Dec. 10-11, 2019
New York City
An event for internal communications, external communications and marketing pros, whether you’re content curious or content obsessed.
#RaganWriting
Join us in New York City to learn the new writing, video and visual storytelling best practices for grabbing your audience’s attention and refusing to let go. Learn to inspire meaningful action with powerful prose, vivacious video and incredible infographics.
Your content says a lot about you. What message are you sending?
Join us for a one-of-a-kind workshop that will show you how to create, execute and sustain a storytelling-focused brand journalism program in your organization. The Brand Journalism Workshop, led by 30-year veteran Jim Ylisela, is the one workshop you need to become the storytelling expert for your brand.
What you’ll learn:
- How to tell stories that capture audiences’ imagination—and illuminate your value proposition
- Creative ways to make potent videos without breaking the bank
- Practical tools and takeaways for creating infographics in-house
- How to emphasize executives’ strengths and minimize their weaknesses through speechwriting
- Ways to harness user-generated content to reward and connect with your biggest fans
- Smart tactics for making evergreen content that stays relevant for months or years
- Essentials of must-read stories—and how to master them
- How to leave vanity metrics behind on social media and score true engagement
Brand journalism is changing the way organizations tell their stories, internally and externally. Today, more organizations are converting their press release graveyards to storytelling sites, or better yet, reorganizing their newsrooms and launching separate storytelling platforms. Brand journalism helps organizations rise above the clutter of content on the web. But you have to keep evolving, just like all the other publishers fighting for a piece of the audience. To stay in place is to lose ground. In this session with Ragan Consulting Group co-founder Jim Ylisela, you’ll explore six ways to elevate your storytelling.
You’ll learn about:
- Breaking your own news. Pitch the story, not the press release.
- Using your special access. People love behind-the-scenes stories. Where can you take us that no one else can?
- Tracking trend stories. Want national coverage? Identify a trend and your place in it.
- Mining your data. You’re sitting on a treasure trove of stories. Dig them out.
- Sharing opinion. Showcase your leaders and experts with thought-provoking content.
- Spreading news of the weird. Find the fun and quirky items and blow up social media.
Keyword stuffing is an extinct, dead and buried, defunct and out-of-date strategy. Yet writing for search engines like Google—and for searchability within one’s own website—still matters. How can communicators structure their writing so that humans and search engines can easily find and consume what they have to offer? In this session, Laura Creekmore, director of taxonomy and content strategy at Syndigo, presents strategies for structuring information for ease of use by people and machines. You’ll learn how to think like an algorithm and classify information so it can be found online and easily consumed by your audience.
Attendees will learn:
- How to write content that works with algorithms to deliver better search rankings
- Strategic ways to structure content for a digital environment
- Writing exercises to force yourself to think about information structure
- Ways to tag and classify content for readability by humans and machines
Every organization is creating content nowadays, but are people responding to it? As Hilton finishes celebrating its 100th year as a leader in global hospitality, it’s also building an editorial content strategy centered around people: travelers (both business and leisure), employees and the people of the communities and countries in which Hilton operates.
Content is increasingly the first contact your audience has with your organization. With greater competition for eyeballs, creating content that stops scrolling and inspires action is more difficult —and more important—than ever. How can small teams with limited budgets create a content team within their own walls that makes masterful blog posts, video, visuals and infographics with flying colors? In this session our panel of creators and communicators address the challenge of creating powerful content that does more with less.
Participants will learn:
- Simple tools and inexpensive equipment for creating more with less
- How to find brand ambassadors and inspire user-generated content
- How to make the most of evergreen content
- How to produce and distribute video, podcasts and infographics without limitless resources
Video can be incredibly engaging. Done correctly, it’s the single most effective communication tool at your fingertips to get through to your audience. Screw it up, though, and video can be the single most expensive waste of time you’ve ever embarked upon—and it will turn off that same audience. Sound familiar? Then this session is for you.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- How to read key metrics to determine if your video is working or not (Hint: It’s not about the views)
- How to think about video’s place in the ever-changing social media landscape
- The four main reasons a video falls flat (and how to fix them)
- How to convince execs that “more video” is not an effective strategy to pursue
- What video trends are here to stay, and which ones are a fool’s errand
Infographics are powerful communication tools that should be in every marketer’s toolbox; however, most are poorly designed and never fulfill their potential. Engaging infographic designs that capture your audience’s attention employ best practices from both design and storytelling. Compelling design is just half the battle, though; next you must publish, promote and share your infographics across your key communications channels—including your website, social media, blogs and mainstream media. This session will walk you through the best practices for infographics design and the techniques for optimizing your infographics for SEO and social media.
