Education institutions across the world are engaged in a Game of Thrones type battle for resources and recognition. Being able to communicate authentically and effectively is critical to win in the Attention Economy. But it's tough to get cut-through amid fragmented media and a cacophony of communications. Here's how - based on following the principles and practices of the world's best newsrooms. *** This deck includes a BONUS at a glance on the main social media platforms.

1. THE D.I.Y. NEWSROOM
STUART HOWIE
World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics
Melbourne, Australia, October 2018
§ More powerful communications
using your own resources
§ Be recognised as a leader and
influencer in your sector
§ Create consistently superb
content that hits the mark
diynewsroom.com

2. ABOUT ME MY MISSION
Power of the microphone
diynewsroom.com

3. DIYNEWSROOM.COM
Today
§ Problems of communicating
today
§ Education context
§ Mistakes that are made
§ Opportunity knocks!
§ The DIY Newsroom
§ SMART WAY
§ What success looks like
§ How to make change

4. BREAKING THROUGH IN THE ATTENTION ECONOMY
Communication breakdown
Organisations and their leaders are ... 1. overwhelmed 2. dissatisfied about the ROI on their comms
efforts – and lack of recognition, and 3. while wanting change, unsure how to go about it.
diynewsroom.com

5. 1
WHAT’S DIFFERENT IN YOUR SECTOR
Education challenges
It is understandable many organisations are reticent about embracing change. The
challenges and reputational threats that you face make it a risk adverse sector.
Increasing
competition 2 Lack of strategy,
narrative3
Sector’s
complexity5 Sector’s
integrity6 Reputational
threats7
Media
fragmentation4
diynewsroom.com
Government
policy, funding

6. Cyber-security,
privacy breach*1
EDUCATION SECTOR: A MINEFIELD
Reputational threats
Crisis involving
student2 Crisis involving
staff3
Social media
5 Academic
performance6 Social media (yes,
I’ve repeated this)7
Division about
strategic direction4
* Flame Tree Media survey, 2018

7. COMMON MISTAKES WITH COMMUNICATIONS
5 whoppers

8. 5 COMMON MISTAKES IN COMMUNICATIONS
1. Not acting strategically
diynewsroom.com

9. 5 COMMON MISTAKES IN COMMUNICATIONS
2. Being bland,
boring, banal

10. 5 COMMON MISTAKES IN COMMUNICATIONS
3. Being
too social

11. 5 COMMON MISTAKES IN COMMUNICATIONS
4. Spending money
diynewsroom.com

12. 5 COMMON MISTAKES IN COMMUNICATIONS
5. Not turning on X-factor
diynewsroom.com

13. DIYNEWSROOM.COM
Let your
light shine
Communications must be central to
your business if you want to build a
community or “tribe”. Don’t hide your
light under the bushel.
How do you do that in the safest, most
judicious way possible? Given media
fragmentation, you can’t go “old
school”.

14. WHAT IS A DIY NEWSROOM?
Modernise
your media
The DIY Newsroom taps into the principles
and practices of the best modern newsrooms.
Newsrooms are at the top of the content food
chain. Content is their reason for being.
The DIY Newsroom is not content marketing,
corporate comms, PR or brand marketing – it
all this. And more.
Founded on a SMART Way, the DIY Newsroom
lets you control you message in today’s
Attention Economy.

15. STRATEGY AUTHENTICITYMEDIA RESULTS TEAM
DIYNEWSROOM.COM
SMART Way™
SMART puts method to the madness. It eschews the energy-sapping and ineffective
scattergun approach common in communications and marketing today.

16. SMART | STRATEGY Media Authenticity Results Team
Content audit
WEBINAR IS
ABOUT TO START

17. SMART | STRATEGY Media Authenticity Results Team
Audience ID

18. SMART | Strategy MEDIA Authenticity Results Team
Choice of media

19. Website
Central channels
Intranet
Social: secondary
channels
Facebook
§ Main page
§ Alumni group
§ Other pages as
required
Social: primary channels
LinkedIn
§ Main account
§ Other accounts as
required
Traditional
channels
Twitter
YouTubeEmail
newsletter
Google+
Instagram
§ Print publications
§ External media
§ Advertising
(print/digital)
§ Other
SMART | Strategy MEDIA Authenticity Results Team
Media ecosystem SAMPLE

20. SMART | Strategy Media AUTHENTICITY Results Team
Content recipe

21. SMART | Strategy Media AUTHENTICITY Results Team
Creating a community
Distributing helpful, relevant and engaging content builds a sense of community
and belonging. This is about real storytelling.
diynewsroom.com

