THE BUSINESS JOURNALS NATIVE CONTENT FAQ THE BUSINESS JOURNALS CONTENT STUDIO
GENERAL 2 ARTICLE 10 HUB 16 VIDEO 21 PODCAST 24 GLOSSARY 28
General Q: What will my content look like? Q: How is the content labeled as sponsored? Q: Where will my content live on site? Q: What is a call to action and where is it placed on the page? Q: What are best practices for branded content? Q: What is the difference between advertorial and native content? Q: Can The Business Journals create the content for us? Q: Can we submit our own content? Q: Who writes the headlines? Q: Who has final approval of the content? Q: How will my content be promoted? Q: Can I publish the content on my own site? Q: What reporting will I receive? Q: Can we integrate our own tracking?
Q: What will my content look like? A: Use the links below to jump to the relevant section Article Video Podcast Q: How is the content labelled as sponsored? A: When a headline for the content is displayed on site, the content will be slightly darker in color than our editorial content and will have a header that says Sponsored Content by (your company name). On the content page, your company logo will appear in the top right-hand corner by the Sponsored by prefix. Sponsored Content by (your company name) will also appear directly above the headline. Q: Where will my content live on site? A: Content purchased as part of a monthly package resides as a page on our website. Headlines for the content will show up in our news river and can also be found under Thought Leadership in our navigation bar.
News River Placement
Thought Leadership Navigation
Thought Leadership Section
For content purchased as part of a hub package, please click here. Q: What is a call to action and where is it placed in the article? A: A call to action is where the reader is asked to take an action. It can be a link to your web site to learn more about the topic, it could be a link to sign up for your newsletter or it could be a link to learn more about the company. The call to action is optional, but it is recommended for you to continue the engagement with our interested readers. The default position of the call to action is at the end of the article. Q: What are best practices for branded content? A: The key best practice is to focus on our readers and what you hope they take away from the content. The reader s impression should be that your company is an expert on the subject, not a sales professional. Q: What is the difference between advertorial and native content? A: Advertorial can be more promotional in nature and does not require approval from the editors within our content studio. Branded native content should aim to inform and educate the reader, without heavy sales messaging or brand promotion. Q: Can The Business Journals create the content for us? A: Yes, although there is a fee associated with this. Our experienced content studio team can create articles, videos or podcasts. Q: Can we submit our own content? A: Yes. All content must meet our thought leadership requirements of not being promotional. Please jump to the relevant sections (articles, videos or podcasts) for more details. Q: Who writes the headlines? A: You are welcomed and encouraged to propose a headline. Our content studio will review and make suggestions, if necessary, based on deep knowledge of what works best for online readership. A headline will be accepted after joint approval from the client and content studio. Q: Who has final approval of the content? A: There is joint final approval the client and The Business Journals content studio. The studio staffers will make sure each piece meets journalistic standards and looks as much like Business Journals content as possible. Nothing will be published until both the advertiser and the content studio give final approval. Q: How will my content be promoted?
A: Content purchased as part of a monthly package will receive headline impressions across our site, as well as posts on social media. This consists of one Facebook post and one Twitter post per content piece. Headline Impressions
Social Promotion Facebook Twitter For content purchased as part of a content hub, please jump to this section. Q: Can I publish the content on my own site? A: Yes, native content can also be published on the advertiser s site, regardless of whether the content was created by The Business Journals content studio or provided by the advertiser. Any stock imagery used within an article may not be used on the advertiser s own site, due to copyright restrictions. For video and podcast content, The Business Journals grants a license to use the media on the advertiser s own website and social channels. For exact licensing and rights information, please speak to your account executive. Q: What reporting will I receive? A: Reporting varies by content type, article, video or podcast. Q: Can we integrate our own tracking? A: Clients may provide tracking links for use on links within article content, but other forms of tracking, such as embedded pixels, can t be done.
