Monday, April 10, 2017

KC Studio offers discerning coverage of visual and performing arts

When the mainstream media decides to curtail coverage in a particular area, a golden opportunity may arise for a niche publisher to step in and dominate the market. That’s exactly what happened when the Kansas City Star mostly dismantled its arts and entertainment department a few years back in light of declining advertising and circulation revenues and the need to reduce staff.

KC Studio, a bimonthly specialty magazine that covers the arts, saw a chance to expand its coverage to include more serious, in-depth reporting and critique of the vibrant and growing KC arts scene, said Alice Thorson, Editor of KC Studio. Alice talked about the evolution of the publication, founded in 2008, and the ever-increasing depth and breadth of arts offerings in the metro area at a meeting of the Kansas City Freelance Exchange.

Breaking with tradition

Alice came on board KC Studio in 2015 with the charge of continuing to expand the editorial mission of the magazine to cover “what artists are saying and how it relates to the world, instead of the traditional focus on arts organizations and what they want to tell the public,” she explained. The result was an expanded publication with often lengthy and always meaty articles by experienced arts and entertainment writers about the movers and shakers who are constantly raising the bar in Kansas City.

At the same time, the magazine was divided into two distinct parts – at the front of the magazine the Editorial section, where Alice and the editorial team decides what is worthy of coverage; and paid Advertorial at the back of the magazine, where arts organizations can deliver their message to the public and can control the content because they pay for space in the magazine.

Performing, visual, cinematic and literary arts

The many arts organizations in the community accepted the change with good spirits, Alice said. “We told them we will cover them when they do projects that are worthy of coverage,” she said, and of course, many projects are deemed worthy. The transition from a focus on organizations to a focus on artists has proceeded very smoothly, she added. Editorial coverage encompasses the performing, visual, cinematic and literary arts.

At the same time the magazine shifted its focus away from coverage of organizations, it expanded its online presence, with frequent articles about current exhibitions and performances, giving the public up-to-date and relevant information that helps them decide what events to attend.

Online reviews by arts critics of current and past productions and exhibitions are easy to search and access, providing excellent resources for the discerning public. “Weekend Picks” by Alice help draw attention to worthy events and performances that might otherwise be overlooked. An active presence for KC Studio on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter provide yet more platforms for arts coverage, sharing and public comments.

As a controlled circulation magazine, a print subscription is free. Sign up at KCStudio.org.


Monday, April 3, 2017

Boost your site’s SEO ranking with rock solid content

If you think Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about having the right keywords on your web pages, think more broadly.

“Think things, not strings,” advises Jeremy Sterling, SEO manager for DEG, a full-service digital agency based in Overland Park, KS. Jeremy and colleague Meghan Nuckolls, DEG copywriter, talked about the present and future of SEO at a lunch meeting of IndyComm.

Smarter searching

Jeremy Sterling, SEO Manager
 Google searches are getting smarter, Jeremy says, so SEO is changing constantly. A string of the right keywords used to be a guaranteed way to boost your site’s search results position, but not so much these days. More sophisticated searching tools look for solid content, not just a string of words.

 “You need to speak your users’ language. What are people searching for?” Meghan advises. All content on your website should be informed by solid data and research, she adds. “Use data to craft your story and dig into the personas who use your website. Understand what they care about. Look at your website as a journey and each page is a door. What’s your user’s mindset on each page?”

Since content will live on a website for a long time, perhaps years, it’s important to review it regularly. “You need to be sure you’re speaking users’ language,” Jeremy advises, “and make sure your content is current and modern.” Create strong internal linking on your site in order to keep visitors consuming more of your content.

Meghan Nuckolls, DEG Copywriter
Study analytics

Gauge your site’s relevance by checking individual page views. When you find pages that are dropping in popularity, add stronger content to increase the value of the page.

Show, don’t just tell

If your website doesn’t offer short videos to pull in users, you’re missing out on an increasingly popular trend, Meghan and Jeremy say. A narrative video about a feature or service can hold a user’s attention for about 30 seconds, but a solid how-to video can engage viewers for up to four minutes. As a bonus for your site, videos are increasingly searchable, as long as you use good meta descriptions on your pages.

Sometimes less is more

Finally, the length of time a user spends on your site is not an accurate gauge of your site’s strength. When users can’t find what they want, they may spend considerable time, but then they bail and never return.

So, sometimes shorter is better. Find your best way to determine if users are getting the content they need. Again, research is the key – usability testing, surveys and analyzing your website statistics and trends.