22. SMART | Strategy Media Authenticity RESULTS Team
Metrics that matter

23. SMART | Strategy Media Authenticity Results TEAM
Kitting up #MOJOCON on Facebook

24. SMART | Strategy Media Authenticity Results TEAM
Resourcing

25. DIYNEWSROOM.COM
What success looks like
Strategically led
communications
Greater control of
your messaging
Content that
resonates
Better deployment of
internal resource
Recognition as
(thought) leader
Reputation
inoculation
1
654
32

26. AFL MEDIA
What success looks like
diynewsroom.com

27. DIYNEWSROOM.COM
Going the SMART Way™
If you want to transform your communications in this way, there’s a three-step process, as
outlined below. Another option you can act on TODAY is ...
1 Discovery session
Unpack current state, learn
more about SMART Way,
gain immediate insights,
solutions
2 SMART strategy
The ultimate diagnosis plus
a three-stage roadmap that
charts the wins along the
way
3 13-week transformation
Change program that helps
you rethink, recast and
regenerate your comms for
clarity and cut-through

28. Ultimate
playbook
Register to be among the first to buy the
limited-released HARDBACK - a real book!
diynewsroom.com
§ Bonus social media explainer:
slideshare.net/StuartHowie1
§ Subscribe to newsletter:
flametreemedia.com.au
§ Follow us on social media
The SMART Way™, DIY Newsroom™, this presentation and the contents
of the book, The DIY Newsroom, are the intellectual property of Flame
Tree Media Pty Ltd (Australia). All rights reserved. © October 2018.
RRP
$32.95
plus postage
“My organisation has messages for
governments, policy makers, the
commentariat and members, but it’s hard to
compete with the noise and break through.
This book is accessible for small organisations
but has lessons for all, no matter the size.
I am particularly heartened by Stuart’s
exhortation for content, content, content.
Important messages are lost in entertainment
value or couched as false news.
These are serious times. More than ever, we
must heed the straight-shooting messages in
DIY Newsroom.
Craig Robertson
CEO, TAFE Directors Australia

30. TRULY
SOCIABLE
Unlocked: the secrets to
mastering social media
STUART HOWIE
October 2018
© Flame Tree Media Pty Ltd,
2018

31. COMMUNICATIONS LANDSCAPE
Forces of change
diynewsroom.com

32. FACT #1
On average, we
will spend more
than 5 years of
our lives on
social media
- Mediakix, 2017
FACT #2
We spend 135
minutes per
day on social
media
- Statista, 2017
FACT #3
“Pull to refresh”
gives a dopamine
rush similar to
playing pokies – or
crack cocaine
FACT #4
All this time on
screen is
changing the
plasticity of our
brains
© Flame Tree Media Pty Ltd, 2018FORCES OF CHANGE: 5 INSIGHTS
1. Social: frying our brains
diynewsroom.com

33. FACT #2
Every Australian
spends an average of
28 hours per month
on a smart phone
- Nielson, 2016
FORCES OF CHANGE: 5 INSIGHTS
2. All about
being mobile
FACT #1
Users in affluent countries, touch
their mobile phones 2600 times a day
- The Economist, 2018
diynewsroom.com

34. FORCES OF CHANGE: 5 INSIGHTS
3. Video
FORECAST
Online videos will account for
more than 80 per cent of all
consumer internet traffic by 2020
- CISCO, 2017
diynewsroom.com

35. FORCES OF CHANGE: 5 INSIGHTS
4. Regulation

36. FORCES OF CHANGE: 5 INSIGHTS
5. Who do you trust?
“Company content” twice
as trusted when existing
relationship
80 per cent of people want
CEOs to speak out across
range of issues
20 of 28 countries are
“distrusters”, including
Australia
* Edelman Trust Barometer, 2018
diynewsroom.com

37. FORCES OF CHANGE
Social: by the numbers
15 million unique
Australian visitors
15 million monthly
active users*
4.5 million4.4 million
9 million 6.3 million
270,000
§ WeChat - 2.9 million
§ What’s App – 6 million
* Social Media Statistics Australia, August 2018

38. FORCES OF CHANGE
Social media
FRIGHTENING FACEBOOK FACTS
§ 15 million Australians (60 per cent)
§ 1 in 2 Australians use it every day
§ Biggest bracket, 25-39 year olds
(6.1 million)
§ 2.01 billion globally (1.23 billion daily)
- Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018

