let's get engaged

Let’s Get EngagedLogan H. Aimone, executive directorNational Scholastic Press AssociationOnline: slideshare.net/loganaimone

Friday, March 16, 12

Let’s Get Engaged

What is social media?It’s the use of Web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.


Let’s Get Engaged

How journalists usesocial media

Distribution: Sharing / referring content

Crowdsourcing

Searching for sources or subjects

Interviewing

Monitoring

Story ideas

User feedback / engagement


Let’s Get Engaged

Primary social media journalists use (or should):

Facebook / LinkedIn

Google+

Twitter

Vimeo / YouTube / Flickr

Geolocating: Foursquare, Google Latitude/Maps, Gowalla, etc.

Pinterest


Let’s Get Engaged


Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: Definition and statisticsAmong world’s largest social media websites with more than 845 million monthly active users (December 2011) who create a network of friends

425 million mobile users (December 2011)

Average user has 130 friends

50% of users return daily to the site

Photos are most popular shared and viewed item

280 million photos uploaded per day

Source: Facebook + Journalists, July 2011


Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: Impact“If searching for the news was the most important development of the last decade, sharing the news may be among the most important of the next.”— “Navigating News Online, Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, May 2011

Facebook drove 3% of traffic to 21 of 25 news sites in study, and 8% of traffic to Huffington Post.

Headlines have been organized by editors. Now they are organized by friends.


Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: StatisticsUsers are 3-4 times more likely to click “Like” for a story if they see a friend’s face as someone who “liked” the story.

Journalists who post content on a page or profile are likely to get more traffic if they…

Use a 4- or 5-line post

Ask a question

Include a thumbnail or photo



Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: Profiles & PagesA Facebook Profile is the standard user experience. An individual develops a personal network of friends (up to 5,000) and can share status updates, photos, links and videos. With the Subscribe feature, you can determine who sees which updates — even targeting updates to certain groups.

A Facebook Page is a more professional site where a journalist can share and interact while maintaining the traditional separation from sources and avoiding conflicts of interest. You can distribute, engage and have a public presence — and no limit to connections.



Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: PagesNicholas Kristof of the New York Times uses Facebook to tell microstories. He says a good story is a good story on Facebook.



Let’s Get Engaged


Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: PagesDuring breaking news, post often. Readers expect it. Engagement increases.

Be transparent about who’s posting. Tag the person posting, or indicate in the text.

Pages allow targeted distribution based on gender, age, location, language, etc.

Provide a behind-the-scenes look



Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: CrowdsourcingCrowdsourcing is using the “crowd” to provide ideas, sources, information and leads.

Submitted content

Enlisting readers in the process

Story ideas

Direct access to the source (source available to respond to questions via Facebook, etc.)

Using Questions feature for high engagement

Let viewers decide content



Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: Other itemsFeeds don’t work. They’re impersonal and automated. Readers engage when they know a person is behind the post.

Find sources with Search.

Search public updates.

Search administrators of Groups.

Videocalling (soon with Skype) for interviews

facebook.com/journalists



Let’s Get Engaged

FACEBOOK: What you should doBuild a network of “Likes,” because you will have a broader network for sharing.

Use Insights to determine when the best time of day is for posting.

Mid-day, 6 p.m., and late night are best, though your community’s peak may vary.

You want engegement, which means you must improve reach.

Use a long post.

Ask a question.

Include a thumbnail or photo.


Let’s Get Engaged


Let’s Get Engaged

GOOGLE+: Definition and statisticsSimilar to Twitter, Google+ allows a Google user to both follow and be followed online.

One significant difference is the ability to group followers in “circles” and to determine what pieces of information are shared with which circle. People are not told the circle in which they are grouped.

Additional features include the ability to save items to read later (compared to a linear stream of information), video chat in “hangouts,” and integration with other Google products like Gmail, Google Docs or YouTube.


Let’s Get Engaged

GOOGLE+: Definition and statisticsThe service launched June 28, 2011. In the first two weeks, it grew to 10 million users and within four weeks over 25 million users. As of March 2012, it had more than 100 million users.

After the first few months, only about 12.5% of users were women. As of March 2012, about 29% of users are women.

Google+ now has pages for businesses.


Let’s Get Engaged

GOOGLE+: UsesBecause of the selective sharing options with “Circles” in Google+, a journalist could share some information publicly while some only with close friends. This avoids having people create two profiles — one public and one private — to share with different audiences.

“Hangouts” could become the next focus group, group interview or way to interact with reporters or sources.

“Sparks” allows a user to identify interest areas, and Google will suggest items — like a pre-search.

The +1 button allows users to recommend items.

Content can be downloaded.


