Process Doc
Below includes several separate projects with combined create a rough/research draft of my final strategy. Use the links below to navigate to the various steps in the process.
Distribution Plan/Content Samples
Interview Summary:
Stephen Knezovich
Director of Marketing and Publicity
Creative Nonfiction Foundation
I had previously worked with Mr. Knezovich during a fall internship at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation, where he guided me through the organization's social media functions and website construction. During this interview, he gave me a greater insight into everything I had already learned from my time there. For example, Stephen explained that out of all the posts across platforms, around 60% of them promote a product or service that CNF offers, while 40% or so is dedicated to promoting their brand. These posts, however, are not evenly distributed across all platforms. Stephen noted that it is difficult for any organization to sell over Instagram, as the platform does not allow the user to naturally click and open links. Therefore, CNF uses Instagram primarily to promote the brand. Twitter and Facebook, however, thrive off of the sharing of such links. As a result, most of the product promotions fall onto these pages.
Stephen also noted the challenges these specific platforms pose. For example, the average tweet has a half-life of 18 minutes, meaning that half of all users who will view said tweet will do so in this time frame. Therefore, a tweet is more or less dead after an hour. Instagram proves to be somewhat longer lasting with an average cycle of 12 hours. Consequently, the posting schedule for these two vary significantly.
Viewership of content, however, proves to be a challenge because of the evolution of these platforms. Notably, a Facebook post that is not promoted is far less likely to reach a wider audience. Twitter proves to be more democratic because of the frequency of likes and retweets.
Ultimately, Stephen remarked how the literary community is set up to thrive on social media. He notes that readers and writers often seek to help and promote one another, noting how there is a greater sense of comradery and less competitiveness than other industries. Therefore, there is an established network of people who are looking to support one another and the culture they love. As Stephen said, the literary community has always been a viral network. Social media has just given it a larger stage.
Project Proposal
As I am eager to enter into book publishing professionally, I would like to focus on a publishing house for my project. I plan to develop a plan for Penguin Teen. Penguin Group is one of the oldest working publishers in the industry, having successfully adapted to the many changes in the industry over the last century. Their presentation remains crisp and clear, demonstrating their success.
Having a certificate in children's literature, I feel particularly well suited to tackle this imprint. Penguin Teen is one of the leaders in young adult literature, and I feel that it needs to stay versatile, resilient, and creative to maintain this success. I would like to craft an approach for this imprint in order to see the new directions it can go.
I think there are many opportunities for this imprint to be "of-the-moment." Cultural shifts are moving faster than ever, especially in youth culture. Books that speak to modern conflicts are becoming bestsellers (See The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas) and readers are demanding more diverse and representative work. For a specific campaign, I would consider working on a portion of summer reading or possibly the promotion of a read-a-thon. There is terrific opportunity to develop some more minute strategies with this smaller time scale, allowing the campaign to be more flexible. This could be in relation to current events, other publications or releases, or possibly its own independent story during a lull period.
Also, I think working on this imprint allows me to better assess and target an audience. While teens may obviously seem like the audience, there are many subdivisions as well as entire other groups who focus on this vein of literature (for example, parents, teachers, teens with different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds, etc.).
Additionally, Penguin Teen proves to be very active across several platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest, providing several avenues for different types of content.
Brand Analysis
Immediately, Penguin Teen's website came across as not just crisp, clean, and refined, but also as incredibly accessible. The colorful website advertises their most recent releases in addition to providing entertaining book-related content, like listicles and quizzes. They also provide an interactive search tool to assist guests in finding appropriate books based on their interests. The bottom of the page connects users to Penguin Teen's many social media sites: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest.
Penguin Teen uses their Facebook page as a central information hub. Generally, their posts fall into three categories: products, content, and brand. For each new release, they post the novel's main page on their website accompanied by a title inviting the audience to start reading. Each page contains the opening pages of their books, which I find to be an accessible, interesting, and effective form of selling their products. They also post their listicles, which here seem to focus more on maintaining an active presence on the Facebook community while promoting their own books. Finally, there are links they share from other sources, such as NPR and Buzzfeed, when they feature their books in samples or author interviews. Ultimately, Penguin Teen uses this platform to promote their products and maintain awareness.
On Twitter, Penguin Teen proves to be incredibly active. Here, I notice, they share more immediate information, such as sales and updates to author events in addition to their own content. Furthermore, much of their feed consists of retweets, often featuring an update from one of their authors and sharing a user review of one of their books. Additionally, they respond to many of the issues regarding the publishing industry, such as diversity of authors and content, and quite vocally show their support of their readers by listening and responding to their concerns.
