"The strategy forms the basis of social media management."

Prof. Dr. Christoph Moss is the managing partner of our partner agency Mediamoss GmbH. We asked him what role corporate newsrooms play for companies and why he relies on Scompler when selecting technology.

Why is the corporate newsroom model becoming increasingly important?

People are using media more than ever before. The number of channels and platforms is increasing almost explosively. Anyone can blog, tweet or comment. All of this is made possible by rapid technological progress. Companies are faced with the important task of mastering the digital media transformation. The reason for this is easy to understand. Conventional structures quickly reach their limits. Communication and marketing need the perfect organization: this is precisely why we developed the corporate newsroom model.

What are the biggest challenges here? 

The newsroom begins in the mind. It is therefore a question of attitude. In fact, companies still have to live with many obstacles today: rigid structures and silo thinking, a lack of or weak change management, a lack of infrastructure, no willingness on the part of employees to take responsibility or a lack of planning tools - to name just a few examples. 

If you want to introduce a corporate newsroom, you need to be honest about your goals and obstacles. It is sobering: many messages that are sent to different target groups via different channels determine everyday communication. This is frustrating and incompatible with the requirements of digital communication. Worse still. These inefficiencies are expensive: have you ever realized how often you have commissioned external agencies several times at different prices? A corporate newsroom can help prevent these mishaps from happening in the first place.

What role does content play in this? 

Content marketing is the order of the day. How else are you going to implement sustainable lead management? If you want to be successful in marketing and communication, you have to produce convincing content. Only content that is current and relevant has any justification. Content marketing is not possible without professional topic management. Campaigns are only good if the target group perceives and understands them. Companies should therefore think in terms of topics first. And only secondly in terms of measures. The idea of the corporate newsroom takes up precisely this idea.

What role does strategy play in this? 

The daily work in the Corporate Newsroom is based on topics. The newsroom develops a content strategy based on the company's communication strategy. This determines the priorities against which topics can be measured. Everyone involved must know and understand this logic. In this way, a newsroom becomes a self-confident control unit.

What role do you play in this?

At Mediamoss, we support the development of a corporate newsroom from the very beginning. Just as we have already successfully implemented more than 100 times, for example at Merck, Fraport, Swiss Life Germany and Siemens. With the corporate newsroom model, we have shown that topics and channels can be separated. And that this is successful. But not everywhere that says newsroom on the label is also a newsroom. Companies really have to want change and take their teams with them. And we provide professional support. The introduction of a corporate newsroom is a change project that extends over several months. Analytical work is just as much a part of our project assignment as the creation of a target image and the actual implementation. Technical and architectural issues run through the entire process. We help to keep the team regularly informed and train the new tasks together with everyone involved. And increasingly important: we repair failed newsrooms. We help where companies have been too impatient and have overburdened their teams.

What role does Scompler play in this/for you?

If everyone involved in the newsroom is to understand the strategy, they need support. To do this, the newsroom needs a common system that efficiently manages all relevant departmental information. Scompler can do this: it is strategic, easy to use and visually appealing. It supports the principles of the corporate newsroom, such as sharing knowledge, promoting collaboration, creating transparency and uncovering obstacles in the process. The CvDs in particular need a functional topic plan. This is because they use it to manage the work in the newsroom throughout the day. They need information about current and relevant topics, media production deadlines, platforms and channels as well as responsibilities within the team. Scompler does an excellent job of implementing this. That's why we have been working successfully with Scompler for years.

What role does Scompler play for you?

If everyone involved in the newsroom is to understand the strategy, they need support. To do this, the newsroom needs a common system that efficiently manages all relevant departmental information. Scompler can do this: it is strategic, easy to use and visually appealing. It supports the principles of the corporate newsroom, such as sharing knowledge, promoting collaboration, creating transparency and uncovering obstacles in the process. The CvDs in particular need a functional topic plan. This is because they use it to manage the work in the newsroom throughout the day. They need information about current and relevant topics, media production deadlines, platforms and channels as well as responsibilities within the team. Scompler does an excellent job of implementing this. That's why we have been working successfully with Scompler for years.

Why now? Why in 2022 in particular?

If not now, then when? We are living in the middle of the digital revolution. Online dominates people's lives. We live in the world of LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. Many people are sending. Many receive. Our communication habits are changing dramatically. Linear television, printed daily newspapers and radio are fighting for their existence. In such a scenario, topic management will be the decisive success factor. In 2022 and beyond.

Many thanks to Prof. Dr. Christoph Moss for this interview!

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Mediamoss - partner agency of Scompler