Article Q: What does an article look like? Q: How long should articles be? Q: Can we supply the content? Q: Will my article be edited? Q: What are best practices for writing the content? Q: What is the timeline if we supply the content? Q: Can The Business Journals content studio help us come up with story ideas? Q: Can I include a photo of the author? Q: Can I include information about the author? Q: Can we have multiple authors on a story? Q: Can we provide our own photos? Q: Can we choose where the images are shown in the article? Q: Can more than one image run with an article? Q: Can we provide a chart or infographic? Q: Can I include a video in my article? Q: How many links can I have in my article? Q: Can we write about our company accomplishments and/or our products and services? Q: Can The Business Journals content studio write the stories for us? Q: What is the timeline if the content studio writes the stories? Q: Will the content be posted on social media? Q: What reporting will I receive?
Q: What does an article look like? A: Below is an example of an article on site.
Q: How long should articles be? A: Articles around 500 words work the best, as studies show that most readers don t go beyond the first 500 words of any article. We would suggest keeping stories to a maximum of 750 words. Also, make sure to use subheads or bulleted points as readers find these more attractive than a large block of text. Q: Can we supply the content ourselves? A: Yes, the content studio will review the article and work with you to ensure it meets the requirements for our native content. Q: Will my article be edited? A: Almost certainly. There are styling issues that we want to maintain across the site and to match our journalism voice. Our business journals and The Business Journals content studio use The Associated Press Stylebook as the style guide. Q: What are best practices for writing the content? A: The key best practice is to focus on our readers and what you hope they take away from the native article. Write authoritatively so the reader s impression is that your company or writer is an expert on the article s subject. For other tips on effective native articles, see our companion document, Native Content Guide. Q: What is the timeline if we supply the content? A: Content shout be submitted 14 business days before the desired publication date. Q: Can The Business Journals content studio help us come up with story ideas? A: Yes, our skilled team of writers has a wide range of experience from writing native content for our national and local partners to knowledge of topics that will be of higher reader interest. Request a content strategy session through your account executive, and a call will be scheduled. Q: Can I include a photo of the author? A: Yes. The photo should be a head-and-shoulders shot. The photo thumbnail will be displayed at the top of the article. Q: Can I include information about the author? A: An author description can be up to 50 words. It should be a brief factual description of the author. The description can include a link either to an employee profile page on the company s web site or a LinkedIn page. Providing an email address is allowed within the 50 words but live email links are not permitted. Q: Can we have multiple authors on a story? A: Yes, and you can include photos of the authors. If there are two photos of the authors, they can be combined into a photo collage of the two authors. The aspect ratio of an author photo is
3:4. The minimum width for an author photo, whether of an individual or a two-author collage is 1,200 pixels. The photo can be larger, but should remain in the 3:4 aspect ratio. In the photo collage, the first author listed should be on the left side of the photo collage. After two author photos, the space the photos is shown in makes the photos difficult to see. It is not recommended to run photos of the author if there are more than two authors. For multiple authors, the information on the authors can be up to 75 words total. Q: Can we provide our own photos? A: We will accept photos of your company s people or facilities, provided you demonstrate clear ownership or license to use the photo in advertising. You are welcome to provide stock photos (provided you demonstrate clear license) or are welcome to tap into our content studio's expertise in selecting compelling images. The image should complement the article and not convey a promotional message. If you choose to submit a photo, the image needs to be a minimum of 1200x1200 pixels and a.jpg (.jpeg) or.png format. The nature of the photo should not be an ad, ad-like or a logo and the photo should not have the company s logo imposed on the photo. If your submitted photo has people who can be recognized, we will ask you to verify that the recognizable persons have agreed to appear in an advertisement being paid for by the client. Q: Can we choose where the images are shown in the article? A: Yes. The default photo position is below the headline, but you can request the image be placed elsewhere in the article. The photo can be inserted between paragraphs, but text cannot be wrapped around the photograph. This photo inserted between paragraphs will be smaller than if shown in the default position. Q: Can more than one image run with an article? A: All articles are permitted up to three photos. Q: Can we provide a chart or infographic? A: A chart or infographic can be included between the paragraphs of an article or at the bottom of the article. The infographic should be a.jpg (.jpeg) or.png file and is shown at a width of 575 pixels wide. Here s an example of an infographic in our article template. Branding of the infographic can be at the bottom of the infographic and should be the lesser of 90 pixels or 10 percent of the depth of the infographic. Special note for infographics that are more than 1500 pixels deep Because of the image compression software used on our site, an infographic of more than 1500 pixels deep needs a width of more than 800 pixels. The display size of the infographic will be 575 pixels wide, so make sure the size of text will still be readable at a width of 575 pixels. Q: Can I include a video in my article?
