Social Network Marketing for News Reporters
By Graeme Newell
gnewell@602communications.com
http://www.602communications.com
Twitter: gnewell

Barack Obama is a social networking idol.  819,000 people follow him on Facebook.  He also has a huge presence on MySpace.  29,400 people follow his every move during the day using the mobile social networking platform Twitter.  Obama has used social networking to bond with young people and get his message out to a generation that is watching less traditional media.

But when it comes to social networking, Obama can’t keep up with Leo Laporte  Leo is a podcaster and tech expert who lives in the San Francisco area.  Every day, more than 30,000 people follow Leo on Twitter. Leo sends short text messages to his followers throughout the world.  He has more followers than Obama or Clinton.

Posts on Twitter are limited to 140 characters and ask the simple question, "What are you doing?"  Twitter is one of a new breed of platforms that is taking social networking out into the world via mobile devices.  Whether they're in the office, taking time off, or running errands, Twitter keeps its audience in constant contact via the web and cell phones.  The key is that the messages are short and therefore easily scanned.  They do not overwhelm like an overflowing email box.

Eight or ten times a day, Leo sends out short two-line messages telling the world what he is up to.  Sometimes it is a link to a great new web site.  Other times it is a hot tech industry news flash, or some juicy gossip about the latest Google moves.

Leo's follower numbers are impressive, but much more impressive is his use of his network to gather information for his shows and his life.   Last week Leo installed new lighting in his streaming studio.  Leo simply asked his network for help picking the best lights that would run cool, cost nothing, and make him look like a rock star.  

Imagine the power of 30,000 tech geeks instantly weighing in on this one topic.  Within a few minutes they had independently discussed the many options, honed the list, and made their recommendations.  By simply using his network, Leo had instantly tapped some of the best minds in the industry and used the "wisdom of crowds" to find the best options.  

Over the holidays, Jason DeRusha at WCCO in Minneapolis was doing a story on Christmas tree allergies.  Problem was, he didn’t know anyone with allergies who was available for an interview.  So he posted this message to his Twitter account. Instantly, the message went out to all the people on his friends list and bam, his friend Connie came to the rescue.  She Twittered back that “I break out in a rash if I touch them without gloves.”

They were at Connie’s house within the hour where she told him about her love of real trees and her ticklish allergy problems.  After the story, Jason posted a short note on Twitter again letting them know about the great interview with Connie.  

This past week Jason was once again tapping into his Twitter network to find boat owners who could talk about how boating habits have changed because of the high price of gas.

What is truly powerful about these reports is that Jason did all this on the run, while putting together a story.  Because of Twitter’s mobility features, his social network travels with him everywhere he goes during the day.  Jason has 276 people following his Twitter posts, and he can tap that audience for information or contacts whenever he needs them.

Mike McGuff is a web producer at KTRK in Houston and publishes a news blog all about the TV biz in the city.  Mike is an active social networker with personal pages on Linked In, and Facebook.  But his Twitter postings are some of the best I’ve seen.  You see, Mike is a linking animal.  His posts on Twitter:http://twitter.com/mikemcguff are some of my favorites, because they are a constant stream of some of the most interesting and bizarre links to be found on the web.  Mike has 66 people who follow his posts and he has been building steadily.

In effect, Mike and I have made a tacit deal.  He agrees to keep his posts very short and scanable.  He keeps me informed with links to great interesting content, and I agree to do the same. Mike and I don’t talk or email.  But what is really powerful is that my network and Mike’s network are now joined.  If Mike has some bit of information he needs, he can put out the word on Twitter, and tap into the resources of 66 different people.  What’s even more powerful is that those 66 people all have their own networks that Mike can utilize with just a quick request to his Twitter friends.

The key is that Mike is a good social networking citizen. This means he gives as well as receives.  Because his posts are valuable to his audience, they are more than happy to help out on those occasions when Mike may need information.  

When you think about it, Leo, Jason and Mike all have their own personal information swat team backing them up every minute of the day.  By posting a simple text message on their cell phone, they can tap into their networks, and an army of friends simultaneously swings into action.  All these connections can help them find contacts, make decisions and locate interesting people.  For those of us in the information gathering business, this network is an invaluable tool.  

This is why social networking is becoming such a powerful force in business communications, yet most newsrooms have yet to embrace it.  Most of our story research is still very linear.  Most of our information queries are still done with one-to-one communication.  We call one person, ask questions, then we hang up and call the next person.  With business social networking, you can communicate with thousands of people simultaneously.

Imagine if you had everyone in the newsroom working on every story simultaneously.  With a newsroom social network, you could tap into the brain and rolodex of every photographer, every reporter and every manager throughout the day.  

For example, imagine you set up your own private Twitter network with accounts for each person in the newsroom.  Throughout the day, each person on the team posts two sentence updates with new information, story ideas, questions, and new leads.  Each post takes only a minute to type out on a cell phone, and lets everyone on the team know exactly how their story is coming along, what still needs to be done, or if their story is tanking.  

Everyone in the newsroom is in constant contact, but the messages are short and easy to scan.  The team can post and read the messages out in the field, or sitting at their computer terminal.  The assignment desk, producers and managers back at the station all have a running narration of how every story in the show is coming together.  

So let’s say a reporter is doing a story on new highway construction and their key interview just cancelled.   Imagine if you could instantly tap the brains of every person in the newsroom, no matter where they are throughout the city.  They post, “My interview just canceled, I need an expert on road construction.”

Social networking exponentially amplifies the rolodex of every person in the newsroom. By utilizing mobile based networks like Twitter and Pownce,  we solve one of the fundamental problems of news gathering – communicating with co-workers who are spread all over the city.  

We also provide a vehicle for our audience to join in on the reporting process.  We enroll them in the creation and investigation of great stories.  We ask for their help through personal experiences, contacts, or other resources we don’t know about.   We turn them into on-line participants, not just passive viewers.  

We’ve always done this on a linear scale.  We call up people on the phone to ask for an interview.  Now we can ask thousands of people simultaneously, and reach them no matter what their location.  The audience becomes a participant in a journey of discovery with the reporter leading the charge.  These new social networking tools bring community-based reporting to a whole new level.

So how do you get started?  Create your own Facebook or MySpace page and join one of the groups that specializes in your local area.  For example, there are 254 Facebook groups dedicated to all things happening in Raleigh, NC.  Or, start your own group dedicated to the things your newsroom loves – politics, traffic, health, weather, etc.  

Remember, this should not be a station page, but a personal page that focuses on the individuals on your staff.   You are not there to lead the discussion, but to be a participant in the passion the groups share.   You are there to make friends, not to speak to the masses.   Keep your posts short.  Post the cool links you find during the day.   Tell your personal story.  This is how we all make friends.  Build your own group of friends and followers who can be a resource when you need them.

Also, check out this book that will clue you in to all the pluses and minuses of in-house social networking at the office.  

If you would like to follow any of the people in this story on Twitter, go to the Twitter site and enter their name in the search box right beside the Twitter logo.

Graeme Newell is a broadcast and web marketing specialists who teaches web writing techniques that double a station’s web traffic.