39. FORCES OF CHANGE
Discerning social media
We are addicted to social media – but are we waking up to its spell on us? “Pull to refresh” gives kids a
dopamine rush similar to playing pokies. Scientists say it is rewiring our brains. And even those who
most use social media do not trust it.
FACT #1
On average, we will
spend 5 years of our
lives on social media
- Mediakix, 2017
FACT #2
We spend 135
minutes per day
on social media
- Statista, 2017
FACT #3
40 per cent of teens
sleep less than 7 hours
because they’re
sneaking time with
smartphones
- US study, 2017
FACT #4
Of 100,000 Facebook
posts, half received
two or fewer shares,
likes or comments
- Moz/BuzzSumo,2017

40. Australia: monthly active users – 60 per
cent of the population
SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook
The mother of all social media, Facebook is the world’s biggest
content platform. It has more personal data than anyone.
15 million
Globally: monthly active users
2.01 billion
1 in 2
Australians use
it daily*
Biggest bracket,
25-39 year olds
(6.1 million)*
* Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018
Mission:
Give people the power to build
community and bring the world
closer together

41. SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook
§ Conversation, engagement
§ News feed, pages, groups, FB Live
§ Video, images
§ Business
§ Messenger
§ Data and privacy breaches
(Cambridge Analytica)
§ Fake news
§ Algorithm changes
© Flame Tree Media Pty Ltd, 2018

42. Australia: monthly active users –
that’s 1 in 3 of us*
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram
9 million
Globally: monthly active users
600 million
Instagram has relatively
high engagement per visit
* Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018
Instagram has become the home for visual
storytelling for everyone from celebrities,
newsrooms and brands, to teens, musicians and
anyone with a creative passion.
Instagram is owned
by Facebook
© Flame Tree Media Pty Ltd, 2018

43. Most-followed celebrities
1. Selena Gomez 130m+
2. Cristiano Ronaldo 116m+
3. Ariana Grande 115m+
4. Beyoncé 108m+
5. Kim Kardashian West 104m+
6. Taylor Swift 104m+
7. Kylie Jenner 99.5m+
8. Dwayne Johnson 96m+
9. Justin Bieber 93.9m+
10. Kendall Jenner 84.8m+
Source: Instagram 2017
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram #loveTop hashtag 2017

44. Australia: unique monthly
visitors*
SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube
15 million
Globally: monthly active users
1.8 billion
YouTube is Google’s biggest service –
the place to truly go viral
* Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018
Puff:
We believe everyone deserves to have a voice, and that
the world is a better place when we listen, share and build
community through our stories.
With such huge numbers, will it
rundown Facebook?
Like Facebook, it is
banned in China

45. Australia: monthly active users*
6.3 million
Globally: monthly active users
161 million
* Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018SOCIAL MEDIA
Snapchat
Snapchat is a recreational photo/video sharing platform
for young people.
Snapchat is the home for a host of
A-list celebrities and used for
creative storytelling.
A couple of years ago, it passed
Twitter in the fast lane.
Australia: daily average users*
4.5 million

46. Australia: monthly active users*
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter
Twitter is a microblogging site where users can post “tweets” of up to
280 characters, as well as images and video.
4.7 million
Globally: monthly active users**
335 million
Donald Trump has
54 million followers
* Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018
** Statista, 2018
Puff:
Twitter is what’s happening in the
world and what people are talking
about right now.
Home of intelligentsia –
media, politics etc.

47. Australia: monthly active users*
SOCIAL MEDIA
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social network for professionals
that launched in 2003.
4.5 million
Registered users globally
467 million
LinkedIn has a suite of
powerful paid add-ons
* Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018
Puff:
The mission of LinkedIn is simple: connect
the world’s professionals to make them
more productive and successful.
Great place to showcase
thought leadership

48. Australia: monthly active users*
SOCIAL MEDIA
Pinterest
290,000
Globally: monthly active users**
175 million
* Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018
Pinterest is where people discover new ideas
and find inspiration to do the things they love.
Pins keep ideas organised. Suited for crafts,
shopping products and similar.
Pinterest’s mostly female audience use the
platform to sell and buy - lots

49. Australia: estimated monthly
active users*
SOCIAL MEDIA
WeChat
2.9 million
Globally: monthly active users
1 billion
* Social Media Australia Statistics, August 2018
WeChat is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media
and mobile payment app. It is the most popular social media
platform in China.
38 billion messages are sent
via WeChat each day
98.5 per cent of Chinese aged
50 to 80 use WeChat
RenRen and Weibo are also
popular with Chinese