A: Yes. If you have a short video under 45 seconds that is relevant to the content of your article, you may include this. All content must meet our thought leadership requirements of not being promotional. The Business Journals content studio reserves the right to determine whether the video enhances the reader experience. Other video must run as a separate piece of content and count towards your total number of articles. Q: How many links can I have in my article? A: One external link back to the advertiser's web site within the text of the article is permitted. This link is in addition to the call to action link at the end of the article and the link in the company info section. Depending on the format chosen, there may be both a company info and author info. Both the company info and author info may have links. Additional links within the text of the article may be permitted by the content studio if deemed that the additional links create a better reader experience. Outbound links will have a no follow tag, per Google standards. Q: Can we write about our company accomplishments and/or our products and services? A: Thought leadership branded content is intended to inform the reader and should not be viewed as a sales pitch for products, services or a company. Branded content that promotes rather than informs is one of the most prominent complaints from online users. Again, we suggest writing the article from the readers view. You can write about a common problem readers face and solutions that would solve the problem. You may also want to have a free consultation with the content studio editors on executing an effective solution-oriented article. Q: Can The Business Journals content studio write the stories for us and how much does it cost? A: Yes. We have a stable of seasoned journalists who can assist with content creation. There is a $500 fee for basic article creation, per article. More advanced content desires, including video creation and photographic needs, should be addressed prior to commitment for custom pricing. Q: What is the timeline if the content studio writes the articles? A: The process generally takes 23 business days from the kickoff call. It includes a content strategy kickoff call and an interview or series of interviews. The client shares responsibility in this collaborative effort, including providing timely approvals. Q: Will the content be posted on social media? A: Yes. Each article will be posted once on Facebook and Twitter from the local Business Journals page. If your business does not have an official Facebook account, we will be unable to post to this channel, as FTC guidelines prevent us from doing so without tagging an official page. If you would like extra social pushes, please speak to your account executive. Q: What reporting will I receive? A: Measurements include
Headline click-through rate Pageviews Active page dwell time (how long people spent on the page) Scroll rate (the percentage of readers who scrolled) Scroll depth (how far down the page people scrolled)
Hub Q: What does a content hub look like? Q: What is the advantage of using a content hub strategy? Q: Can I get content strategy assistance? Q: Can I pick a name for the content hub? Q: Can I include my company's name in the content hub name? Q: How long can my content hub name be? Q: What about that image behind the title? Q: Will my logo be present in the content hub? Q: How many articles can I include for a content hub? Q: How many articles should I have ready for the launch of the content hub? Q: Can I pick the order of the headlines in the content hub? Q: Can I have other Business Journals articles appear in my content hub? Q: Can I swap content I created during the campaign? Q: Where will my content live on site? Q: How will my content be promoted? Q: Do I get ads inside my content hub? Q: Do the headline impressions point to the content hub? Q: What happens to my content hub at the conclusion of my campaign? Q: Can I keep my content hub live longer? Q: Do the months have to run consecutively?