Let’s Get Engaged

GOOGLE+: Big questionsWill it replace Facebook? Maybe — if users can migrate content from an established social network and if Facebook doesn’t develop selective sharing. (Skype chat is coming soon in Facebook.)

Will it be more like Google Buzz or Wave? Google+ doesn’t seem to be catching on with common use compared to Facebook, and many of its features are also now available in Facebook.


Let’s Get Engaged


Let’s Get Engaged

TWITTER: Definition and statisticsTwitter is a microblogging website with mobile apps that provides 140-character updates. Users can have followers, follow others and be part of lists. Non-users can search or see public tweets.

Twitter turned 6 this week in March 2012!

200 million users and 350 billion tweets per day (175,000 tweets per second)

A hashtag is a term used to tag a post for search. It includes the # sign and a word, phrase or abbreviation.

According to the Pew study, Twitter drove about 1% of referrals to news sites (and 3% for the Los Angeles Times).


Let’s Get Engaged

TWITTER: UsesThe main uses for Twitter are distribution, engagement and monitoring.

Build a network of relevant followers (and people to follow). Interact with them in the ways below.

Use Twitter to share content or refer users to content.

Use Twitter to engage with users: ask/answer questions, clarify, respond to criticism, get ideas.

Use Twitter to monitor what others are tweeting about to get leads, ideas and sources.

Curate tweets as basis for a sidebar in print or online.


Let’s Get Engaged

TWITTER: More usesGo to http://media.twitter.com/newsrooms

#TfN

Report: Search, sources and mobile apps

Engage: Effective writing, promotion and branding

Publish: Tools and display guidelines

Extras: Blogs, copyright and troubleshooting


http://media.twitter.com/newsrooms

http://media.twitter.com/newsrooms

Let’s Get Engaged


Let’s Get Engaged

VIMEO / YOUTUBE / FLICKR: Definition and statisticsVimeo and YouTube are video-sharing websites.

Flickr is a photo/image-sharing site.


Let’s Get Engaged

VIMEO / YOUTUBE / FLICKR: UsesVimeo and YouTube channels can be utilized for sharing extra video from a news story; a behind-the-scenes look at the journalist’s job; or to interact with users, like responding to queries.

Flickr can be used in some of the same ways but with still images.

All can also be used to search for sources or monitor what people are talking about or find interesting.

200 million videos are watched on YouTube every hour!


Let’s Get Engaged


Let’s Get Engaged

GEOLOCATION APPS: Definition and statisticsTypically, geolocation apps do two things:

They report your location to other users.

They associate real-world locations (such as restaurants and events) to your location.

These apps use the GPS chip in a phone or mobile device to determine location.

Apps like Foursquare allow users to “check in” at a location. Sometimes businesses will offer deals for checking in.


Let’s Get Engaged

GEOLOCATION: UsesJournalists can use geolocation apps to see who has checked in at a location or event.

Use the apps to monitor buzz or develop story ideas.

Some mobile apps like Yelp! allow users to post reviews of businesses.

Combine geolocation with other mobile device-based tools such as QR codes or Groupons.


Let’s Get Engaged


Let’s Get Engaged

PINTEREST: UsesPinterest is a “virtual pinboard,” where users can organize and share items they find online. They can browse pinboards created by other users to discover new things and shared interests. It’s the #7 social network, ahead of Google+ and Tumblr.

Home, Arts and Crafts and Style/Fashion are the most popular categories.

Top five sources for pins are Etsy, Google, Flickr, Tumblr and weheartit.

The site is two years old and has 11.7 million active users and 1,090 visitors per hour.


Let’s Get Engaged

PINTEREST: UsesOver 80% of pins are re-pins.

That means content is shared and re-shared. The viral aspect of Pinterest contributed to its rapid growth.

It’s another tool to curate the Web — and show, not just tell. A user gathers and bundles images and ideas from multiple sources.

Browse. Listen/monitor.

Curate a pinboard of resources. Top 10 lists. Photo of the Day.

Share the news.


Let’s Get Engaged

Other digital media toolsDelicious: Social bookmarking

Tumblr: A place to post anything and everything

Storify: A website that allows curation and combination of multiple elements from social media (like tweets, Facebook status updates, etc.)

Instagr.am: Mobile photo sharing

Evernote: Keep track of many bits of information from multiple formats


Let’s Get Engaged

How will you utilize these powerful new tools?

They are evolving rapidly.

Research data are becoming available, which will prove valuable to how journalists use the tools effectively.


Let’s Get Engaged

Questions?Find this presentation at slideshare.net/loganaimone

Email me at [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

let's get engaged

Technology

facebook journalists

social media

mobile apps

geolocation

july 2011

july 2011

journalists

sharing