3 ways to turn data center coverage into ongoing audience products

If you’re writing about data centers in your community, you’re probably noticing the engagement on those stories and the comments they generate on social media.

It feels like in every corner of the country, there’s news about a new data center being proposed, approved or potentially coming to a community. And with every announcement come questions about what it means for jobs, utilities, taxes, development and the people who live there.

So, I’m going to spend this week’s newsletter looking at how publishers can build content and products around data centers that go beyond the latest news you’re already reporting.

I think there’s a unique opportunity right now to make it easier for your audience to understand what’s happening and turn your website into the place people go for answers, updates and context.

Track data center projects with profiles, lists

If you’re in a state where a lot of activity is happening around data centers, I’d suggest two ongoing things:

1. Create a landing page with profiles of each of the data centers. Explain who they are, what they are planning, where the center would go, the reaction to it and next steps. This is a great service for readers as long as you update the information with the latest. It’s also a really smart SEO play. The more you build this out, the more useful it becomes as a go-to resource for readers trying to understand what’s happening in their community.

2. Build an ongoing list of the biggest data center developments in your region or state. This is a great example of how to do it. This doesn’t mean that you should limit your reporting to just this list each month. Instead, this approach gives you a nice way to slow the news down a bit for your audience and catch them up on the projects that are most critical.

Turn questions into an explainer series

People have a lot of questions about how data centers work and their impact on a community. This is your opportunity to step in and set the record straight.

Consider an ongoing series of FAQ-style questions that you can answer using local sources and examples as much as possible.

This is the kind of content that would be great to feature as related content on those stories noted above, but also perfect for AI Overviews. Here are some ideas:

• How much power are data centers expected to use in [state]?

• Where will the water for [state]’s new data centers come from?

• Who pays for the power and infrastructure needed for data centers in [state]?

• What tax breaks does [state] give data centers and how much are they worth?

• What can cities in [state] require before approving a data center?

• Could data center growth raise electric bills for [state] residents?

There’s more you can do with this content than just providing the answer.  These questions are perfect for short 60-second videos and social media carousels. Over time, you’re building a pretty valuable library of answers that you can use in a variety of ways.

A data center newsletter built around expertise

Because there is so much activity and interest around data centers, I’d really give some thought to standing up a newsletter in certain regions.

And if you have a reporter who has become an expert on this topic, you could brand it around them, like “Data Center Watch with Jane Smith.”

I think what you should not do is make this solely a collection of headlines and links, but rather allow the reporter(s) to share a little insight into what is going on. Yes, make sure you get people to all of the things I mentioned in this newsletter, but a reporter’s expertise could be really valuable.

I would think about some standing things in the newsletter outside of the reporter’s insights and links, like “Three developments to watch” and “New data centers in the news.”

You could also use the reporter as the face of short videos, live Q&As or other data center coverage. The more people see and hear from that reporter, the more you can make them into a true expert on the topic.

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