How to stand out as a journalist on Twitter

How to stand out as a journalist on Twitter

What leading anchors should know about TwitterMallary Jean Tenore / Managing editor / @MallaryTenore

About the presenter

Mallary Tenore (@mallarytenore)

Managing director of Images & Voices of Hope (@ivohMedia) a nonprofit that strengthens the media’s role as an agent of positive change. Previously the editor of Poynter.org.

Mallary Tenore, Images & Voices of Hope (ivoh)

Social media’s evolution


Why use Twitter (& social media in general)?

Because it’s where our audience is.

• Twitter: 255 million monthly active users• Facebook: 751 million monthly active users• Pinterest: 25.3 million unique visitors.• Instagram: 150 million users.

Mallary Tenore, Managing editor


Who uses social media?

Pew Research CenterMallary Tenore, Images & Voices of Hope (ivoh)


Getting news from social media

How can you gain more influence on Twitter?


Unprotect your tweets


Make it easy for people to find you & other staffers. Kare TV does a good job of this:


Make it easy for people to find you on your Twitter, Facebook


Create an effective Twitter bio (or ‘Twesume’)

• Think of it as a 160-character elevator pitch.• Make it conversational, interesting.• Use it to focus your tweeting.• Give people someplace to go.


Twitter bios


Twitter bios: Good examples


Twitter bios: Good examples


If you’re stumped …


Visit Twitterbiogenerator.com (just for fun!)

Think of publishing as the start of a process of sharing.

iStock photo


Tweet regularly

• Tweet out links to all of your stories. • Set goals for yourself & measure the success

of them.• Schedule tweets for off-hours – weekends,

nights.


Strike a balance between….

• Promoting• Sharing• Engaging• Retweeting


When promoting, sharing & engaging…

• Be authentic.• Zig when others zag. • Ask questions.• Add value to the conversation & be

conversational.• Follow smart people.• Add visuals.


Add visuals to tweets


Add visuals to tweets

• Always ask: Would this tweet be better with a picture?

• On average, tweets with images get a 35% increase in retweets.

• One study found that tweets with images uploaded directly to Twitter see 94% more engagement than tweets without them.


https://blog.twitter.com/2014/what-fuels-a-tweets-engagement

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/tweet-photos-get-retweets_b50283

Use hashtags & @ mentions

• Use hashtags to increase the chances that your tweets will appear in searches.

• Use @ mentions to increase the likelihood that people will engage with you & to give them recognition.


Using @ mentions


Tweet out the same link in different ways

• NPR recently tested out two types of tweets – one with a straightforward headline and link to a story, and another with a catchy quote from the story, an @mention and a photo. Notice the difference in the number of retweets and favorites …

http://socialmediadesk.tumblr.com/post/85640191326/tweet-tweet-and-tweet-some-more

Experimenting with different tweets



The second tweet got a lot more engagement, and is a reminder that it’s ok (actually, it’s good) to tweet out the same link twice, so long as you change it up.



• “Writing multiple tweets is a great way to share content more than once. The people on Twitter at 9 a.m. might be different than the people at 1 am. Creating tweets also allows us to include the names of reporters and blogs, which will also help to increase audiences beyond the main NPR news account.” ~ NPR’s Lauren Katz


http://socialmediadesk.tumblr.com/post/85640191326/tweet-tweet-and-tweet-some-more

Retweeting


Retweeting

“Take retweets as seriously as you take writing your own tweets. Make sure the links work and that the content adds value to both your feed and followers.” ~Elana Zak, Wall Street Journal


Retweeting, commenting, sharing

• Make sure the content you’re retweeting, replying to, etc., is actually what you think it’s about.

• On April Fool’s Day, NPR posted a story that generated thousands of comments and shares. The only problem is, the story wasn’t really what the headline said it was about …


Retweeting/sharing/engaging

Retweeting/sharing/engaging

Whoops!

Lesson: Read before retweeting, commenting, sharing, etc.


Using Twitter when news breaks


Twitter can be a great tool for breaking news …

… But you want to make sure you’re clarifying people’s understanding of the news, not confusing them.


Avoiding social media errors• “Gabby Giffords is dead.” –NPR, CNN, Fox, NY

Times• “Joe Paterno has died.” –Onward State, CBS

Sports, lots of other news orgs/journalists.• “Bombing suspect has been arrested.”

Correcting errors on social media

• Errors spread farther and faster than corrections. (It’s what Craig Silverman calls “The Law of Incorrect Tweets”).

• Make an effort to make/share/spread corrections as quickly as you can.


http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/regret-the-error/165654/visualized-incorrect-information-travels-farther-faster-on-twitter-than-corrections/

Building credibility on Twitter

• If you haven’t verified information, tweet something along the lines of: “We’re aware of the reports circulating, but haven’t been able to confirm them yet.” Or send a couple of tweets saying: “We are working on this story and will tweet updates as soon as we have them. Here’s what we do know.”

• Refer to your newsroom’s social media guidelines/ethics.


Using Twitter to improve your writing


Twitter forces you to be concise; you have to make every word count.

It can also be a good tool for reporting what you’re observing …

Using Twitter to improve your writing


‘Concision takes precision’


Twitter story ideas

• Twitter is a good starting point for finding sources, information and ideas. Still need to follow up and do traditional reporting to make sure that Twitter doesn’t become a replacement for interviews.

iStock photo


Twitter search• Find local sources by using Twitter’s search

function: https://twitter.com/search

Find local sources by using the “advanced search” function.


Use TweetDeck or HootSuite


TweetDeck and Hootsuite…

• … Make it easier to keep track of Twitter Lists, notifications, followers and more. I find just about all of my story ideas via the Lists I’ve set up on TweetDeck. Lists enable you to see tweets from specific people/orgs that are of particular interest to you.

• You can also schedule tweets using TweetDeck and Hootsuite.


Next steps

• Find ways to integrate Twitter into your workflow.

• Set reasonable goals for yourself.• Be a leader/coach for others in your

newsroom.• Organize a training session.• Experiment, experiment!


Thank you!

Email or call me with questions…

Mallary Jean [email protected]

727.517.5489 @mallarytenore @ivohMedia


mailto:[email protected]

https://twitter.com/mallarytenore

https://twitter.com/mallarytenore

https://twitter.com/ivohmedia

https://twitter.com/ivohmedia

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How to stand out as a journalist on Twitter