Q: What does a content hub look like? A: Below is an example of a content hub on site. Q: Can I get content strategy assistance? A: Yes. Please tell your account executive that you would like to schedule a call with The Business Journals content studio for a content strategy session. A call with an editor will be arraigned to strategize. This is a free service to content hub clients. Additionally, please see the Native Content FAQ and Native Content Guide. Q: What is the advantage of using a content hub strategy? A: There are several advantages to a content hub. The content hub is a central location for your articles and a link to the content is included as part of the navigation on every article in the market. Content hubs have three months of promotion and articles published when the hub is launched receive the full three months of promotion. Our data shows articles published as part of a content hub receive more than 3 times the page views of non-hub articles. Content hub
articles can include a link to up to three previously published articles shown at the bottom of the articles under the banner Related Content. Q: Can I pick a name for the content hub? A: You are welcome to offer suggestions for your content hub s name. The Business Journals content studio team can assist in brainstorming names, as well. The hub name must be appropriate for a business news audience and should reflect the content inside the hub. It cannot be a duplicate of an existing content hub or news site section. All content hub names require approval from our content studio. Q: Can I include my company's name in the content hub name? A: No. The native content hubs on The Business Journals web sites are intended to bring thought leadership on a topic or industry level, thus the prominent navigation bar placement. There are strong branding opportunities within the content hub. Q: How long can my content hub name be? A: There are two parts of a content hub name. The main title can be up to 30 characters including spaces. There is an optional subhead line below the main title that can be up to 75 characters. Q: What about that image behind the title? A: That is called a hero image and it is an optional item, which can add visual appeal to a content hub page. You can supply an image or the content studio will offer suggestions you can choose. The hero image should be 2100 pixels wide by 1200 pixels deep. In choosing a photo, here are factors to consider: The hub title and subhead will be white text superimposed over the image. The content hub page is responsive which means what is shown as the hero image should be more generic and what is seen by readers will depend on their device and browser. A gradient screen is automatically shown over the image darkening to the bottom to avoid the white text being washed out. The image should not contain company logos or other branding in the image. A logo of 120x60 pixels is also superimposed on the image. Q: Will my logo be present in the content hub? A: Yes. Please provide a 120x60-pixel logo, which will reside in the content hub above and to the right of the articles. Please also provide a link to your website or landing page for the logo link. Q: Can the content studio write articles for me?
A: Yes. Please tell your account executive that you would like to have articles created by The Business Journals content studio. There is a $500 content creation fee per article. Q: How many articles can I include for a content hub? A: You are permitted to publish up to six articles into a content hub. The ad impressions purchased with the hub will be distributed to the articles throughout the duration of the campaign. Q: How many articles should I have ready for the launch of the content hub? A: We recommend launching with three articles. However, launching with all six articles will maximize the exposure to each article over the three-month period. A content hub can launch with a single article. Q: Can I pick the order of the headlines in the content hub? A: Yes. As new articles are added, you can request a reordering. The articles will be shown in the order published with the most recently shown on top otherwise. Q: Can I have other Business Journals articles appear in my content hub? A: Yes. Ask your account executive to facilitate a conversation with the content studio. Q: Can I swap content I created during the campaign? A: No. The article limit is six articles. You cannot rotate new content during the campaign, however you may optimize headline impressions towards the best performing content. If you would like to extend the campaign or purchase more articles, speak with your account executives. Q: Where will my content live on site? A: Your hub will appear in the navigation bar under Industries & Topics. It will be clearly labeled as Sponsored Content with a dark gray background. Each content piece within the hub will also have a prominent link back to the hub, along with links to other content pieces from the hub. Q: How will my content be promoted? A: Each piece of content will be posted once on Facebook and once on Twitter from the local market page. If your business does not have an official Facebook account, we will be unable to post to this channel, as FTC guidelines prevent us from doing so without tagging an official page. Content within a hub will also receive paid amplification, which takes place through social media or content recommendation engines. Amplification is always geo-targeted to the metro area of the hub and interest-based targeting is also applied, to ensure that the audience remains relevant and engaged as the reach increases. There is no additional fee for this amplification.
Q: Do I get ads inside my content hub? A: Yes. Please provide a 728x90-pixel creative for the top of the content hub page and a 300x250 creative for the right rail of the hub. Q: Do the headline impressions point to the content hub? A: No. The headline impressions include the headlines of the individual articles mixed into the headline streams with regular news articles. However, each article in a content hub package contains a prominent link back to the content hub. Q: What happens to my content hub at the conclusion of my campaign? A: The hub will no longer be available in the navigation bar. The articles will continue to be available in archives and, potentially, search engines. Q: Can I keep my content hub live longer? A: Yes. Content hubs are sold in packages of three consecutive months. To extend the campaign, talk to your account executive about purchasing another package. Q: Do the months have to run consecutively? A: No. If you would like to pause and restart your hub at any time, please speak to your account executive.
