Posts
 |
| Courtesy | Mark Coldren via Public Domain Pictures.net |
Whether you’re friending, following, or linking to people, it can be a jungle out there when your publication joins a social media site. When you’re asked to jump right in and get to work, the first question that may come to mind may be: What can I do with social media?
Obviously, you can communicate with your readership… but what does that really mean? You can:
Generate Traffic – Add your RSS feed to Twitter or Facebook to link readers back to your website. Or, post teasers that tell readers about current or future content on your website. Get them excited about your content!
Stay Relevant - Find out what is on readers’ mind. On Twitter, the homepage shows the thoughts of everyone you follow. On Facebook, people can write right on your publication's wall. Concentrate on those users who seem keyed in to your community or on the general community chatter. It might give you a lead on a great story.
Research Articles – Query your Facebook fans and Twitter followers to learn more about a subject. My experience with this hasn’t been perfect, but I’ve heard about plenty of successes. In one article, a journalism professor tweeted that she wanted to know what she should tell journalists about twitter. At least 20 people responded. This same idea applies with groups on LinkedIn and discussion boards on Facebook.
Contact Freelancers and Assign Articles – Some pubs use LinkedIn to contact freelance writers. If you work for a niche magazine, this could be especially helpful. I’ve also heard that some people work in GoogleDocs so freelancers can review their submissons and make edits. Just be aware: this will not track changes.
Find Advertisers… or let them find you – If a local or niche business discovers your website for the first time through your Facebook or Twitter page, are you prepared to help them? Talk this over with your sales team. Do they have a media kit ready? Is there a number that advertisers can call?
Using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media in business is something so new there are no hard and fast rules. But if there is one rule, it would be this: Decide what you want to accomplish before you sign up for social media and then make a plan on how to get there.
I’ll come back tomorrow with some thoughts on your first step: finding your audience.
Reading backwards, here. Another good advice blog.
ReplyDeleteIt's more work than you'd think. My company had to put a full-time person on Facebook, and it wasn't something they'd planned for going into it.
ReplyDeleteI used to vow NEVER to join Facebook or Twitter, but now I am seriously considering it.
ReplyDeleteThe Media Proofreader: It's so much more work than most companies are prepared for. Most pubs I've seen still try to make do with its regular journalists running the social media sites, which is undeniably hard when its done on top of a normal workload. It's why I've sought out so many tips and tricks to make it a little bit easier (and quicker!).
ReplyDeleteMemoirs: It's a lot of work, but Facebook and Twitter are excellent for creating a buzz!