1. Int el lige nce in S o cial Medi a
Social media reporting:
the importance of blogs, video and photos
Blogs oftentimes are the best-trafficked pages on an organisation's website. They get
particularly strong results for search engine optimisation, or SEO. Similarly, the popular-
ity of online video and photo-reportage means companies, brands and organisations can
tell their story in a more engaging and colourful way than a stodgy old press release,
even introducing to the public interesting new faces within the company. This guide will
teach you how to get started with blog, video- and photo-reporting.
1. Blogs
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1. Choose a platform
There are numerous blog publishing platforms from free (Blogger,
Tumblr, Posterous) to more involved software (Wordpress and Drupal). If
you want a blog that is hosted on your site and uses the same look and
feel, you may want to opt for the latter. If you want an easy-to-use
platform for multiple users that lives outside your website than the free
software versions should work for you.
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2. What to post to your blog
Blogs are great for long-form reporting, for Q&As with company
officials, and they make a good place for the CEO to address his
public.
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3. Your blog's voice
Blogs have a distinct voice. They are informative and authoritative,
but rarely formal. This is not the place to copy and paste company
press releases. Breezy, engaging writing is what the reader expects.
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4. Importance of tagging, shareability
Smart tagging means choosing relevant keywords for your blog post. If
you write about a new mobile app your company has developed, then
tag the post with "iPhone," "Android" and "Blackberry" if the app will
work on those systems. This will get you noticed. Other share-ability
tools include RSS, and Retweet, Like, Google+ buttons.
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2. Int e l lige nce in S o cial Med i a
2. Video
1) Choose your device
Make it HD. That doesn't mean you'll pay a lot. You just want some-
thing that will give you good picture quality and is easy to upload.
Accessories to consider: a tripod (for super-still framing) and a mono-
directional microphone to cut down on the ambient noise.
2) Short and sweet
Short 2- and 3-minute video reports (don't go much longer than
this) can liven up investor relations sites or enhance new product
launches. They also provide good material for a branded YouTube
channel, hugely popular with consumers who want to see new
product before making a purchase.
3) Before you press "record"
Talk your interview subject through the interview.
Give him or her the question in advance, then
repeat it once you begin filming. Introduce your
subject to your viewers by starting out with, "We're
here with NAME..." followed by the question.
4) Editing
Your video will require some amount of editing. Not to worry. This
could mean an introduction, captions, some music, contact details
at the end. This is easily introduced in the post-production stage.
Good editing software is iMovie (for Macs) and Movie Maker
(Microsoft). Also, many devices come with their own editing soft-
ware, including the Flip video cameras.

3. I nte l lige nce in S o cial Med i a
3. Photos
1) Choose your device
As is the case with video cameras, a very
good SLR camera is getting mor e affordable
all the time. You want a digital camera that
can easily transfer photo files to a computer
for organizing and editing. Also, smart-
phones now shoot in high definition.
Choose one with a greater than 5 Mega-
pixel camera built in. This way you can post
photos on the go to Twitter, Flickr or your
blog.
2) You don't need to be a
professional photographer...
...but it really helps if you have a firm idea of
how light and motion can impact your shots.
Review the instructions and the camera's
functionality before shooting. Don't be
afraid to ask the experts for tips on shooting.
3) Who/what to shoot
The public will want to see detailed images of new products -- i.e.,
pictures of a new car model or smartphone. What do they care even
less about? Company execs in suits. Images of actual consumers with
the product usually generate more views than images of the boss.
4) Where to post
Flickr and Facebook albums are great
traffic-drivers. Blogs too work best with
strong imagery.
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