It’s never been easier to launch your own news brand or product. Although the pandemic may have change your methods of production, there are still plenty of channels for you to consider if your journalism is social-first. Which social network is the one to launch on and prioritise? Cal Marius explores vertical-by-vertical.
Politics – Twitch
Twitch is not the natural town square of the UK’s Westminster-centric politics. Twitch is the organic incubator of antipolitics. A social network originally designed for the gamer, gaming’s tribal nature lends itself to politics well. Twitch’s IRL channels are full of video podcasters and streamers forming communities around their political takes on issues in the digital and real world. In France, streamers such as Jean Massiet are broadcasting to so many Twitch users, the parliament channel Public Sénat now co-produces and simulcasts his Twitch Show “Sénat STREAM”.
Social Issues – Instagram
The Instagram feed means it can be a shrewd place to tackle social issues without being hounded by bots, trolls and detractors. It’s unlikely that a prospective audience member would find your brand via an out-of-control ‘culture war’ thread à la Facebook and Twitter. There is also a visual elegance and style imposed by Instagram’s grid which can benefit powerful photography which highlights the fragility and greatness of the human condition. My colleague, Anushka Suharu, took a look at how South Asian women are using Instagram news brands to amplify their voices.
Travel – YouTube
Right now, most of us are taking our holidays on Google Street View… but we’re also spending more time living vicariously via YouTube videos from our favourite creators and brands. Travel news brands can capitalise on the suppressed travel demand by producing slick, high-quality video. This offers their audiences the opportunity to sit back and enjoy a low-effort exploration of a particular location or theme.
Local community – Facebook
Facebook has been hot on its CSR optics to ensure it can avoid regulation and scrutiny from governments around the world. One of the ways it is doing this is heavily investing in local news initiatives and favouring community based Facebook groups and pages in the News Feed. Its Marketplace and other secondary user functions are also geared to local geography. Company pages can even organically geo-target their posts. For all of these reasons, the social media giant remains, for now, indispensable for good local journalism.
Entrepreneurial – LinkedIn
News brands focusing on finance have the perfect opportunity to put their money where their mouth is on LinkedIn. By using audience acquisition methods such as social listening and ABM, which LinkedIn supports, a news brand could turn business leaders not just into audience members but potential partners and prospects.
Entertainment – Snapchat
The USP of entertainment is FOMO. Every great spectacle is something ‘you had to be there to see it’. Snapchat is the social media platform which offers succinct, ephemeral experiences through disappearing and time-sensitive video. As a result, entertainment news brands can use the platform to really play on the build-up and reaction to live events. Take a look at what’s on Snapchat Discover/Spotlight in your region.
Sport – Twitter
Almost every journalistic endeavour ends up with a Twitter presence. Let’s not forget that Twitter is the largest social network where most people do not have pre-existing real-world relationships with each other. An intermediary element is essential to lure in followers and grow a community. Sport is a very effective and popular choice here. Twitter’s curation team regularly centre their coverage on large sporting events and Twitter has hired extensively for Sports Partnership Managers, with a whole team now dedicated to the vertical. Versus is an interesting UK-based sports news brand worth examining.
News personality – Patreon/OnlyFans
If the effective product of your new news brand is a well-known person, Patreon could well be the way to go. It’s still relatively niche and the potential to earn money via audience revenue instead of pandering to ad revenue on other social networks can be liberating in terms of editorial control. For those that want to provide an intimate connection with their audience, you should seriously consider OnlyFans. It’s unlikely to ever be bastion of journalism but check out what Lily Mercer and Melissa Todd are doing on one of the world’s fastest-growing social networks in my in-depth article.
Of course, it’s important to employ a range of social media and not rely too heavily on one network. Algorithm changes can destroy your hard work –look at Facebook’s Australia news ban. It’s also important to drive your unknown social audience into a known CRM audience to ensure you can keep in contact with your audience if and when you change your distribution channels.
Good luck and share your thoughts with us @Interhacktives on social media!