In this session, you'll learn:
- The process for infographics design
- Best practices for infographics design (and some common mistakes)
- Common tools used for data visualization and infographics design
- Crucial design decisions for creating successful infographics
- Key steps to publishing and promoting your infographics
Journalists receive dozens, if not hundreds, of pitches every day. Employees are preoccupied with the many tasks at hand. How can PR and internal communications professionals cut through the noise and tell stories that are timely, surprising and human? In this session, Trish Hall, a veteran features and op-ed editor at both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, will show attendees how to bring stories to life in ways that influence action.
You’ll learn how to:
- Be succinct, truthful and efficient
- Be surprising and say a lot in email subject lines
- Know your audience and speak directly to them
- Play on feelings to earn trust and inspire action
- Write conversationally—but not so casually that you look sloppy
The stories of employees can be incredibly powerful in bringing a company to life for external and internal audiences. In this fireside chat, Ian Cohen (Head of PayPal Global Content Innovation & Creation) and Lenore Feder (Director of PayPal Global Employee Communications) will discuss the why, what and how of communicating the vision, values and success of a company through its employees.
You’ll learn:
- How to create content that tells the story of a brand from its most authentic storytellers
- Best practices and examples of impactful stories
- And of course you’ll get to see some inspiring videos!
There is no lack of great content on social media. More organizations are producing more content and putting more of a budget behind their work. How can organizations find the audiences they want and persuade them to engage with, click and consume their content? How can social media professionals go from engagement to action in ways that promote business objectives? In this session, our esteemed panel of social media professionals addresses some of the biggest challenges in social media content creation and distribution.
Participants will learn:
- Content that flourishes on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and more
- The most important metrics for success on each platform
- How to break through the boredom barrier and achieve real engagement
- Ways to use content to achieve greater organizational goals
- Tips and tricks for maximizing paid social media spend—while complementing organic content
Cleveland Clinic is a world-renowned medical institution, and its content is just as remarkable. Through captivating stories and content experiences, Cleveland Clinic built its blog from scratch to 7 million views per month. In this session, Amanda Todorovich, senior director, health content at Cleveland Clinic, shares some of the secrets to Cleveland Clinic’s success, and how you can apply its lessons to your organization.
You will learn:
- How to draw eyeballs to your corporate blog
- How to design clickable infographics and interactive content experiences that tell your organization’s story
- Ways to use data to earn the respect and support of senior leadership
- How to turn your website into a revenue-generating entity in itself
It's no secret that today's consumers seek brands who are transparent and authentic in their messaging. From the services they offer to the products manufactured, each organization has a story to tell and a consumer to engage. Yet, what happens when your client demands a story in Refinery29 and Forbes? How do you successfully engage both a consumer and business audience with the same offering? The power of authentic storytelling. Sabrina Browne will share how to develop a winning story to move the needle with target audiences and drive success in today's PR landscape.
You’ll learn:
- Storytelling best practices to apply to your PR and omnichannel campaigns
- Tips to amplify your organization's and clients' stories in media
- Ways to produce content that reaches target audiences
- How to identify influential voices to champion your client story
- The "four truths" every PR professional should use to develop a story
Creating sincere content to engage your community can be difficult as more consumers look to draw meaningful connections with the brands they choose to support. Yet in many cases, organizations need look no further than their own customers to find some of the most compelling stories to connect with and grow their community. Jonathan Fine, head of global brand communications for Spartan Race, will illustrate how the company identifies, creates and shares content around the inspirational stories of its community across owned channels, and how it maximizes the content for regional, national and global earned media exposure.
You’ll learn:
- How to uncover powerful stories within your community
- How to share inspirational stories that engage, empower and grow your community
- How to harness the passion of your customers and use it to generate earned media coverage that drives your mission forward
PR pros have always battled to catch reporters’ attention and secure media coverage. As newsrooms keep on shrinking, the fight gets even tougher. In their press releases and email pitches, PR people must appeal to publications’ readers if they want their stories to grab headlines. Colleen Newvine, product manager of The AP Stylebook, has been a newspaper reporter and editor on the receiving end of innumerable press releases. She now drafts press releases about the Stylebook that she hopes and prays do not have AP style errors.
You’ll learn how to:
- Avoid common AP style errors
- Cut out jargon, extraneous capitalization and exclamation points and get to the heart of your news
- Write tight, compelling copy reporters can grab and go—with little rewriting or editing
- Think like a journalist to find out if your story is newsworthy
- Tell a story that’s either unique enough to stand out or part of a larger trend
We’re all drowning in a sea of content. On big screens and little ones, in our palms and inside our ears, stories are everywhere. How can communications professionals create messages that stand out? The answer lies in crafting stories that speak your particular audience’s specific language, addressing its challenges and joining its conversations. From her perspective running The Washington Post’s BrandStudio, which produces hundreds of award-winning multimedia programs yearly across every vertical, Annie Granatstein of The Washington Post will share what she’s learned about using data and insights to create and promote programs that resonate with a diverse array of audiences.
