Social Media from the Media for the Media

Natalie Wardel Janelle Hanson

@nataliewardel @JanelleKSL

WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

How do I work with media to get coverage for a story?

Media need PIOs

PIOs Need Media

What is the Assignment Desk?

What Does the Assignment Desk Do?

Monitors police scanner traffic

Filter news tips

• Email

• Phone

• Social media

Coordinate content

Allocates newsroom resources

• Where reporters and photographers will be assigned

What does the media need during news?

Breaking news

• What happened

• To whom it happened to

• When it happened

• Where it happened

• How it happened

• And any more details you know

Feature stories

• A “first”

• Unusual, Quirky, Unique and Compelling

• Kids and Animals

• Celebrities

• Human Interest stories

• Trends

Multi-platform news

TV: Visual aspects, Interviews,

Photos

Radio: Instant, live

Print: Photos, longer, in-depth

stories

Web: Video, photos for gallery

Questions to answer when pitching pre-planned stories to media

Does your press release contain all

necessary information?

No seriously.

• Does your press release contain ALL necessary information?

Who is your audience?

Is it exclusive to one station or medium?

Anticipate questions

BECOMING YOUR OWN MEDIA NETWORK BY USING SOCIAL MEDIA

Why use social media at all?

• First: community outreach, public information, response and relationship building.

• Second: “monitoring,” crime prevention and tracking.

The media can’t cover every story. Tell your residents what you are doing and what is happening without waiting for the media.

“Social Media” is an umbrella term for any place where people congregate online. Find out where your people are.

Do’s and Don’ts of your social voice

Do’s

• Publish up-to-date information

• Interact and answer questions

• Remember you’re on the record

• Have a schedule of who’s “on” to post

Don’ts

• Post incorrect or incomplete information

• Rant, moan or complain

• Go silent

• Ignore questions

Learn how to use social media now, so that when high profile events happen, you have a strategy in place

What to send:

Advise media and others about what is happening.

Correct misinformation

Go beyond broadcasting to also listening.

Be human.

There are 1,640,000 Facebook users in Utah.

• Second largest website in the world. The biggest audience in social media

• Content goes viral quickly with a “share” or “like”

• Analytics show you who you are reaching in almost real-time

Public agencies can have a page where they post news, updates, etc.

Answer questions from public

Post documents, links, etc.

Post pictures

Orem:

Shows personality

Updates almost daily

Twitter users are your vocal, word of mouth audience

• Stream of links, photos and text

• Where news breaks and people talk about it

• PIOs can respond to conversation in real-time

Twitter and News

• Tweet accurate info that can go straight to air

• Tweeting updates will save us and you time

• Tweet pictures we can use

• Tweet links to full stories

• Even if you don’t have a lotof info, Tweet what you doknow.

Provo Police effectively used Twitter to communicate with media

Up to date information over two-day period.

Provided tips for accessing staging location.

Tweeted photo we could use.

Herriman communicated with public in search for missing child

Provided photos that people and media could use

Asked for volunteers

Provided updates to residents

Consistently provided information

Reputation of use of social media in the past let to @BeReadyHerriman to have a receptive audience.

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLSFind something that fits your needs in the office and on the go

Find an app that you are comfortable with before breaking news happens

Download this

Facebook pages

And one of these

Native Twitter app

Hootsuite

Buffer

Facebook Pages

• App designed by Facebook to edit pages (not profiles)

• Will ensure that your status update is posted in the right location

• Sends you push notifications when you receive a message

• Allows you to upload pictures on the go

• iPad app also available

Twitter app

• Can switch to multiple Twitter accounts

• Access Twitter search

• Edit and access Twitter lists

• Works on phone, tablet and online

Hootsuite

• Can post to Twitter and Facebook at the same time

• Pro account: Multiple users and members of teams

• Schedule posts • Follow hashtags and lists• Track stats and data on

links• iPad app, Desktop version

and Chrome plug in

Buffer

• Simple app. Can post to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc

• Easily schedule tweets or publish them

• Works on phone and online

• CANNOT: See mentions, follow lists, etc.

• NOT GOOD FOR BREAKING NEWS

OUT OF THE BOX EXAMPLESIf you are feeling more adventurous

Case study: Seattle Police Department

Tell the story of covering the police beat while connecting with an audience

Most of their tweets are replies –answering questions and informing public

Over 45,000 followers on Twitter, and a popular blog on seattle.gov

Out of the Box use of social media #operationorangefingers

To raise awareness about the new legalized marijuana regulations, Seattle Police handed out 1,000 bags of Doritos at Hempfest.

The Doritos all had a sticker describing the new law and regulations

They attracted national media attention and pointed people to a blog post that had more information

But aren’t they police?

"For us, the big idea isn't that we want to entertain people—we want to engage people," says Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, SPD public affairs director. "There are going to be situations where it's crucial to get public-safety information out quickly, and we believe we've built an audience where we can do that effectively. People come to us because they find us engaging. But when it starts to get real, they know that we're going to be on it."

With great power comes great responsibility

Denver Police sent a tweet that led to a confusing evaluation of journalism that in the end made no sense.

Lesson: It’s OK to be frustrated with media coverage, life, etc. but think twice before venting it out on social media

Success: Denver Police host an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Reddit and answers tough questions on marijuana legislation, SWAT use, etc.

TWITTER HOW TO

Twitter terms

• Hashtag: Search team. Dialing into a specific conversation about a specific topic.

• Username: The name you are known by on Twitter. If someone puts an @ in front of your username, they can send you a public message, i.e. @username.

• @mention: Responding to someone on Twitter or starting a conversation.

• Retweet – Resending another user’s tweet by using the retweet button or adding “RT” in front of their tweet. (MT = modified retweet, usually edited for characters)

• Favorite: “star” tweets to remember them and find them later.

• Direct Message: a private message on Twitter. Can only be sent to someone you are following who is following you back.

Only people following @GraniteSchools and @MrMixPixLix will see this on their timeline.

Because this has a character in front of it (“), it will be visible to everyone.

The difference between @replies and retweets

Another good resource:

www.momthisishowtwitterworks.com/

Hashtag: #utpio13

Hashtag lets you dial into a conversation. Eliminates static and noise.

Set a hashtag early on in event or incident and tweet it out.

QUESTIONS?

NWARDEL@KSL.COM

Thank you!