Download - Why Engagement Is Good Business
Why EngagementIs Good Business
ONACamp PhoenixNovember 8, 2014
Read more about it• stevebuttry.wordpress.com• slideshare.net/stevebuttry• @stevebuttry• [email protected]
3 types of engagement• Engage community in our journalism• Engage community in marketing efforts
(news & biz collaboration)• Help business customers engage w/ our
community
What is engagement?
What’s the payoff?• Better journalism• Increased traffic (ad impressions)• More time w/ content (more value)• Expand audience• Improve brand
Live coverage• Berkshire Eagle murder trial: 25K
engagement hours• News-Herald: Jan-Feb: from 7 to 24 live
events, 35K to 83K engagement minutes• Dorner manhunt: 4.7M minutes• Gettysburg 150: 5 days, 35K+
engagement minutes daily, peak of 96K+
Liveblogging situations• Breaking story• Meeting• Event (festival, march, concert, trial)• Daylong (Election Day, weather)• Sporting event (can use fans, bloggers,
HS journos)• Live chat
Community network• Community supplements your coverage
& fills gaps• Community network can drive traffic to
your sites (offer widgets)• Opportunities to sell advertising in
community blog network
Host some group blogs• Community clubs• Community religious organizations• Youth sports teams• Neighborhood groups• Music (marching bands, church choirs,
garage bands, youth recitals)• What else?
Don’t forget the promotional & commercial value of good
journalism
CT Twitter study:• Newsroom accounts mostly heads & links• @5thDistrictCT conversational (links to
competition, RTs, replies, great info)• @5thDistrictCT = 2x to 10x more referrals
per Twitter follower
Tips for being conversational:• Monitor @ mentions & reply (answer
questions, thank for links, address critics)• Make link posts conversational• Reply & RT• RT competition, community bloggers• Ask questions
Social media = journo tool1. Livetweet events &
breaking news2. Search3. Crowdsource4. Monitor community
conversation5. Curate
6. Hashtags7. Lists8. Embed tweets in
stories9. Photos & videos10.Verification
Promotion also matters• Posting photos increases engagement on
Twitter• Posting links (that pull in good photos)
works best on Facebook (for now)• Experiment & watch metrics to learn
best times & ways to post
Market your content• Community Facebook groups, pages• National niche groups, pages• Hashtags that reach interested audiences• Comments on related blogs• Emails (or social media messages) to
bloggers, influencers• Check Klout for influencers
Contest possibilities• Holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, July 4)
• Seasons (fall colors, winter photos, etc.)• Children, pets • Sports• Treasure hunts
Contest tips• Photo contests rock• Facebook works (brings new likes, helps
you in news feed algorithm)• Which is better – judging or voting?• Experiment, learn, laugh• Don’t forget the print product
Contest sponsorships• Get advertiser(s) to provide prizes• Event at sponsor’s business• What else?
engagement
Business opportunities• Social media agency for local businesses• FB, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat accounts
offering local bargains• Local search• Transactions for local businesses
Content for hire• Blogs for local businesses (your site &
theirs)• Expert content for businesses (stories,
videos)• Live content for businesses• Apps for local businesses• Commissioned obits, life stories
Protect your integrity• Separate content-for-hire staff• Set standards (accuracy, corrections)• Label content on your site as sponsored• Continual conversation about ethics• Be explicit about protecting editorial
integrity• Who can’t be customers?
Read more about it• stevebuttry.wordpress.com• slideshare.net/stevebuttry• @stevebuttry• [email protected]
