Social Networks

a regional newspaper case study

Joanna GearyFebruary 2009

Picture by Luc Legay, licensed under Creative Commons: http://flickr.com/photos/luc/

Who Am I?

• Employed as a business reporter in 2004.

• Previously worked for an independent multimedia production company.

• Passionate advocate for online journalism.

• Appointed development editor in 2008.

• Will join The Times as web development editor (business) next month.

Why Am I Here?

• To share some of the lessons I learnt at The Birmingham Post.

• To provide an insight into how news organisations are starting to use social media.

Why Are Social Networks Important?

“Dramatic Shift in Marketing Reality”Scholz and Friends

http://cli.gs/Scholz

A Changing Market

“Because they are immersed in media, both online and off, Gen Y'ers are marketed to left and right. But when it comes to making decisions, Gen Y

tends to rely on their network of friends and their recommendations, not traditional ads.”

~ Sarah Perez, Read Write Web (http://cli.gs/GenY)

A Right To Be Heard

A Right To Be Heard

Who Controls the Message?

“If you wish to be heard, first learn to listen.”

Newspapers - Do We Listen?

Picture by Cesara Studillo, licensed under Creative Commons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cesarastudillo

Brand Perception Problem?

The Birmingham Post

January 2008

The Birmingham Post

January 2009

The Birmingham Post

It started with laminate flooring…

The Birmingham Post

…followed by a huge

helping of panic…

The Birmingham Post

…but quickly turned into a

successful crowd

sourcing project.

The Birmingham Post

The discovery of community

The Birmingham Post

Blog Network

The Birmingham Post

Community Consultation

The Birmingham Post

Using online tools to extend presence

The Birmingham Post

Engagement

“Organizations will work tirelessly to de-personalize every communication medium they encounter.”

~ Seth Godin (http://sethgodin.typepad.com)

First Law of Mass Media

The Birmingham Post

Putting the personal back in

The Birmingham Post

The result?

The Birmingham Post

Feedback

The Birmingham Post

Trust building

The Birmingham Post

The Birmingham Post

Seen to be listening

The Birmingham Post

Turning public critics

into public fans

The Birmingham Post

Building presence on social networks when it makes sense

The Birmingham Post

Add Value

The Birmingham Post

Community building pays off

The Birmingham Post

The Birmingham Post

The Birmingham Post

Results?

- Increased strength of brand online.- Strong, growing online community- Instant and ongoing feedback on products and services.- Identification as one of UK’s leading multimedia newspapers.- Raised individual profiles.- Putting the humanity back in.

The Birmingham Post

But it’s not always an easy ride

PR Tips

Do your research – know who you want to speak to and who is speaking about you:

Blogs: - Google Blog Search - Technorati - Icerocket - Good blog blogrolls will often be best

Twitter:- http://search.twitter.com: keywords, companies, etc. - http://twellow.com - browse by industry- Look at the contacts of interesting users (This is true for all social networks)

PR Tips

Monitor!

- Google Alerts

- Social Media Firehose: http://cli.gs/firehose

- RSS www.rssmeme.com

- Twitter Search

PR Tips

Question: Are you really the best person to be approaching customers?

• What value do you offer them?

• What insight can you give?

• What expertise related to the product/service/brand can you share?

• How authentic can you really be?

PR Tips

- Engage enthusiastic staff members.

- Opportunity to build upon personal brands. The more loved they are already, the better.

- Provide guidance and support for their use of social networking.

PR Tips

- Specialists

- Those working at the “coal face”

- Senior managers

- Directors

PR Tips

It has been done!

PR Tips

Blogging: - More in-depth conversations- Help tap into interest areas- Great way to show expertise

Twitter: - Great for short conversations- “Crowdsourcing”- Personal- Fast

Facebook: - Great for easy access to loyal fans.- Groups function useful.- Events.

LinkedIn:- Extremely valuable for business.- Useful for the slightly technophobe, older user. - Can create exclusivity (good and bad).

Different platforms can have slightly different uses

PR Tips

“My experience is that if a journalist is doing research on a board they identify themselves

and ask if they can contact some of the posters…”

Respect the communityAlways operate from their point of view

PR Tips

Remember who your audience might be

PR Tips

PR Tips

DO NOT SPAM!

Any Questions

?Picture by Luc Legay, licensed under Creative Commons:

http://flickr.com/photos/luc/

joanna.geary@gmail.comhttp://twitter.com/

joannagearyhttp://joannageary.com

Thanks!

Picture by Luc Legay, licensed under Creative Commons: http://flickr.com/photos/luc/

joanna.geary@gmail.comhttp://twitter.com/

joannagearyhttp://joannageary.com