Nokia Conversations
Nokia Conversations is the official Nokia Blog. Published out of Nokia’s headquarters in Espoo, Finland, Republic works together with the internal team to deliver a mix of expert editorial support and daily news and features. The site comes out of Nokia’s Global Social Media team, led by Mark Squires. We work directly with the Nokia Conversations editor-in-chief, Charlie Schick, and assistant editor Carita Koskinen.
Create
Much of what we create on Conversations is written live on the day it is published. This affords us the opportunity to always react to anything that’s going on in the wider world (bringing the outside, in). We also work to an editorial schedule which is largely dictated by product launches and key announcements.
Our approach to stories is to tell those that don’t typically get told, the ones previously deemed not suitable for a wider release, but still worthy of informing readers about. From new social initiatives in emerging markets to the latest handset or service launch, Conversations’ brief is as broad as it is deep. This makes every day a completely new one, and helps us as editors and writers keep our tack strong and stories fresh.
Distribute
It no longer works to simply publish editorial and expect people to come and find it. Getting editorial to the readers where and when they want it is key. Conversations offers a range of editorial RSS feeds, broken down by category with a separate feed just for comments. Every story is automatically posted to Twitter alongside additional Tweets from Charlie Schick, Nokia Conversation’s own editor-in-chief.
Videos are distributed through YouTube, to ensure a wide audience as well as having a home on the special video section on Conversations.
Editorial is also syndicated through a range of channels, both actively and passively. Key sections of Nokia.com feature live feeds from Nokia Conversations, which further helps get content to where readers need and expect it. Passive syndication involves external, third party sites, picking up stories and articles and either reporting it directly as news or responding through individual blogs. This level of syndication further increases the reach of Nokia Conversations editorial.
Engage
The Conversations readership is verging on the hyperactive with most stories boasting a decent raft of reader comments. This is actively driven by the editorial (the site is, after all, called Conversations) where many stories finish with open questions inviting readers to leave comment and feedback. The process works, too, with the average number of comments per story rising steadily since the site launched.