The document provides tips for making content social and engaging audiences on social media. It recommends starting with clear goals for what you want people to do after reading content, such as taking action or sharing. It also suggests understanding the target audience by finding what issues are most important to them. Additionally, the document offers ideas for social elements to include like headlines, images, factoids, and calls to action that make content more shareable. Metrics and engaging in conversations on social media after publishing are also discussed.

1. Making Your Content Social
Staci Baird @girljournalist

2. You’re not competing with (other news sites) you're competing with videos of cats on Roombas.
~ @plautmaayan

3. Did you read that story
about…?
Did you watch the news
last night?
News is a conversation.
Did you see that
photo of…?
Did you see that video
on YouTube?

4. Social = Sharable = Talked about

5. How do you get people’s attention?
This presentation
needs 100% more
cute baby memes.

8. You want people to read your story.
But do you want more?

9. You want people to read your story,
talk about it
and…

10. “And...” is your goal.

11. story
^is important.
Don’t ever stop asking WHY the

12. Some potential goals for your story
• Take action!
• Share on social networks, email, text
• Request more information
• Complete a survey
• Write their congressman
• Volunteer, donate

13. Who should read your story?
If you say “everyone” you risk no one reading it.

14. What’s their most pressing issue
problem
desire?

15. How can your story help them?

16. Get to know your audience.
How will they consume your content?
What social platforms do they use?
How do they use them?

17. What metrics to look at
• Visits (not page views)
• % new visits vs returning
• Source (referrals)
*Social networks
• Mobile devices

18. Social networks aren’t content dumping grounds,
but opportunities to engage in conversations.

19. Interactive engagement
• Twitter chat
• Google Hangout
• Live Stream
• Offline community forum

20. Think social from the start
• Start with a plan
• Think about the “And what...”
• Don’t try to do everything. Pick one thing and do it well.

21. Exercise?

22. What do you want people to do after reading your story?
These are your goals.

23. Who needs to read the story
(who can take action, make a change)?
This is your target audience.

24. What will success look like?
Make success something you can measure.

25. What is being said about your topic right now?
Use listening tools:
Social mention
Google search hashtags
Twitter search
Facebook search
Instagram search
Pinterest search
Google + search

26. Post publishing promotion
• Share the stories on your organization’s social channels as well as your
personal networks.
• Unpack the package and share the story components as individual pieces
of content.
*Always link back to the full story. “Read more, Learn more. Find out…”
• Ask for feedback.
• Respond to comments. Join the conversation.
• Review the metrics.

27. Help your social media team
• Provide the social media team with
• Quotes
• Original photos/infographics
• Short video clips

28. more
^social?
How can you make your content

29. Humor
Emotion
Make it personal
Provide a call to action

30. Social components of a story
• Headlines
• Images
• Factoids
• Surveys/polls
• Unique story designs/formats

31. Headlines
• Humorous
• Controversial
• “Top 10”
• 1 out of 10

32. Headline examples
• Stanford Biologist and Computer Scientist Discover the ‘Anternet’
• 5 Ways Your Life Is Going To Change Because Of Obamacare
• 19 Things America, Canada, And The U.K. Cannot Agree On
• Americans are actually getting skinnier. New study shows 43% drop in
obesity among young children in the U.S.

34. Images
• EVERY story should have some visual component
• Infographic
• Photo
• Photo gallery

38. Factoids
• Interesting data points
• Quotes

39. Factoid examples
• How Much Snow Does It Take To Shut Down Schools Across The U.S.?
Spoiler: About an inch of snow can shut down the entire South!
• “Obamacare can't work, folks. It just cannot.” ~Rush Limbaugh
• “I don't want to pay for a sex-change operation … I’m not interested. I like
being a boy.” – Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga
!
!
*Hint: these make great Tweets!

40. Surveys/polls

41. Unique story designs/formats

45. Calls to action
• Tell readers what they should do
• Take this survey to find out x…
• Register to x…
• Write your congressman and ask them to x…
• Share this photo to ….
• Like this story if…
• Please RT

46. Questions?

47. Resources
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2014/02/04/the-confluence-of-content-and-socialmedia-insights-for-success-in-2014/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2013/08/27/6-steps-to-decoding-your-target-audience/
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/06/
how_people_read_online_why_you_won_t_finish_this_article.html
Tools for listening:
Social Search - http://www.socialmention.com/, http://www.webfluenz.com, http://www.socialsearcher.com/
Hashtags - http://www.hashtags.org/
Search for #hashtags on Google, Yahoo and Bing

48. Stories
• https://engineering.stanford.edu/news/stanford-biologist-computer-scientist-discover-anternet
• http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/575-i-went-to-school-to-become-a-clown
• http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/575-i-went-to-school-to-become-a-clown
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/mackenziekruvant/76-seconds-in-the-brain-of-someone-with-add
• http://www.fastcodesign.com/3026558/infographic-of-the-day/graphic-lunchroom-hours-leavestudents-hungry

49. Examples of sites that publish social content
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/
• http://www.upworthy.com/
• http://www.good.is/