Engage YourCommunity

Steve ButtryNew York Press Association

Sept. 19, 2014#NYPA14

Read more about it• stevebuttry.wordpress.com• slideshare.net/stevebuttry• @stevebuttry• stephenbuttry@gmail.com

Stories coming up next week?

Your homework• Choose 1 or 2 things to try next week• Choose 1 or 2 things to try in October• Write down follow-up questions• Slides and links on my blog

What is engagement?

Ways of engaging• Community blogs• Social media• Seek community content• Curation, aggregation• Contests• Don’t forget the newspaper!• Face to face

Growing your networkFinding new bloggers:• Google (blog search w/ community

names)• Check local blogs’ blogrolls• Check links of local tweeps• Help set up people with blogs

Host some group blogs• Community clubs• Community religious organizations• Youth sports teams• Neighborhood groups• Music (marching bands, church choirs,

garage bands, youth recitals)• What else?

Social media• Community orgs w/ FB pages• Community FB groups (if they’re open)• Community orgs, voices on Twitter• Community orgs w/ YouTube channels• Community orgs on Instagram, Flickr• Community Pinboards

The Social Media Conversation

Great for promotion, but also …• Great for reporting• Find story ideas• Crowdsource• Join & spur the conversation (reply,

retweet, ask questions)

engagement

• Photos used to engage best, but now links w/ strong photos work best

• Don’t autopost, start a conversation• Have a human voice• Engage with (and police) comments• Ask questions• Use polls

engagement

Why converse w/ no link?• Question invites conversation• Engagement w/ question boosts

views/engagement on subsequent links• Builds brand, gain followers• Do you enjoy conversation w/ people

always calling attention to themselves?

CT Twitter study:• Newsroom accounts mostly heads & links• @5thDistrictCT conversational (links to

competition, RTs, replies, great info)• @5thDistrictCT = 2x to 10x more referrals

per Twitter follower

Tips for being conversational:• Monitor @ mentions & reply (answer

questions, thank for links, address critics)• Make link posts conversational• RT competition, community bloggers• Ask questions

Monitor community conversation:• Save searches for key names, hashtags• Save location searches for breaking-news

terms (fire, emergency, siren)• Make lists (HootSuite, TweetDeck

columns) of key community users• Reply & RT

Encourage staff to be conversational:• Be personable (can do that w/o stating

opinions)• More than just links• Listen to community; reply & RT• Livetweeting events

What’s your social-media voice• All about me?• Join other conversations?• Appropriate to content (light, serious)?• Who would your social-media voice be

(think of a character)?

Crowdsourcing tips• Say what you know, what you need to

know• Don’t ask for help; invite people to tell

their stories, share their photos• Reach broader audience (hashtags, ask on

FB pages of groups w/ interests)

Lead the conversationLive chat opportunities:• Enterprise story: Reporter and/or

source(s)• Promote upcoming game or other event

(or during the event)• Controversial editorial• Community leaders

Lead the conversationLive chat opportunities:• Promote contest (or contest winner)• Columnist, editor fielding questions• Second screen (Oscars, Super Bowl,

election night)• Damage control• What else?

Live-chat tips• Lots of tools available: CoverItLive,

ScribbleLive, WordPress, Superdesk• Twitter chat brings in community

audience• Promote on home page, print product• Moderate comments• Don’t solo

Live-chat tips• Have participants on phone call, so you

can promp participants about next questions, know when they’re done answering, etc.

• Give start time but not end. Plan for an hour but OK to quit early if it’s run its course.

Curating the conversation

“I think curation has always been a part of journalism; we just didn't call it that.” – Andy Carvin (then of NPR, now with First Look Media), quoted in The Atlantic by Phoebe Connelly

What is curation?Museum curator:• Studies topic• Chooses relevant

content (other sources & museum collection)

• Authenticates• Groups related items• Provides context• Presents exhibit

Journalism curator:• Studies topic• Chooses relevant

content (social media, blogs, staff)

• Authenticates• Groups related items• Provides context• Presents collected

content

Curation tools• Search (Google, Twitter etc.)• Storify• Tumblr• RebelMouse• Pinterest• Geofeedia• Spundge

Curation sources• Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Flickr,

YouTube …)• Blogs• Staff content (current & archives)• Other news media (yes, competition)

Authenticate & attribute• Ask: “How do you (they) know that?”• Ask careful questions of crowd to help

you vet & verify• Check links, tweets & information on

sources• Link to original source• Attribute

Contest possibilities• Holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving,

Christmas, Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, July 4)

• Seasons (fall colors, winter photos, etc.)• Children, pets • Sports• Community locations

Contest tips• Photo contests rock• Facebook works (brings new likes, helps

you in news feed algorithm)• Which is better – judging or voting?• Experiment, learn, laugh• Don’t forget the print product

Contest sponsorships• Get advertiser(s) to provide prizes• Tie in advertiser’s Facebook page (people

can enter by liking it)• Event at sponsor’s business• What else?

Your contest ideas• Groups of 3-4• Something for fall or winter engagement• Theme?• How enter?• How judge?• Ideal sponsor?

Video engagement• Surveillance video• Seek submissions from community• Vine, Tout• Google Voice + still photos• Search YouTube, Vimeo• Hangout (live on YouTube)

Video engagement• POV camera• Live webcam• Re-ask best question (quick edit)• Post raw video• Live coverage• Video from source, agency

Your homework• Choose 1 or 2 things to try next week• Choose 1 or 2 things to try in October• Write down follow-up questions• Slides and links on my blog