As is commonly found on other professional Instagram accounts, Penguin Teen focuses on maintaining their brand. Often, their posts feature their books with an aesthetically appropriate background. Some posts even feature teen readers holding the books. The photography is well structured and crisp. Some of the photography can be reposts from other Instagram users, though such posts match their visual aesthetic. Here, Penguin Teen shows us the relationship between reader and book that they help foster.
Tumblr
In comparison to their activity and brand on other platforms, here Penguin Teen is at its most formal and most interactive. It is not terribly common for companies to maintain a Tumblr, so the fact that Penguin Teen not only has one but one that is well-maintained is impressive. Most of their posts are humorous in nature and focus more on the quirks in the life of a reader rather than promoting their products (though this is still present). Penguin Teen comes across as more of a peer to teens on a website than as a distant publisher, thus establishing a greater intimacy with their audience.
Penguin Teen uses Pinterest as a virtual library. Many of their lists focus on their book covers, thus exhibiting their catalog of titles. This appears to be their least maintained and functional platform. It comes across that they keep a presence rather than promoting and maintaining their brand.
Competitor Analysis: Little, Brown Young Readers
Looking through Penguin Teen's various competitors, I found it to be fairly difficult to find another young adult publisher as consistently active. Eventually, I settled on Little, Brown Young Readers. Unlike Penguin Teen, this division encompasses various demographics of young readers, from those just beginning to read to the most voracious teen readers.
Their website shows a similar professionalism and aesthetic unity as Penguin Teen. They also appear to be very conscious of their primary and secondary audiences, including various pages for picture books, middle grade, and young adult as well as resources for schools and libraries.
Unlike many other young adult publishers, Little, Brown Young Readers has a presence on the three major social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The Facebook page similarly works as a central information hub, promoting events, new releases, and general brand aesthetic. Notably, quite a few posts come directly from their Instagram account, resulting in some repetition despite variance in language. Many links bring users to the central Hatchette Book Group website which does not prove to be as engaging as Penguin Teen's website.
Their Twitter account proves to be somewhat confusing. They switched accounts in 2011, though the link on the main website brings us back to the older page. Their main Twitter page exhibits similar interactive behavior to Penguin Teen, namely being the promotion of their catalog, frequent retweets, and participation in bookish cultural moments and holidays. Generally, they only occasionally share their own content and thus seem to rely on retweets to remain active. A consequence of this, however, is that their account can come across as sporadic and unfocused.
The posts on their Instagram account show on their other two platforms. They promote individual titles while aesthetically focusing on their physical books. Many of these photos, however, fall slightly below the quality of Penguin Teen. For example, the staging of their books and/or models feels very simple, using the background to appropriately accompany their content without really emphasizing it. Also, many of the photographs were clearly taken on a cell phone. However, one element I did appreciate was the inclusion of the staff in a few of the posts, giving the publisher a certain relatability. I am not sure if this is the best presentation, but I still think the sentiment works in the publisher's favor.
In general, I notice there is also less audience engagement than with Penguin Teen. They have significantly more followers, and generally, each Little, Brown Young Readers post attracts the same limited interaction, leading me to believe that publisher is not growing on social media.
Content Examples
This pinned tweet serves as a proclamation of Penguin Teen's February campaign, #ReadSwoonRepeat. This ties into Valentine's Day with its romantic focus, which it aesthetically demonstrates in the image. The photograph features romance titles from Penguin Teen's catalogs as well as its imprints. Furthermore, there is a warm, lush overtone of pink unifying the aesthetic. I also find the hashtag to be especially effective. It promotes themed reading during this month, with the added encouragement to read multiple books. It manages to be a thoroughly well rounded, effective, and efficient tweet, including a hashtag, a link to a contest, a curated image, and all at a reasonable length.
This post demonstrates Penguin Teen's history of excellent photography. The shot is evenly framed, the staging clean but fun, and the accompanying background complementary without being trite. However, I appreciated this post's attempt to expand its audience. This post came after author John Green publicly mentioned how much he loved Celeste Ng's novel Little Fires Everywhere, published by Penguin Press. Penguin Teen uses this opportunity to promote interaction between their audiences (adult and teens, for example) through a giveaway. It emphasizes their brand while helping to bridge the connections between their separate imprints.
This content demonstrates creative ways for Penguin Teen to promote their products. As established, the aesthetics and construction of their photography are incredibly professional and clean. The company decided to use Spotify, a socially active music streaming service, to promote their new release by a debut author. The curation of this music engages followers through other interests, allowing them to access the product through different avenues in which they may already have invested interests. Furthermore, it develops the brand of the product in addition to the company.