Video Q: What will my content look like? Q: Can we mention our company, accomplishments or products and services? Q: How long should my video be? Q: Can you help us come up with ideas? Q: Can you create the content for us? Q: What is the timeline if the content studio creates the content? Q: Can we supply the content? Q: What is the timeline if we supply the content? Q: Will the content be posted on social media? Q: What reporting will I receive?
Q: What does a video look like? A: Below is an example of a video on site: Q: Can we mention our company, accomplishments or products and services? A: Branded content is intended to inform the reader and should not be viewed as a sales pitch for products, services or a company. Branded content that promotes rather than informs is one of the most prominent complaints from online users. Again, we suggest creating content from the viewer s perspective. You can speak about a common problem for viewers and then discuss solutions that would solve the problem. You may also want to have a free consultation with the content studio editors on executing an effective solution-oriented video. Q: How long should a submitted video be? A: This depends on the content, but our research suggests that our audience is willing to watch longer formats when the content is valuable and engaging. We recommend aiming for between 1 and 10 minutes.
Q: Can you help us come up with ideas? A: Yes, our studio has a wide range of experience in creating content around topics that will be of high interest to our audience. Request a content strategy session through your account executive, and a call will be scheduled. Q: Can you create the content for us? A: Yes, please speak to your account executive to hear more about our video production packages. Q: What is the timeline if the content studio creates the content? A: From the time you begin working with us, it takes around 2 months to have video live on site. This includes the planning phase, shooting, editing and any revisions. Q: Can we supply the content? A: Yes. Each video will be counted as one of your content pieces. They also must meet all requirements of not being promotional. The videos can, however, include the company s name and logo at the front end of the video. We can use common video formats, such as mp4 and mov. We can also embed accepted videos from YouTube and other sites. We will provide 2-3 paragraphs of supporting text under each video to enable us to include a CTA and improve SEO. Q: What is the timeline if we supply the content? A: Video should be submitted 10 business days before the desired publication date. Q: Will the content be posted on social media? A: Yes. A link to each video will be posted once on Facebook and Twitter from the local market page. If your business does not have an official Facebook account, we will be unable to post to this channel, as FTC guidelines prevent us from doing so without tagging an official page. If you would like extra social pushes, please speak to your account executive. Q: What reporting will I receive? A: Measurements include Pageviews Video starts Plays through 25% Plays through 50% Plays through 75% Plays to completion Completion rate
Podcast Q: What will my content look like? Q: Will there be an interviewer on the podcast? Q: Do we need to send somebody into a studio? Q: What are best practices for podcasts? Q: Can we mention our company, accomplishments or products and services? Q: How long should my podcast be? Q: Can you help us come up with ideas? Q: Can you create the content for us and are there fees for this? Q: What is the timeline if the content studio creates the content? Q: How will the podcast be produced? Q: Can we supply the content? Q: What is the timeline if we supply the content? Q: Will the content be posted on social media? Q: What reporting will I receive? Q: Can I see how far through a podcast people are listening?
Q: What does a podcast look like? A: Below is an example of a podcast on site. The podcast will be embedded at the top of an article page, giving the listener the option to listen within their browser window or click to download from the hosting site. The content studio will create accompanying text, helpful for SEO (search engine optimization). A call to action link can be added to this text.
