Writing for INMA, content and social media executive Lewis Boulton discusses the increasing trend of long-form appeals and statements to speak directly to readers and powerbrokers
After five years of seemingly incessant instability, it’s becoming tiring to describe our times as “uncertain.” With Brexit and a pandemic taking up all the air in the room, memories of quieter times in British public conversation are a little hazy. But even as we (hopefully) begin to put lockdown experiences behind us, a series of events has prolonged the sense of unease.
A gas price shock is set to send energy bills spiralling. Petrol stations ran low on fuel stocks as companies struggled to deliver supplies and motorists rushed to fill up. An outage at Facebook showed society’s reliance on social media, while a company whistleblower started conversations on disinformation damaging public trust. A climate crisis, growing in destructiveness, threatens Earth’s civilisations on an existential level.
Readers need guidance, inspiration, and support to navigate these times. Increasingly, over the past few weeks, news brands have been an important strategic medium for organisations to speak directly to readers and powerbrokers in trusted, quality environments. A trend that gathered pace at the start of the pandemic is continuing into our post-lockdown world.
Read the rest of Lewis’s article on the INMA website here.