Audience Analysis
Penguin Teen seeks to share compelling and diverse stories with readers young and old. Naturally, the primary audience of Penguin Teen is adolescents, with consideration for pre-teens and young adults as well. Secondary audiences would be readers of other ages. Particularly, there is a solid young adult readership among new and middle adults. These are teens who have grown up and still have an affinity for this literary group, or perhaps parents and teachers who want to engage with what works are a part of teen culture. A tertiary audience would be non-young adult readers as well as non-readers in general. These are the ones who may occasionally purchase a title because of good word-of-mouth, or perhaps when said work becomes a cultural phenomenon.
The clear age demographic for Penguin Teen is those in late middle school or high school (ages 12-18, approximately). The primary location of this audience (at least what Penguin Teen targets) is the United States, but all the while remaining cognizant of international readers. Generally, the interest of this audience would be coming-of-age, specifically relating to their own experience of this. As a result, Penguin Teen has a diverse catalog of titles. The behavior of this audience would often be avid teen readers, though they also cater to casual readers.
To understand the goals of this audience is to ask why do teens read. First, there is for entertainment, which is a goal shared by readers across the world. Specifically looking at this audience, I think another goal is self-identification. Adolescence is a period where one's identity is constantly in question, in flux so to say. As a result, teen readers may look to books to better understand themselves and their situation. Social media serves as an online connection for readers to share what they love and discover something. In my work, I will remain aware of this idea of connection in aims to bridge the gaps between the different audiences.
Social Media Policy
This policy governs the activity, use, and behavior on various social media platforms by employees of Penguin Teen. This policy includes internal and external use, as well as official and private use.
Internal:
Employees are not to use personal social media on company time or resources without the approved exception of their supervisor for company and industry related occurrences, at which point, employees are allowed to use and interact with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Pinterest.
External and Private Use:
As representatives of the company, employees of Penguin Teen are expected to use and maintain respectful and inclusive language. Disrespectful, purposefully exclusive, and hateful language will not be tolerated.
Employees are allowed to interact with other publishing houses, their content, and the creators of that content on social media. However, employees should not do so at the expense of the Penguin Teen brand. Negative talk of the company, its employees, and its content, as well as any other rhetoric that would damage and hinder the brand, are prohibited.
Employees are encouraged to interact with followers and fans of Penguin Teen and its content in a respectful, positive, and friendly manner. This approach is absolutely necessary when interacting with the young adult audience.
Official Use:
The only individuals approved to use and post on official Penguin Teen social media accounts are members of the Marketing and Publicity Departments. Use by any other individual in the company must be approved by the Director of Marketing.
All content posted on official Penguin Teen platforms must be consistent with policy as well as the style guide.
Privacy:
All accounts associated with Penguin Teen must be kept public and maintain the company's interests and preservation in the public sphere.
Official company information (such as upcoming publications, release dates, author events, and private company operations) previously unpublished by official Penguin Teen accounts are strictly prohibited from both public and private use.
Copyright:
All accounts, both official and personal, are prohibited from publishing or sharing unapproved copyrighted material, including but not limited to author and illustrator content, official company content, and protected content outside of Penguin Teen.
Style Guide
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Multi-Platform:
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At all times, posts and responses on behalf of Penguin Teen are expected to maintain inclusiveness and respect for its diverse audience. That is not to say that we want to be cold and distant. Quite the opposite. We have the privilege of sharing compelling, reflective, and important stories with a rising generation. We look to encourage, energize, and even have fun. But none of that should come at the expense of respect.
We should also do everything we can to respond to our readers and followers. Complements and praise should be acknowledged with a like across each platform. Questions shorter than fifty words should be responded to publicly while maintaining an energetic and social tone. Longer (or more complex) questions, as well as complaints, should be acknowledged and responded to privately.
Facebook:
The Penguin Teen Facebook account should act as a central information hub for its followers. The page should promote events in addition to creating official events for the platform. If promoting the same information as on another platform (for example, posting and tweeting about an upcoming event), the page should use its own language to avoid too much overlap between platforms. Primarily, the page will share content created by Penguin Teen including listicles, recommendation pages, playlists, etc. The page may share content created by other official sources (such as Buzzfeed) if they feature multiple Penguin products, though these posts should be in the minority compared to our own original content.
Instagram posts may be shared on Facebook, but only those with a high response rate, as to avoid too much overlap.