Today's marketers are charged with generating not only leads but bottom-line revenue growth. When combining smart digital marketing strategies with a thorough understanding of your audience, content is the vehicle in which marketers can build conversations and relationships with their audience, which ultimately lead to opportunities, pipeline and revenue. But in order to do so, a marketer must build a strategic content marketing program that is relevant, targeted and on brand. Through real-world examples, Courtney Beasley, vice president of marketing at Walker Sands, will share her team's proven methodology for creating content that generates revenue.
You'll learn:
- How to apply an understanding of your business and audiences to building a successful content program
- How to create purposeful content
- How to maximize efforts through multi-channel promotion
Every organization is creating content nowadays, but are people responding to it? As Hilton finishes celebrating its 100th year as a leader in global hospitality, it’s also building an editorial content strategy centered around people: travelers (both business and leisure), employees and the people of the communities and countries in which Hilton operates.
Content is increasingly the first contact your audience has with your organization. With greater competition for eyeballs, creating content that stops scrolling and inspires action is more difficult —and more important—than ever. How can small teams with limited budgets create a content team within their own walls that makes masterful blog posts, video, visuals and infographics with flying colors? In this session our panel of creators and communicators address the challenge of creating powerful content that does more with less.
Participants will learn:
- Simple tools and inexpensive equipment for creating more with less
- How to find brand ambassadors and inspire user-generated content
- How to make the most of evergreen content
- How to produce and distribute video, podcasts and infographics without limitless resources
Video can be incredibly engaging. Done correctly, it’s the single most effective communication tool at your fingertips to get through to your audience. Screw it up, though, and video can be the single most expensive waste of time you’ve ever embarked upon—and it will turn off that same audience. Sound familiar? Then this session is for you.
In this session, you’ll learn:
- How to read key metrics to determine if your video is working or not (Hint: It’s not about the views)
- How to think about video’s place in the ever-changing social media landscape
- The four main reasons a video falls flat (and how to fix them)
- How to convince execs that “more video” is not an effective strategy to pursue
- What video trends are here to stay, and which ones are a fool’s errand
Infographics are powerful communication tools that should be in every marketer’s toolbox; however, most are poorly designed and never fulfill their potential. Engaging infographic designs that capture your audience’s attention employ best practices from both design and storytelling. Compelling design is just half the battle, though; next you must publish, promote and share your infographics across your key communications channels—including your website, social media, blogs and mainstream media. This session will walk you through the best practices for infographics design and the techniques for optimizing your infographics for SEO and social media.
In this session, you'll learn:
- The process for infographics design
- Best practices for infographics design (and some common mistakes)
- Common tools used for data visualization and infographics design
- Crucial design decisions for creating successful infographics
- Key steps to publishing and promoting your infographics
Journalists receive dozens, if not hundreds, of pitches every day. Employees are preoccupied with the many tasks at hand. How can PR and internal communications professionals cut through the noise and tell stories that are timely, surprising and human? In this session, Trish Hall, a veteran features and op-ed editor at both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, will show attendees how to bring stories to life in ways that influence action.
You’ll learn how to:
- Be succinct, truthful and efficient
- Be surprising and say a lot in email subject lines
- Know your audience and speak directly to them
- Play on feelings to earn trust and inspire action
- Write conversationally—but not so casually that you look sloppy
There is no lack of great content on social media. More organizations are producing more content and putting more of a budget behind their work. How can organizations find the audiences they want and persuade them to engage with, click and consume their content? How can social media professionals go from engagement to action in ways that promote business objectives? In this session, our esteemed panel of social media professionals addresses some of the biggest challenges in social media content creation and distribution.
Participants will learn:
- Content that flourishes on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and more
- The most important metrics for success on each platform
- How to break through the boredom barrier and achieve real engagement
- Ways to use content to achieve greater organizational goals
- Tips and tricks for maximizing paid social media spend—while complementing organic content
Cleveland Clinic is a world-renowned medical institution, and its content is just as remarkable. Through captivating stories and content experiences, Cleveland Clinic built its blog from scratch to 7 million views per month. In this session, Amanda Todorovich, senior director, health content at Cleveland Clinic, shares some of the secrets to Cleveland Clinic’s success, and how you can apply its lessons to your organization.
