Social Media for Journalists

Rachel Mourao, M.A.rachelmourao@gmail.com

What do you think of social media?

• …it does not matter

Twitter for journalists

Decisions before you start

a) Do you need a personal or a professional account? Or both?

https://twitter.com/acarvin

More decisions

Does your paper need its own account?

If no, do you want your staff to link their personal accounts to the publication?

If yes, brand accounts need personality. https://twitter.com/thedailytexan

Do not forget to give credit to your staff members by mentioning them.

Resources for journalists

Storify and Storyfulhttps://storify.com/

Tweetdeckhttps://web.tweetdeck.com/

Tips

Use hashtags and crowdsourcing (with caution): sending pictures, using hashtags, interacting with followers, asking for their instagram pictures, drive the conversation.Try to include linksWhen promoting a story, you can link to it several times as long as you change the wording.Marcus was wrong: the default egg avatar is sadder than an abandoned blog

Other online resourcesTips for Journalists: http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2011/08/19/updated-and-expanded-twitter-tips-for-journalists/

Building engagementhttp://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/advice-for-building-engagement-through-newsroom-twitter-accounts/

Twitter for Newsrooms: https://dev.twitter.com/media/newsrooms

A Journalist’s Guide to Twitter: http://mashable.com/2009/05/14/twitter-journalism/

Wiki that compiles people and organizations in media that use Twitter: http://twitteringjournalists.pbworks.com/

YouTube video tutorials: http://mashable.com/2009/05/31/twitter-tutorials-youtube/

Facebook for Journalists

Facebook + Journalists: https://www.facebook.com/journalistsThis Page, run by Facebook, provides resources for using Facebook as a journalist and is also a community for journalists on the platform. Facebook + Media: https://www.facebook.com/fbmediaCreated by Facebook, this page has tips on best practices and tools to help you drive referral traffic, increase engagement, etc.

Follow and Pages

PagesPages are designed to facilitate multiple administrators. Aggregating fans to a single Page helps cross-promote the work of all of a news outlet’s reporters and build a fan community. Follow Different than your personal account (where you add friends), Facebook allows you to “follow” people. https://www.facebook.com/floridaalligatorhttps://www.facebook.com/dailytexan

Now, let’s create a page…

• https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Your turn

Other online resources

Sources and other links:The Facebook Guide for Journalists: http://mashable.com/2009/08/03/facebook-journalism/ Facebook for Journalists: More Work Than Twitter, but With a Bigger Payout: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2011/04/10/facebook-for-journalists-twitter/ Getting started with “Facebook for Journalists” guide: http://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/facebook-journalists/