Twitter:
The Penguin Teen Twitter should follow all of the authors it publishes. We should acknowledge any news or updates for these writers (especially if it relates to Penguin content) with a like or retweet.
The pinned tweet should promote the closest upcoming release or major event hosted by Penguin Teen.
The account may retweet the posts of users and followers if it is relevant to Penguin Teen content and reflects a similar refined composition in keeping with the Penguin Teen brand.
Tweets should always feature an image or video. Also, they should tag relevant people (authors, for example) whenever possible. Posts should not exceed 200 characters. Posts should use a hashtag to promote a title or campaign by Penguin Teen whenever possible.
Instagram:
The photography on Penguin Teen Instagram posts should maintain a professionalism in their composition and structuring. We do not want any post to look like it was shot on an iPhone. Only occasionally repost other user content if it is relevant to upcoming Penguin Teen content and embodies the same professional and refined aesthetic as Penguin Teen posts. Always tag the original poster early in the description to give them fair credit.
Posts should have one or two corresponding emojis maximum. But if none are particularly fitting or appropriate, it is best to abstain.
Use questions in posts to encourage audience engagement.
Hashtags relating to the content or the book community on Instagram may be used but should be posted as a separate comment on the post.
Tumblr:
The Tumblr account can be more informal. We can reblog posts that are simply book related and may not directly link to our brand. However, all shared posts must be grammatically correct.
In posts relating to Penguin Teen content, make sure to add tags for the author, title, characters, and genres, as well as other more general book tags.
Pinterest:
Any content that specifies a title or author must fall under Penguin Teen contents (this includes quotes, covers, fan art, etc.). The account should maintain boards with upcoming releases.
Goals/Outcomes and Alignment with Business Goals
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Goal 1:
I would like to increase audience engagement across platforms. This will look different depending on each platform (for example, likes or shares on Facebook, likes or retweets on Twitter, likes or tags on Instagram, etc.). Doing so increases brand awareness and audience connection, which in turn affect profits. I will measure the metrics of this specific campaign against similar metrics with both other Penguin Teen campaigns as well as more general, daily metrics.
Goal 2:
I want to expand Penguin Teen's audience, specifically by growing the secondary audience. While teens are our primary target, adults also prove to be a significant portion of our audience. I would like to foster interaction between Penguin Teen audiences as well as with other Penguin audiences, such as those of Penguin Press. Doing so will not only increase brand awareness, but also create a larger, more unified brand while showcasing the diversity of Penguin's content.
Overview:
Penguin is an incredibly strong brand in the publishing industry, and its various subdivisions (Penguin Press, Penguin Classics, Penguin Teen) prove to be iconic to their own audiences. Expanding the audience of this brand through the efforts of Penguin Teen allows for the audience and profits of each to expand while encouraging a greater brand loyalty.
Strategy Distribution Plan / Outline
PLATFORM
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ASSETS
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Organic, Sponsored
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Organic, Shared, Sponsored, Links
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Organic, Shared, Sponsored, Links
FREQUENCY OF POSTS
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Twice a week
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Five times a day​ (for new content)
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Every other day
GENERAL GOALS/CONTENT
Promote photographed pairings of books with appropriate, professional aesthetics, promote giveaways, share user content
Share Facebook and Instagram content, interact with authors from book pairings, drive traffic to website/Facebook, share user posts/tweets
Promote original content (listicles, interviews, videos), serve as the central information hub for titles and campaigns, link to website and other sites for purchases
Timeline
Goal: My main goal in this campaign is to build the Penguin Teen audience and to foster a greater crossover between the primary, secondary, and tertiary audiences of the imprint as well as fostering interaction between Penguin Teen and other Penguin Random House imprints.
Launch (June): My goal this month is to promote brand awareness through the introduction of the #ittakestwo campaign. I will introduce the summer's theme of book pairs and highlight pairings within the Penguin Teen brand. The core focus of this phase will be to build awareness of this campaign while keeping an initial narrow focus on Penguin Teen titles.
Expansion (July): My goal this month is to increase audience interaction within and outside of Penguin Teen. The book pairings featured in the content across various platforms will focus on cross-genre pairings within Penguin Teen while also featuring pairings of Penguin Teen titles with titles from other Penguin Random House imprints.
Iteration (August): After assessing the audience measurements and metrics, my goal this month is to focus on where there has been growth and to focus on audience interaction. This will be done through greater concentration of shared user posts, using specific mini-campaigns to up engagement.
