What Journalists Need to Know to Master Social Media

It’s no secret that social media is yet another Internet byproduct redefining how we communicate while disrupting the news business. People are getting accustomed to having the news delivered to them via their newsfeed and therefore news outlets are losing the coveted direct-to-site consumer. News outlets have had to give up some control over distribution of their products in order to address the changing ways news is consumed. But what does this mean for individual journalists? What new skills will help us make our stories more sharable without jeopardizing the integrity of our work? And what social media skills can actually assist in our reporting?

One of the first things every journalist needs to understand is how their stories are being shared on social media. This is easier said than done since the most popular social media site, Facebook, is constantly changing its algorithm for sharing news (Breiner, 2015). Their latest change gives sharing priority to video content (Breiner, 2015), so this can help journalists when determining which parts of their stories to share on social media, such as sharing a video with a link to the full story, if you have both. Google’s latest change to their algorithm for sharing news offers up more corporate press releases, further diminishing traffic going to news sites (Breiner, 2015). Google and Facebook also both favor mobile-friendly sites in their feeds (Breiner, 2015).

Considering Google and Facebook control about 70 percent of mobile marketing revenues, having them control distribution is further transferring control of content and the revenues tied to that content away from the organizations producing the content. The sheer mass of people visiting Facebook and Google daily means they have access to demographic and psychographic data as well as control over what people see, meaning advertisers have more opportunities for customized and targeted marketing, something news organizations struggle with on their own.

Facebook and Google, however, aren’t the only ones who can use algorithms to suit their needs and customize their content. Journalists can use them too, or utilize other tools that use algorithms meant to assist in reporting. Dataminr, for instance, can compile items being shared on social media marked as potentially important for a reporter, based on keywords they enter (Sobel, 2015). A tool like this can allow a reporter to monitor their beat for potential stories, while also keeping their finger on the social media pulse. Dataminr represents a new generation of “social listening” tools, as Sobel (2015) explains. Sobel (2015) says the social web has become just as valuable for story hunting as for story promotion.

This infographic shows just how dramatically social media has impacted the work of communication professionals:

 http://www.ing.com/Newsroom/All-news/NW/2014-Study-impact-of-Social-Media-on-News-more-crowdchecking-less-factchecking.htm

So, taking into account the importance of social media in sharing and reporting the news, I came up with five skills journalists should master in order to thrive on the social web:

1. Content sharability. It’s helpful to think about how your content is going to be shared after it leaves your editor’s hands. A photo will mean your post will give readers something to look at and a video means it has a better chance of getting shared. Adding an emotional element to your story will increase your story's sharability but more importantly it will make it more engaging to readers (Drinker, 2015).
2. Social listening. You’re probably already on Facebook, Twitter, maybe even Google + or Instagram. But have you mastered the art of using these platforms to find stories? If not you may consider social listening tools like News Whip or Dataminr to help you follow your beat, stay on top of breaking news and what is going on around the world on social media (Sobel, 2015). Really, do you have the time to stroll through every tweet every day or monitor every hashtag? No, and if you do you have problems. Social listening tools do this for you, so it’s worth a shot.
3. Tact. Ok, this might seem like a no brainer, but we’ve seen too many journalists put their foots in their mouth on social media not to make a mention of it. It’s tough to set your story loose on social media only for it to be overrun by angry trolls. But before you go rebutting every jackass with a keyboard and a grudge, talk to your news outlet on their policies about this (Kolodzy, 2013). Most would prefer you talk to the editors before potentially inflaming the situation or risking your credibility by taking the bait. Basically, think before you write.
4. Distinguish virility from newsworthy. This really depends on where you work. Some organizations are looking specifically for viral content without care of a story’s potential impact on the world. Others care about virility but want a social focus as well, like Upworthy. However, most news organizations want at least some news value in their stories. Editors may encourage their reporters to find viral content but there is nothing better than viral content that actually matters or has some consequences on the world (Llopis, 2014). Bottom line, know the difference and adjust your reporting accordingly.
5. Don’t forget the basic rules of journalism. This should actually be No. 1. Going back to the above infographic on social media’s influence on the news business, you will notice that fact checking has taken a back seat in this era of the social web. While much has changed with how news is reported and disseminated, the tried and true rules still apply. This means remembering the who, what, where, when, why and how of every story (Kolodzy, 2013). It also means keeping a focus on ethics, accuracy, fact checking and proper attribution. Meeting the demands of the news hungry public is no excuse for sloppy reporting. Remember, social media will not forget these mistakes, just as quickly as they celebrate your scoop and speed, they will chastise you for missteps. There are also laws that govern media and while it is ok, even encouraged, to quote people from social media and use it to follow stories, remember that people who aren’t public figures have a greater right to privacy. Also remember that just because you have the legal right to take someone’s Facebook profile and publish it doesn’t mean it is always the ethical thing to do.

Now that the rules are out of the way and we’ve explained some of the key factors of social media journalism, we’ll leave you with some inspirational words from Paul Lewis. There are many negative things happening to journalism as a result of social media, but there are positive developments as well. There are stories being told that might not otherwise have been on our radar. People formerly voiceless have been given an outlet. Ending on a positive note, we try to look ahead at the possibilities because, well, there are many.

References

Breiner, J. (2015). How Facebook and Google are capturing news traffic and advertising. International Journalists’ Network. Retrieved from http://ijnet.org/en/blog/how-facebook-and-google-are-capturing-news-traffic-and-advertising

Drinker, A. (2015). 7 Simple Tips to Increase Content Shareability in 2015. Business 2 Community. Retrieved from http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/7-simple-tips-increase-content-shareability-2015-01126525

Kolodzy, J. (2013). Practicing Convergence Journalism. Routlede. New York, NY.

Llopis, G. (2014). Top 7 Reasons Your Content Goes Viral. Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/02/24/top-7-reasons-your-content-goes-viral/

Sobel, A. (2015). The new importance of ‘social listening’ tools. Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved from http://www.cjr.org/analysis/the_new_importance_of_social_listening_tools.php