As I write this blog post much of the developed world is following the same story, that of Wikileaks and the drip-feed of previously secret and confidential US Government cable messages. It has gripped the public consciousness and shows no sign of letting up… So what can a WAAR reporter learn from this?

Now before we get going – and to ensure this post does not get hijacked and turned into a political discussion! – this is a blog post about some of the key elements that create a great story …and not a statement of the rights and wrongs of what has happened, neither is it an endorsement or condemnation of the Wikileaks site.

Okay, with that out of the way, let’s get cracking…

Top secret!

Whatever your view on Wikileaks and whether such sensitive information should be available in the public domain, there is something strangely alluring about it. Personally I believe this is for many reasons, but the first is the most obvious… this being, we’re not supposed to see it!

Secrets are by definition special. So special they’re hidden from the masses and only a few select people will ever know the juicy info…

…If only you could be one of the few to know the ‘insider’ details?

Even the most upright and straight-laced professional cannot help but be attracted to a secret – and Wikileaks is FULL of secrets and confidential information!

Admittedly, nowadays the promise of ‘secrets’ is often overused in marketing – however it is STILL being used …and that’s because it still works. So, just like a traditional reporter, if as a WAAR reporter you can offer the ‘inside scoop, never before heard story’ then you too can enjoy an exponential growth in avid readers.

Controversy sells!

This again is one of the more obvious observations. Wikileaks is sharing information which goes way beyond mere hints of scandal with full-blown disclosures of conversations, opinions and activities that are, for many parties, exceptionally embarrassing. From overly vocal members of the UK Royal family to accusations against some of the world’s most powerful leaders, Wikileaks is packed full of controversy that has every journalist hack feverishly tapping away at their computers dishing the gossip.

FACT: Controversy breeds opinion – and that in turn leads to discussion and exposure. For that reason every great marketer has at some point played with controversy in order to gain notoriety and access to potential customers.

Your report could do the same by choosing to take a more controversial view of a subject and stepping away from the popular consensus. Yes, it has its risks and so embracing controversy will not be for everyone …but playing safe may instead make you “vanilla”, like everyone else, and so you fail to be noticed in your marketplace…

Zeitgeist

Quick definition (from dictionary.com):

Zeitgeist – noun; the spirit of the time; general trend of thought or feeling characteristic of a particular period of time

The zeitgeist for many years has been the ‘war on terror’ and of course Wikileaks with its disclosures relating to both the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is clearly wrapped up in that ‘trend of thought’. If Wikileaks was disclosing, say, the toilet habits of world leaders then yes it would get a few column inches in the papers thanks to the controversial/gossip angle, but would quickly become yesterday’s news.

Whereas zeitgeist is omnipresent, never yesterday, always today.

As a WAAR reporter you can easily tap into the zeitgeist, just consider what people are most talking about and associate your information with that idea.

BUT – beware – zeitgiest has an “expiry date”. As soon as the “trend of thought” is no longer current thinking then it is old news and so any report based on it will lose its hook.

Authority

As social psychologist Dr Robert Cialdini has demonstrated many times, we are influenced by authority whether we like it or not. If an authority says something then we listen, if an authority suggests one idea is better than another then we tend to go with what they think is the better idea. We are so conditioned to believe an ‘authority’ more than any other source that we are naturally interested in what that authority is saying.

Although we have the intermediary of Wikileaks, the real source of the information is the US Government, so naturally we listen.

In addition, the reporting of the Wikileaks saga is also a good demonstration of authority too, as it is the likes of the New York Times and the UK’s Guardian (both respected newspapers) that initially ran the story. So if the NYTimes and the Guardian are running the story then “it must be important”.

Injecting authority into your WAAR report will increase interest and give the suggestion of importance. Think of it like this, if you had written a report on financial matters and Warren Buffet said of your report “this is great information and every business owner must have a copy” then sure enough it is far more likely that ‘every business owner’ will want a copy!

So seek endorsement of your WAAR reports from authorities in your marketplace. Get them to publicly proclaim your report as solid gold and/or use their testimonials as part of the promotion of your report.

(Also, remember that creating kick-ass reports is a very effective way to establish YOU as the authority!)

Them vs Us

Picking up on the idea of authority, Wikileaks is steeped in conspiracy too and more specifically the idea of “Them versus Us”. Wikileaks holds information which is about the ‘powers that be’, the state, the people who ‘run our lives’ …and THEY are different to US, THEY are the bogeymen.

‘Them vs Us’ is a very powerful storyline when used correctly in any form of marketing and is a great way to align yourself with your audience, making you part of the gang, one of the good guys. All you need is a bogeyman who everyone can unite against and, in the case of Wikileaks, who better than the Government!

No, this is not about anarchy, this is your standard backyard chat about “can you believe THEY just raised my taxes again”, “did you see THEY cocked up again?”, …

So when writing your WAAR report, discover who or what constitutes the bogeyman and then write an argument which places you and your audience on the same side, united against THEM!

Over to you

Of course there are many more elements we could chat about like the dangerous nature of Wikileaks, the accessibility of the info, and the idea that knowledge is power, but for now I turn this over to you… What do you think?

Just add your comments below!