Q: Will there be an interviewer on the podcast? A: The host will be a Business Journals content studio-appointed interviewer who will introduce the podcasts as the (Publication Name) Thought Leadership Podcast. The host will handle necessary legal disclosures about the nature of the podcast as branded content and will identify as being "with the (Publication Name) Thought Leadership Podcast. Q: Do we need to send somebody into a studio? A: No. During the content strategy call, the day of the recording will be established for the client to be interviewed by phone. We suggest a quiet space at your place of business where those being interviewed will be uninterrupted from distractions. Q: What are best practices for podcast content? A: Like all Business Journals native content, this product is comprised of thought leadership and insight. Our editors will work with you on the questions and tone. The content direction is educational and informative, bringing value to the listener as they gain insight from the speaker. This is not an audio version of an advertorial and product pitches and endorsements do not belong in the podcasts. Q: Can we mention our company, accomplishments or products and services? A: We do expect the speakers to speak from their own experiences and they will draw from their business so mentions of their own business and expertise is expected in a thoughtprovoking way. Q: How long should my podcast be? A: Each podcast is roughly 10 minutes in length. Q: Can you help us come up with ideas? A: Yes. When a client signs on for a podcast package, they will be contacted by the client success managers (CSM) team. A content strategy call will be scheduled, to establish the discussion in the podcast and a time to record the podcast with The Business Journal content studio. As branded content, the client will have the opportunity to speak into what questions the TBJ-appointed interviewer will ask to guide the conversation. Q: Can The Business Journals create the content for us and is there an additional fee? A: Yes. Podcasts come with a mandatory $500 content fee per podcast. This fee is used for recording of the podcast, editing and on-page content creation. Q: What is the timeline if the content studio creates the content? A: Usually the process takes around 15 business days from planning to completion. Q: How will the Business Journals produce my podcast? A: When the interview is complete, the audio recording will be edited and the client will be able to review the recording. After approval, the recording and a brief description of the podcast will be placed into an article page. The content studio will provide 2-3 paragraphs of supporting text
under each podcast to enable us to include a CTA and improve SEO. The client will receive a PDF preview of the page for review and approval to publish. Q: Can we supply the content? A: Yes. We require the podcast to be in mp3 format. Each podcast will be counted as one of your content pieces. They also must meet all requirements of not being promotional. After approval, the recording and brief description of the podcast will be placed into an article page. The content studio will provide 2-3 paragraphs of supporting text under each podcast to enable us to include a CTA and improve SEO. The client will receive a PDF preview of the page for review and approval to publish. Q: What is the timeline if we supply the content? A: Usually this process takes around 5 business days from receiving the file to going live on site. Q: Will the content be posted on social media? A: Yes. A link to each podcast will be posted once on Facebook and Twitter from the local market page. If your business does not have an official Facebook account, we will be unable to post to this channel, as FTC guidelines prevent us from doing so without tagging an official page. If you would like extra social pushes, please speak to your account executive. Q: What reporting will I receive? A: Measurement will include: Page views to the content on The Business Journals web site Plays Q: Can I see how far through a podcast people are listening? A: More robust metrics are not available as podcast measurement is unique to other mediums. Listener behavior with podcasts varies greatly as some will download to listen at a later date, some will listen in small segments during available time (such as commuting), and some will wait to binge listen. Due to this unique user behavior, metrics such as average time spent listening is not a valid measurement.
Glossary Click-Through Rate Click-through rate is calculated as a percentage and measures how many people clicked on a link after viewing a piece of content. For example, if 100 people viewed your article and 5 clicked on your link, you would have a click-through rate of 5%. Completion Rate Completion rate measures how many people watched a video from beginning to end, as a percentage of everyone who began watching the video. For example, if 100 people started watching a video and only 40 made it to the end, your completion rate would be 40%. Content Recommendation Engines Content Recommendation Engines are a platform on which paid amplification occurs. By using a content recommendation engine, we are able to show headline impressions for our content on a variety of relevant websites, increasing the reach of our content. Headline Impressions Headline impressions are the placements given to the headlines of each content piece across the site. Native content at The Business Journals gets headline impressions on the homepage, in related content spots and in the news river. You can see examples of headline impressions here. Navigation Bar The navigation bar refers to the menu along the top of the website that displays the different categories and sections of content. You can see the navigation bar here: News River The news river refers to the section of the website where the headlines for all content lives. At The Business Journals, this is updated in chronological order, with designated spots for native content, as shown here. Paid Amplification Paid amplification refers to the practice of promoting our content on other locations than our own website. This can occur on social media, or across similar, relevant news websites.