How Newsrooms Are Using Social Media To Strengthen Credibility And Engage Viewers

Guest post by Angie Goff, a multi-media journalist on TV and radio, based in Washington, DC. You can follow her on Twitter at @OhMyGoff, and Like OMG on Facebook. An earlier version of this article appeared at Angie's OhMyGoff.tv site.

How do you get people to Like you? (On Facebook, I mean.)

When I get an opportunity to tap into the minds behind the most world's most powerful social network, I’m gonna take it. At the headquarters of Gannett, I recently got the chance to attend a seminar and Q&A session with Facebook executives Andy Mitchell and Vadim Lavrusik. During their talk they gave great examples of how newsrooms and news personalities are using social networking and the “wisdom of the people” to strengthen the credibility of their reporting and engage in meaningful conversations with viewers. According to Mitchell, 50% of Facebook’s 750+ million users check-in with the site daily. Facebook's mobile applications have 250 million people tapping away.

As a professional journalist, it was helpful for me to see the diverse ways one can search for sources, news and subjects from within Facebook. The execs pointed out that their analytics (which are what any brand really cares about) still have some kinks -- lack of customization, bad CTR, no way to track time spent on page or top content. Yet, even with that, it seems that every personality and brand is in a rat race to get more people to 'Like' them.

The reality of the media industry,however,is more complicated. Most newsrooms and newsroom managers are still trying to figure out what all this Liking actually means. Even if you win the popularity contest online, how this translates to breaking news stories, improving viewer ratings, and increasing revenue is a bit murky.

That said, it was very interesting to see how different news stations are vying to increase their Like-ability. One station promised people who Like it on Facebook only exclusive content. Another embraced social good by donating a bottle of water for every Like they got. Competition can get more extreme -- there was the organization that promised viewers that if they achieved 3,000 Likes they’d tase their weatherman. They got their 3,000 -- but what did they get for a return on their "investment" I wonder?

From my personal observation, I feel people decide to “Like” a page when they get something from a brand for free, or if their friend asks them to do it. Selfish or social -- Liking might be that simple.

Photos from the author. Cover thumbnail from Debaird.