Over the course of the year we have been privileged to hear insights from many working journalists, community managers and social media editors.
Here are a sample of the tips from three of the best:
Kate Day, social media and engagement editor, The Telegraph
- Growing a community is above all about understanding the people you are talking to- you cannot hope to build digital loyalty without listening to your readers and acting on what they tell you.
- Watching your competitors is key- it’s a game of who can get to things first and when the best time is to publish them. Sometimes it’s better to hold things back, dripping things out while giving readers the one killer line too.
- Headlines must be good for search- every reporter who joins is given a basic web publishing session including SEO and whether or not to open comments. Knowing what keywords to include is very important for traffic.
- It’s amazing how much you can miss by not planning effectively. Start to get a feel for thinking certain things through in advance before tearing them up on the hoof when necessary.
Mark Johnson, community editor, The Economist
- Tumblr is growing as swiftly as Twitter was in the first days of its growth. So while it may feel weird posting into a stream largely populated by teenage girls and Justin Bieber photos, don’t disregard it just yet.
- Charts and small bits of analysis work well on social media- it’s not all about soundbites, cartoons and photos.
- Hosting web chats with journalists every fortnight or so provides them with a good opportunity to emerge from behind the curtain of anonymity that they have on The Economist (no bylines in a conventional sense). People who may not be Twitter users can enjoy these too, while advertisers like them as they can display material at the side of the page or in the video.
- Google Hangouts are great for getting readers on the line to ask questions and get answers- your community can improve the journalism you do. Ask the community what they want and you often get a lot back in return.
- Reader competitions such as their caption competition- “ludicrously successful considering how simple it is”– can be low cost, low effort, basic simple fun that is good for the brand.
- There is a thirst in social for more serious debate as many people think they need to dumb down and make things shorter for social media- not everybody wants this.
- On-site community is crucial as external social media platforms can be transitory and change their policies at any time, taking traffic away. There are lots of bandwagons to avoid- decide what is worth chasing and what hype is worth avoiding.
Christian Broughton, digital editor, The Independent
- Do everything but do it your own way, remembering that you can’t afford to ignore the middle of the road as it’s a big place with a lot of people in it.
- Remember digital is about rolling news so you can do updates of online posts, putting the latest line near the top, encouraging readers to come back to check your changes.
- “Be reliable, be accurate, but don’t wait for the comfort zone”– in other words be cautious but don’t be lazy.
- Let the world tell you what’s interesting as they’re usually right. You may not always like it but they are often good judges and vital in terms of monitoring your social traffic.
- Ask yourself whether a liveblog is really the most appropriate way of telling a story. Some events are still best covered the old-fashioned way, or the old way and the new way. Don’t short change people just beacuse “it’s the Internet way”- there are a lot of awful liveblogs out there.
- Don’t try to be too clever as clear messages get clicks. Know what’s most interesting to your readers and stick it at the top, letting the facts shine.
- You can’t have too much of a good thing. Volume is an overwhelming difference in terms of thinking online and there’s a lot of things to write about in the world. There is no “enough” content as the Internet doesn’t have a flat plan. Mail Online doubled their volume of content last year and grew traffic by 50%.
Interactive Journalism MA student at City University London. Blogs at jessdenham.net and tweets @jess_denham.