A Lesson In Content Marketing at NTU and Nottingham College
Magazine journalism aficionado, of the Tank content hub. Honed her writing talents on the battlefields of Peterborough’s A&E and beauty counters.
Gen Z is expected to make up 27% of the workforce by the end of 2025 – and as marketers, it’s important to attract and engage the next generation of talent. While still in education, young people may not realise how many creative career paths are available in the industry, and how different disciplines work together. Studying or working in journalism offers many transferable skills, which definitely plays into why we have so many former journalists and journalism graduates at Tank.
We recently went back to Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham College to explain a bit about our roles in marketing and PR – and how content underpins them.
Destination One: Nottingham Trent University
It started with Nottingham Trent University, where I graduated less than two years ago. Myself (content specialist) and Mel (senior digital PR specialist) spoke to students on the MA Journalism and Magazine Journalism courses about a career in content marketing and digital PR.
We looked at what makes a good story: original data, multiple news hooks, supporting pictures, videos, and graphics. Something well-written, researched, and above all, human-centred.
As an example, we showcased Tank’s recent Commuter Delays Calculator, which includes external research, new data points, a national angle, and most importantly, impactful content in the form of a creative headline, tips and quotes from real people.
The talk ended with a task where the students shared their creative campaign ideas. Top of the list: mouldy student homes – a newsworthy campaign that would spark a lot of human interest and could be transformed into some pretty creative content!
“It was useful to understand how the skills I’m learning as a trainee journalist can be used in other industries such as PR. What really drew me in was hearing about the wide range of content Humairaa and Mel create on a day-to-day basis, from features and press releases, to social media videos – content is at the heart of everything they do. I can’t wait to learn even more during my upcoming work experience at Tank.”
– Rhiannon Dunbar, MA Journalism student at Nottingham Trent University
Next Stop: Nottingham College
With the social media team, we dialled in to Nottingham College’s Future Me conference to chat about what we do, and our (not always linear) career paths that demonstrate the importance of networking and hands-on experience, whether through a degree or in your spare time.
Social media marketing, for example, helps build, strengthen and grow a brand when done well. But it’s sometimes an afterthought for businesses. As well as drafting content, it includes keeping on top of trends, analysing performance and strategic planning.
In the Q&A session, the students picked our brains on how to get work experience, use LinkedIn and keep up-to-date with news and trends that can fuel high-impact content.
Understanding the Value of Quality Content
Whether the students go on to work as journalists, or follow a career in content marketing, social media, PR or digital PR, understanding the value of good content is key. This is what both our talks centred around.
Quality content includes research, interviews and original data, and it needs to show expertise in your subject area – as well as a bit of personality. This will help it stand out against AI-generated content which marketing is becoming increasingly saturated with.
Written content isn’t just limited to online articles, there’s a wide range of content formats to perfect:
- News
- Blogs
- Features (online and print)
- Reports
- Whitepapers
- Digital PR campaigns
- Press releases
- Website copy
- Case studies
- eBooks
- Award entries
- Email newsletters
- Social media posts
- Videos
The list is endless. But ultimately, the skills learnt while undertaking a degree (writing, research, data analysis, editing, filming) lay excellent foundations for successful content marketing and PR specialists.
Helping Future Marketers Make Their Mark
Tank has always stepped up to encourage students and graduates into digital marketing and PR. Educating them and sharing our experiences will help them to make their mark straight out of university, and further down the line. These talks are also fruitful for us, giving us inspiration and even new team members who have started careers at Tank.
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