Read All About It!West Central Tribune’s Social Media Strategy

Ashley WhiteCommunity Content Coordinator

“Social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news,

information and content.”

Over 50% of people have learned of breaking news through social media

1/3 of adults under 30 get news on social media every day

Among all people using social networks, 36% get news there

Social Media Has Changed the Way We Consume News

Most used platform in this area We use Facebook for two reasons:

◦ Drive traffic to our website◦ Engagement

Very rarely write posts without a question, link or photo

Facebook

Weather Example

Engagement is harder with @wctrib Tweet with links, but use questions and

photos more sparingly Use bit.ly to track clicks Best for big stories, breaking news, covering

meetings (called "live tweeting")

Twitter

Have encouraged all reporters and editors to have Twitter presence (not mandatory)

Use personal Twitter accounts to share stories, reach sources, find ideas, interact with public

Twitter shows people who we are as individuals, not as institution

Staff Twitter Accounts

Examples

Examples

Examples

Curation tool Find tweets, FB posts, Instagram photos,

YouTube videos Good for engagement after meetings,

events

Storify

Richard Vos story

Used tweets and FB posts from current and former students for more personal story

Example

Blogging platform for Forum Communications Company

FCC owns more than 30 newspapers, 4 TV stations and 1 radio station in MN, ND, SD, WI

Featured blogs appear on wctrib.com after posting and cycle throughout the day

Reverse publishing: WCT often republishes bloggers’ posts in the print edition

Areavoices

Inside Scoop (insidescoop.areavoices.com)◦ Blog from reporters, editors and photographers◦ Share the “story behind the story”

West Central Tribune (westcentraltribune.areavoices.com)◦ Share general information about Tribune (new

hires, teasers, company information) Multiple people contribute to both

Our blogs

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest More specific target demographic

◦ Niche audience Pinterest

◦ Follow people from Willmar area◦ Pin our stuff with links back to website

Some Areavoices bloggers become contributors

Live it! Magazine

One of our biggest social media days of the year

Twitter:◦ Updated throughout the night◦ Established hashtag #WCT2012◦ Encouraged photos and tweets

Case Study: Social Media Election

Examples

Had over 5,000 views

Fed blog with hashtag #wct2012

Live Blog: Cover It Live

Google+ LinkedIn YouTube RebelMouse

Always trying to stay on top of trends, determine which platforms make most sense for us

Down the Road

Media landscape changing every day We need to be where people are

◦ Drives online visits◦ Creates engagement

Cannot afford to NOT be on social media

In a nutshell: Social Media Matters

Questions? awhite@wctrib.com @Ashley_WCT

Thank You!