fostering community with social media - midwest newspaper summit 2010
DESCRIPTION
This is a presentation I gave at the 2010 Midwest Newspaper Summit. The topic was "Fostering Community with Social Media," explaining how newspapers can operationalize social media tools to build community platforms, as well as engage their audience where they live.TRANSCRIPT
FOSTERINGCOMMUNITYwith social media
(photo via lucasdevries / flickr.com)
A quick history lessonAKA: WTF just happened to our industry??
photo viakevindooleyflickr.com
In the 1920s, daily newspapers had a market penetration of 123%.
(photo via holia / flickr.com)
- Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper
A guy named Craig came along.
Platforms changed.(photo via faceme / flickr.com)
Reading habits changed.(photo via inju / flickr.com)
The last 210 years of information (+10 years)
220 years of marketers trying to connect businesses with publics.Source: http://www.baekdal.com/articles/Management/market-of-information/
(But, they spend less time there.)
Globally, more people get their news from Yahoo! and Google
62% of online teens get news about current events and politics online.
(photo via peterkaminsky / flickr.com)
- Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2010
Conclusions:Technology changes, but so do societal norms.
Trust in news brands has eroded over time.
Value of brands (relationship-based) being replaced by search (transaction-based).
Google News is perceived by many as unbiased.Google aggregates & indexes, doesn’t control.
Community = OpportunityFocus on relationships with readers
by using social media technology to build acommunity platform.
SO⋅CIAL ME⋅D⋅IADEFINITION:
people having conversations online
it’s an EVOLUTION of how we communicate
(photo via misserion / flickr.com)
who usesSOCIAL MEDIA?
and why should you care?
3 out of 4 Americans use social technology.- FORRESTER, THE GROWTH OF SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION, 2008
93% of social media users believe a companyshould have a presence in social media.
- CONE, BUSINESS IN SOCIAL MEDIA, SEPTEMBER 2008
photo via victoriapeckhamflickr.com
Social networking is the 4TH most popularform of online activity, ahead of personal email.
- NIELSEN, GLOBAL FACES AND NETWORKED PLACES, 2009
46% of baby boomers actively maintaina social networking profile
- DELOITTE, SEPTEMBER 2009
photo via jamescridland / flickr.com
Source: BrianSolis.com
Share the link love.
Develop commenting guidelines.
Mine for sources and stories.
Allow content re-use & mash up.
Be active on social networks.
Develop niche content.
Stay ahead of the shifts.
Ways newspapers can foster community& leverage social media:
Share the link love
ARTICLE SOURCE
Don’t be afraid to link out
Linking out can amplify your article’s potential reach.
Linked sources typically inform their own networks.
Expecting to “trap” readers on your site is an outdated
mode of thinking.
Developcommenting
guidelines
The “cooling off” period
Engadget (global tech news blog) andPantagraph.com (Bloomington, IL news site)
both temporarily turned off comments.
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_766adc82-f58a-11de-b4cc-001cc4c03286.html
If commenting gets out of hand, here are some ideas to consider:
Try the “cooling off” period.
Develop a site-wide commenting policy and enforce
it.
Encourage editors and writers to participate.
Stop allowing anonymity – require real names &
headshots.
Allow community moderation and flagging.
Put the first three comments from new users in a
“hopper.”
Link off to comments instead of showing under the
story.
As a last resort, wipe the system and reboot.
Mine for sources and stories
Majority of journalists now depend on social media for story research
89% use blogs.
65% use social networking sites.
52% use micro-blogging sites.
61% use Wikipedia.
84% said social media sources were less
reliable
than traditional media.CISION, January 2010 - http://us.cision.com/journalist_survey_2009
Allow contentre-use & mash-up
(photo via kathera / flickr.com)
What will they do with your content?
Omaha World Herald’s content, re-packaged by a few people who wanted a better news site.
BetterOmaha.com: OWH done better?
Aggregation of content from mainstream media news sources (AP, DM Register) and citizen journalists via RSS, blogs, YouTube, Flickr and
Twitter. Built by one dude overnight. Register participated. AP wasn’t happy.
IowaFlood.com: Social media fire hose
One of the most powerful tools known to mankind:
Be active onsocial networks
“MICROBLOGGING”(Blogging in 140 characters or less.)
Twitter is accessed via web, IM,
mobile devices and third-party
apps.
What is it?
24/7/365 cocktail party
“Ambient intimacy” -Leisa Reichelt
“Follow” (subscribe to) interesting
people
What’s the appeal?
WHO CARES IF I’M EATINGA SANDWICH?!
(photo via randysonofrobert / flickr.com)
Largest age population: 35-49 year olds
(42%)- Nielsen Online, March 2009
Most popular among working adults- Nielsen Online, March 2009
Who is using it?
Daniel Finney,police beat reporter:
(photo via joo0ey / flickr.com)
Twitter has broken the news cycledown to seconds
@usairwaysgirl
Sioux City Journal taps the real-time fire hose
An aggregation of
weather-related tweets,
emails and mobile photos
from
Sioux City residents.
400 million+ users and growing.
Fourth-largest country (if it had land
mass).
5 billion minutes spent on Facebook each
day.
Women over 55 are the fastest-growing
demo.(Has your mom friend requested you yet?)
www.myparentsjoinedfacebook.com
Facebook stats:
Create a branded Facebook Page…
…then extend Facebook functionality to your site
Facebook Connect
Allows seamless connectivity between user activity
on your web content and Facebook.
More reasons to build a Facebook Page
“Get more fans with SMS” feature
Try it! Text “fan lavarow” to 32665 (FBOOK)
INSIGHTS
Developniche content
Stay ahead ofthe shifts
Technology will continue to evolve until every web page,
everywhere, is social. Whether you’re ready or not.
Pay attention to location-basedsocial networks
(photo via moriza / flickr.com)
Contextual offers/coupons based
on your current location (GPS) and
number of previous visits.
Watch the eReader / tablet space
Readers will consume news and media this way.