You will learn:
- How to draw eyeballs to your corporate blog
- How to design clickable infographics and interactive content experiences that tell your organization’s story
- Ways to use data to earn the respect and support of senior leadership
- How to turn your website into a revenue-generating entity in itself
It's no secret that today's consumers seek brands who are transparent and authentic in their messaging. From the services they offer to the products manufactured, each organization has a story to tell and a consumer to engage. Yet, what happens when your client demands a story in Refinery29 and Forbes? How do you successfully engage both a consumer and business audience with the same offering? The power of authentic storytelling. Sabrina Browne will share how to develop a winning story to move the needle with target audiences and drive success in today's PR landscape.
You’ll learn:
- Storytelling best practices to apply to your PR and omnichannel campaigns
- Tips to amplify your organization's and clients' stories in media
- Ways to produce content that reaches target audiences
- How to identify influential voices to champion your client story
- The "four truths" every PR professional should use to develop a story
Creating sincere content to engage your community can be difficult as more consumers look to draw meaningful connections with the brands they choose to support. Yet in many cases, organizations need look no further than their own customers to find some of the most compelling stories to connect with and grow their community. Jonathan Fine, head of global brand communications for Spartan Race, will illustrate how the company identifies, creates and shares content around the inspirational stories of its community across owned channels, and how it maximizes the content for regional, national and global earned media exposure.
You’ll learn:
- How to uncover powerful stories within your community
- How to share inspirational stories that engage, empower and grow your community
- How to harness the passion of your customers and use it to generate earned media coverage that drives your mission forward
PR pros have always battled to catch reporters’ attention and secure media coverage. As newsrooms keep on shrinking, the fight gets even tougher. In their press releases and email pitches, PR people must appeal to publications’ readers if they want their stories to grab headlines. Colleen Newvine, product manager of The AP Stylebook, has been a newspaper reporter and editor on the receiving end of innumerable press releases. She now drafts press releases about the Stylebook that she hopes and prays do not have AP style errors.
You’ll learn how to:
- Avoid common AP style errors
- Cut out jargon, extraneous capitalization and exclamation points and get to the heart of your news
- Write tight, compelling copy reporters can grab and go—with little rewriting or editing
- Think like a journalist to find out if your story is newsworthy
- Tell a story that’s either unique enough to stand out or part of a larger trend
We’re all drowning in a sea of content. On big screens and little ones, in our palms and inside our ears, stories are everywhere. How can communications professionals create messages that stand out? The answer lies in crafting stories that speak your particular audience’s specific language, addressing its challenges and joining its conversations. From her perspective running The Washington Post’s BrandStudio, which produces hundreds of award-winning multimedia programs yearly across every vertical, Annie Granatstein of The Washington Post will share what she’s learned about using data and insights to create and promote programs that resonate with a diverse array of audiences.
Today's marketers are charged with generating not only leads but bottom-line revenue growth. When combining smart digital marketing strategies with a thorough understanding of your audience, content is the vehicle in which marketers can build conversations and relationships with their audience, which ultimately lead to opportunities, pipeline and revenue. But in order to do so, a marketer must build a strategic content marketing program that is relevant, targeted and on brand. Through real-world examples, Courtney Beasley, vice president of marketing at Walker Sands, will share her team's proven methodology for creating content that generates revenue.
You'll learn:
- How to apply an understanding of your business and audiences to building a successful content program
- How to create purposeful content
- How to maximize efforts through multi-channel promotion
Ragan event attendees include:
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Join us if you work in:
PR • Corporate communications • Copywriting • Media relations • Content marketing • Employee engagement • Social media • Digital content • Video production • Employer branding • Strategic communications • Reputation management • B2B or B2C marketing • Influencer marketing • Diversity and inclusion communications • Executive communications
LOCATION
New York City
Conference Venue:
PayPal
117 Barrow Street
New York, NY 10014
NEED TO CONVINCE THE BOSS?
Here are a few excellent takeaways you’ll bring back:
- Practical tips to create web, written and social media content that meets and exceeds business goals
- How to do more with less by employing user-generated and evergreen content
- Top storytelling tips to grab your audience and inspire action
- Social media writing tips to lift paid and organic content above the noise
- Simple techniques to make incredible video and infographic content without breaking the budget
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Join us as an event sponsor and meet your target audience, showcase your products, present thought leadership, generate leads and boost your brand.
Here are a few examples of opportunities we offer:
- Exhibitor booths
- Speaking sessions on our main agenda
- Lightning talks on our main agenda
- Pre-conference workshop sessions
- Bonus breakfast sessions
- Networking lunches
- Private networking dinners
- Cocktail receptions
- One-on-one meetings
- Networking passes
- Marketing collateral and on-site branding
- Ragan and PR Daily Awards sponsorship
For more information on opportunities available at this specific event, reach out to sponsorship@ragan.com.
Ragan events are educational, inspirational and fun!
Our sponsors are an important part of the success of each event.
