MAYA CLEMENT
Marketing and audience engagement are important aspects of journalism to me. People are not going to purchase your magazines or visit your website if they do not know it exists. People are also not going to continue coming back to your products if they are not engaged or entertained by it.
MARKETING
Spheres of Influence
As a part of a marketing project I do at the beginning of every school year, I identify people who would be likely to buy a Newsmagazine because of their interest in my own work or Clarke Central High School. While, I did not sell magazine subscriptions to all of these people, I asked the majority of them whether they would be interested in a magazine. I think that identifying these people is important as it makes it easier to ensure a greater number of magazine subscriptions.
This was an email that I sent to someone I knew who wanted an ODYSSEY Newsmagazine. In the email, I provided all of the information needed to get a subscription as well what is in the Newsmagazine.
In addition to sending emails, I also posted on my parents Facebook accounts because they know a lot of people who may be interested in learning more about the Clarke Central High School and Athens communities. I am glad that I decided to reach out this way because I ended up selling a few subscriptions to people I didn't know would be interested in a Newsmagazine.
Open house
Members of the ODYSSEY set up a table at Open house. The Editor-in-Chief and I stayed at the table informing parents and students about the program. In addition, we were selling subscriptions to the Newsmagazine. We got a lot of interaction which was really nice and I loved getting to talk to potentially interested students.
Award submission
For the past three years, I have been a part of the submission process for awards. Last year, I completed awards by myself, but this year I am mentoring a freshman on process! Doing award submissions is one of my favorite things to do because I want the staff to receive praise for all of the hard work they put into their stories. I know that winning always feels good so I love being able to help them receive that accomplishment.
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
Street team
After each issue of the Newsmagazine comes back from the printers, a team of students distribute to all of the classrooms. I have been a part of the team twice this year. I absolutely love getting to see the excitement when we walk into classrooms. Usually, people will start reading the Newsmagazine and looking for their friends which feels great to see the interaction. I also love getting to see the younger staffers excitement and energy when they get to pass out their work.
Quest for Athens' Best Promotion
I filmed this video for the ODYSSEY Media Group Instagram to promote a story that was posted on the website. It was supposed to be funny and engaging for our audience while also fitting the theme of the story. I think that the video was definitely funny, but it didn't end up getting posted since it didn't do as good of a job at promoting the story.
Trunk or Treat
Before Halloween, other ODYSSEY members and I participated in Trunk or Treat. We decorated two cars and passed out candy to kids at our school. I really enjoyed this experience of promoting the ODYSSEY Media Group while also getting to hang out with each other and contribute to the Athens and Clarke Central High School community.
Story Promotion
This is a video that I filmed for a story that was posted on the ODYSSEY Media Group Instagram in order to spread knowledge that it was posted and what it was about. Promotions like this engage our audience because they are more entertaining than reading a promotion, but they are still short in order to decrease disinterest from the audience.