needs to hear rather than only on what the produce of the content wants to say. But it does it in a way, as Steve Martin’s character says, that is much more interesting for the listener.
In many cases, that means telling a story that has a beginning, middle and end. As humans we are wired to understand information presented in story form. It’s part of our survival mechanism.
The Vanishing Hitchhiker approach
Take urban legends. The point of an urban legend isn’t to get you to believe in the legend itself (although social media may have changed that intention). The point is to warn you that something bad could happen if you’re not careful about certain behaviors, like teenagers parking in a remote area to do the things teenagers do.
But even when we’re not warning about the dangers of parking near insane asylums when a resident with a hook for a hand escapes, stories help give us context we can use to process information and ultimately take an action. For marketing that means becoming interested in our product or service.
That doesn’t mean every piece of content must tell a story. But unless it’s a data or spec sheet, it needs to be interesting enough to capture and keep our attention, especially when so much else is competing for it these days.
The point is…
If you make your content bland, or plain vanilla, it’s true you’re unlikely to offend anyone. But you’re also unlikely to persuade anyone either.
If your goal is to capture hearts, minds and ultimately sales leads, be sure your content has a point. It’s so much more interesting for the listener/reader/viewer.
MARINA DEL REY, CA and SCOTTSDALE, AZ Nov. 1, 2017–Amendola Communications, an award-winning healthcare marketing and public relations agency, is pleased to welcome back 4medica, the market leader in moving clinical data in real time across the healthcare continuum, to its customer family. Amendola has previously served as 4medica’s public relations agency of record. In this newest engagement, Amendola will produce quality content and provide additional public relations support.
The reengagement is a timely one as 4medica pivots from being identified largely with its top ranking laboratory and imaging connectivity solutions, to broader recognition as an expert in real time clinical data integration and data management accuracy with its highly patented and innovative Big Data MPI.
“We know from experience there is no agency better suited or more familiar with the healthcare IT space– to help amplify our positioning than Amendola,” said Gregory Church, President, 4medica.
Church added, “Jodi Amendola and her team also have a strong commitment to client service that has proven to help us quickly act on important opportunities.”
Beyond static electronic health records to true clinical data interoperability
In a diversified health IT field, 4medica has earned its position as one of the leading clinical data exchange vendors. The company has seen firsthand the need for the fluid flow of data throughout the healthcare organization, without sacrificing data accuracy, quality and security.
To that end, 4medica offers an expansive portfolio of solutions for health systems, hospitals, laboratories, imaging centers, health information exchanges (HIEs), accountable care organizations (ACOs), health plans and other diagnostic care organizations. These solutions include:
ClinXdata, a powerful platform for clinical data exchange
4medica Big Data MPI, which performs patient identity matching at unprecedented speed and scale
Revenue cycle management services to make lab orders management a revenue-generating function
All 4medica solutions reside in a highly secure cloud environment that adheres to HIPAA’s stringent data security and privacy standards. This is of particular importance for healthcare data that is rapidly becoming digital.
“We are so pleased to be working with 4medica again, a company that has been at the forefront of healthcare data’s digital transformation. We look forward to helping 4medica create and promote content that memorably articulates its value proposition to a variety of healthcare audiences,” said Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola.
Amendola will deliver a range of content from bylined articles and informative briefs to press releases and award application abstracts–that highlights 4medica’s thought leadership and expertise. Amendola will also provide public relations to promote 4medica’s newsworthy events and milestones.
About 4medica
4medica provides the industry’s leading SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) big data MPI, clinical data exchange and integration platform to help healthcare organizations of diverse types create a seamless view of the patient care experience and help further drive better health outcomes. The clinical data exchange platform integrates with and builds upon disparate systems to facilitate interoperable data exchange across various care settings to promote care continuity. The cloud computing model is scalable, lower cost, maintenance-free, easy to use and deployable in a few months or less, eliminating large capital outlays or resource utilization. This is especially critical for hospitals and physician health organizations of all types and sizes. 4medica connects hundreds of institutional facilities including hospitals, health systems, physicians, laboratories, radiology centers and pathology clinics. More than 35,000 physicians use its solutions every day. Learn more at www.4medica.com and www.bigdatampi.com.
