Using social media to improve our readers’ experience
As journalists, we need work on our relationships with our readers.
We're now realizing that the one-size-fits-all traditional method of delivering news no longer works for our audience -- or for us -- as competition increases and attention spans decrease. So it's up to us to come up with new, improved ways to reach them.
That's where social media comes into play.
It has already impacted how many digest news. Instead of picking up a paper at the corner newspaper box, people are finding their news on their favorite niche social news sites. Instead of opening the front door and picking up the morning paper, folks are heading to Facebook to watch an uploaded video, checking out the latest post from a subscribed RSS feed or clicking a tweeted link.
It's important to realize that our readers use sites like Facebook and Twitter because they can customize their experience and feel connected to other users. Since users can pick and chose where their information comes from, it's up to us to provide exactly what they want; whether that's a Twitter account that only chats about the latest movie reviews or an RSS feed of stories of news in their communities.
It doesn't stop there. These social sites provide an exciting opportunity for us to transform journalism from a one-sided phone conversation into a discussion among friends.
That said, readers no longer want to only read their favorite reporters or columnists; they want to meet them, befriend them on Facebook and chat with them on Twitter.
Every single experience every employee has with a user is increasingly important. These experiences will lead the customer to either recommend or condemn your company or personal brand. The power of word of mouth is tremendous. And now, with all sorts of social media tools available online, it’s easy for folks to share their opinions, which can impact your brand even more.
But there needs to be a strategy behind the madness, which is part of my job at the Chicago Tribune. For more than a year and a half we've been discovering the best ways to use social media and search engine optimization to increase our readers' experiences with ChicagoTribune.com. We've learned a great deal - best practices, tips and tricks - and we have much to learn.
We need to learn more about our readers and be willing to interact with them. We can no longer simply speak to our community; we have to be a part of the community. And that's only possible by understanding and participating on these sites.
But it takes a change of thinking. It takes an acceptance of how the journalism industry is expanding, and an honest desire to learn how to use social media tools.
I hope in the next few months we can help each other change our attitudes, improve our skills and continually prepare us for an ever-changing career.
Amanda Maurer is the online and social media producer at the Chicago Tribune, and blogs at acmaurer.com. <!—if you need the link: http://twitter.com/acmaurer--> You can also follow her (@acmaurer) on Twitter. <!-- http://twitter.com/acmaurer -->