RJI Futures LabEngaging Audiences & Building Community

Nate Anton & Colin Hope

Metrics of Success - Reporting

This semester’s stories:Chute InteraptAustin 360 Mobile First

Eyeris GeekWireWashington Post Paladin

Seattle TimesInside Social Project Thunderdome

Metrics of Success - Reporting

In-person interviews

RJI Mobile First Conference 2014

Metrics of Success - Reporting

Themed episodes

Metrics of Success - Audience Development

● Twitter● LinkedIn● User experience● Engagement recommendations

Metrics of Success - Twitter

● Increased following● Increased engagement● Engagement with Futures Lab team● Engagement with weekly guests from our show● Crowdsourcing tips● Engagement through social conversation● Engagement with high profile sources● Engagement with a broader audience ● Created new Twitter lists and built upon old ones

Twitter: Increased Following

● Start of semester: 492 followers; 1,051 following● End of semester: 1,310 followers; 978 following ● More than doubled our following; a 166%

increase

Followers

Following

Twitter: Increased Engagement

Measured by frequency of:

● Retweets (RT)● Mentions (@RJIFuturesLab)● Favorites

Twitter: Engagement with Futures Lab Team

Twitter: Engagement with Guests from Our Show

● Guests added to “Futures Lab Guests” Twitter list● Guests mentioned in tweets promoting the show● Use the #FollowFriday (#FF) hashtag to thank guests and

promote show

Twitter: Crowdsourcing Tips

Twitter: Engagement Through Social Conversation

Twitter: Engagement with High Profile Sources

Twitter: Engagement with a Broader Audience

Twitter: List Building

Six public lists:1.Student Newsrooms2. Journalism Educators 3.Futures Lab Team 4. Innovative Academics 5. Innovative Journalists 6. Innovative Newsrooms

Twitter: List Building

Twitter: List Building

Six private lists:1.Futures Lab Guests2.Resources for Journalists3.Wearable Tech4.Tech News5.Mobile Innovators6. Innovative News Leaders

Audience Engagement Case Studies

We conducted interviews with media industry members to gauge the state of engagement strategies across the country.

Participants ranged from members of print newspapers to online publications and broadcast outlets.

Audience Engagement Case Studies

GeekWire The State Journal-Register DeSmogBlog.com

Seattle, Wash. Springfield, Ill. Seattle, Wash.

Las Vegas Review-Journal Tallahassee Democrat Adbusters

Las Vegas, Nev. Tallahassee, Fla. Vancouver, Canada

Minnesota Public Radio Relevant 24

Minneapolis, Minn. Boston, Mass.

Audience Engagement Case Studies

Developing an “engagement mix”

“We use a variety of audience engagement strategies including social media, video (on-demand and live streaming), blogs and live blogs, push alerts, surveys and polls. We also use community events such as forums, coffee meet-ups and other face-to-face interaction. A mix of strategies is most effective.”--Rebeccah Lutz, Tallahassee Democrat

“We define engagement as ‘show me you know me.’ Take what you know about your audience: their favorite shows, their interest in events, their hometowns, their preferred way to communicate, etc. Then make it easy for them to connect with your organization and your content, based on their preferences. When the audience feels genuinely connected to the content, they will give.” --Jessica Horwitz, Minnesota Public Radio

Audience Engagement Case Studies

Social media and measuring success● Social media and

online metrics● Achieving connections

“We primarily use Twitter and Facebook to engage with audiences because that’s where the bulk of the people are. On Facebook, it’s more of the audience engaging with the posts, but for Twitter, the brands we support are more likely to have a back-and-forth conversation with the audience.”--Ashly Carr, Relevant24

Audience Engagement Case Studies

Visualizing the future of engagement

“I know that mobile has been probably the largest change to hit us in some time. People are mobile and people want to get the information they need on that mobile device. There’s a lot people doing their own reporting out there.”--Michael Quine, Las Vegas Review-Journal

“More and more content will be consumed on-demand, rather than through a broadcast or live stream. We have to tailor our engagement campaigns to reach audiences where they are, when they want it. A trend I see in the future is user-submitted content, whether its video, audio, text or images.”--Jessica Horowitz, Minnesota Public Radio

Recommendations - Audience Development

● Twitter Engagement ● Establish LinkedIn presence for the Futures Lab● Humanize Futures Lab team and encourage

collaborative engagement ● Focus the Futures Lab engagement position● General engagement recommendations

Recommendations - Twitter

● Tweet consistently & engage frequently ● Engage with members of the Futures

Lab team on a routine basis● Continue to engage with Futures Lab

guests● Continue building public and private

lists● Tweet more images

Recommendations - LinkedIn

Create a “Showcase” page on the main RJI company page

Company Page Example Showcase Page Example

Recommendations - LinkedIn

Recommendations - Humanize Futures Lab team & encourage collaborative engagement

● Create a bio page for the Futures Lab team● Collaborate to achieve engagement efforts

● 2-3 scheduled [@RJIFuturesLab] tweets per story produced● 1-2 tweets a week from the reporters’ personal Twitter mentioning @RJIFuturesLab

(crowdsourcing tips, live tweeting events, insights into the reporting process, etc.)● 1-2 engagement tweets from @RJIFuturesLab per week

(retweets, shout outs, #FF, #TBT, shared content, evergreen stories, etc.)

Twitter Collaboration Recommendations

Recommendations - Future engagement positions

● Educator/trainer perspective ● Social media manager● Behavioral economics perspective● Community manager / comment

moderator● Outreach ambassador

Recommendations - General engagement

● Plan for special events in advance for marketing purposes● Offer innovator(s) of the month/year award● Offer contests● Celebrate/create special weeks such as social media week or

innovation awareness week● Offer live presentations for journalism FIGS, 2150 classes, ONA

events, etc.● Co-host relevant RJI events● Twitter Chats● Set up a (private) Pinterest for “evergreen stories” and to

organize show content

Recommendations - Reporting

Produce a more diverse range of content for the RJI website.

Recommendations - Reporting

Choose an area of interest to cover throughout the semester.

Recommendations - Reporting

Participate more in filming and editing of the weekly episode.

Conclusion

● This semester’s accomplishments in reporting and audience development

● Audience engagement research

● Planning for the future

Questions?