Content Samples
#ittakestwo
This will be the primary hashtag used for the campaign. It is relatively short, allowing for Penguin Teen as well as users to create posts with more freedom. I think this sums up the campaign nicely, as it focuses on book pairings. Mostly though, I think this hashtag has tremendous versatility. While I want to pair books and get different audiences interacting, I think this hashtag opens up possibilities. It allows Penguin Teen and users to tailor posts as to why they read, or specifically why read these two books together. For example, #ittakestwo to change your perspective, to get the full story, change the world, etc.
Instagram: Illness can linger in both our bodies and our minds. #ittakestwo to get the full picture.
This is one example of a book pairing that could be a part of the first phase of the campaign. This focuses on two books published by Penguin Teen. They are both by the same author, making them a natural pair. However, The Fault in Our Stars focuses on physical illness, whereas Turtles All The Way Down highlights the struggles of mental illness. These two reads together compliment one another and can expand one's understanding of health and wellbeing.
Tweet: Salt and pepper apples. Peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. Some pairings seem odd, but wow do they work well together. What are some of your favorite, if unconventional, bookish pairings? #ittakestwo
This tweet would be featured in the third phase of the campaign where I would focus on audience response. This fosters interactive engagement while also providing an intriguing creative challenge for users. It also allows them to share their own identity and bookish tastes while also promoting the Penguin Teen campaign.
Measurement Plan
Metrics to track:
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Number of followers (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram)
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Inbound Tweets Per Day
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Outbound Replies Per Day
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Click Throughs
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Follower Demographics
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Individual Product Sales
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Mentions
As previously stated, my goal is to increase audience interaction and overlap. This will strengthen the Penguin brand while developing brand loyalty. These metrics fall into three categories.
The first data I want to measure tracks the strength of the Penguin Teen summer reading campaign. The data I will look at includes inbound tweets per day, outbound replies per day, likes, and mentions. I want the #ittakestwo campaign to connect with followers, but also lead them back to the Penguin brand. Measuring these will determine the reach of this campaign as well as how well it brings followers back to the Penguin Teen brand.
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I also want to track follower demographics closely. One of my objectives is to have the Penguin Teen and Penguin Random House audiences interact with both brands more. That is to say, for Penguin Teen followers to start following Penguin Random House and vice versa. Another objective is to strengthen the secondary and tertiary audiences. For example, Penguin Teen’s primary audience is teenagers. By looking at the demographics closely, we can see the growth in the older audiences.
The final component I want to measure is the return on investment. I plan to track individual product sales for featured titles in our posts as well as click-throughs to the Penguin Teen home site. This will demonstrate the campaign's effect on revenue and demonstrate the loyalty to the Penguin brand.
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I think focusing on these sets of data will best help gauge how the campaign strengthens the Penguin Teen brand and revenue. I plan to use both in-platform metric services as well as independent ones to best collect the most detailed data in these specific areas.
Rationale
My strategy for Penguin Teen stems from their previous campaigns while also looking at competitor examples. Penguin Teen already has an established brand across various platforms. Their style is consistent, professional, and refined. They have many established campaigns that have proven effective (most recently, see #readswoonrepeat). Therefore, I think the best approach in crafting a new campaign is to move the brand forward in ways it has not previously. Penguin Teen has had similar operations to this campaign but has yet to employ them on a larger, more curated scale. Penguin Teen proves to be especially appropriate for this campaign given the Penguin Random House umbrella. This house has several well-known and successful imprints, such as Penguin Press or Penguin Classics. The prestige and history of this company give it a great opportunity for success in this campaign. Because of the history of this company, there are several titles in the catalog to use in order to create content, allowing for an ideal flexibility in the campaign. And according to a survey from Book Business, Penguin Random House has the greatest number of followers among the big five publishing houses, giving it the greatest opportunity for engagement.
This proves to be a fairly economically feasible strategy, despite the limitations some platforms present. For example, Instagram only allows clickable links posted in bios (or in stories for some users). However, because titles from Penguin Teen appear not only in bookstores but also various online retailers and even department stores, advertising using Instagram will still prove effective (whereas other companies limited to their own locations/websites would find themselves far more limited). Furthermore, according to a quarterly report from Twitter , the prices for advertising is decreasing while audience engagement is on the rise.
Expanding audiences proves to be a particular challenge for the publishing industry. Because of the various imprints in Penguin Random House, there is a wonderful potential for Penguin Teen to tap into these audiences while allowing the Penguin Teen audience to help build brand loyalty across various other imprints. Also, there is the opportunity to tie this campaign with the campaigns of upcoming releases, allowing Penguin Teen to further promote their new releases while strengthening the presence of the campaign.