A collection of social media resources for newsrooms

I’m doing some training today with the Texas Center for Community Journalism.

We’ll be going over some basics of social media best practices — user behavior on different platforms, how to craft compelling posts, how to host lively conversations and how to boost engagement. We’ll talk about measuring success and deciding which platforms are right for you.

I have a bunch of links for participants, and I’ll throw them up here publicly in case they’re useful to others as well.

Here are some posts I’ve written over the years to help newsrooms navigate social strategy. 

• Assessment: 10 questions to ask yourself about your social media use.
• Checklist: How to edit for social media
• Four questions: Is a social platform right for you?
• Privacy and account options: Using Facebook in your journalism
• A resource: Social media searching and listening

We’ll also talk about building trust, of course.

My Trusting News project has used Facebook to test trust-building strategies. Facebook is a natural fit for the work because it’s about relationships. Journalists feel comfortable talking directly to their Facebook audience, and users feel comfortable talking back.

Here are some DIY worksheets we created based on what newsroom partners have learned. :

• WORKSHEET: A checklist for earning trust on social media
• WORKSHEET: Tell the story of your own work and values
• WORKSHEET: Engage authentically with your users
• WORKSHEET: Encourage users to share your content

Here are some general resources and communities for learning more about using social media well.

• Get started with Facebook Insights.
• Join the News, Media and Publishing group on Facebook.
• Join the Social Journalism group on Facebook.
• Take these free classes from Poynter and Facebook on how to get the most out of the platform.
• Take these free classes on business and marketing on Facebook.
• Are you paying attention to what people do with your content on social media? Follow how your links are shared with the free Crowdtangle Chrome extension.

I’d love to hear what has been most helpful to your newsroom. Got anything tacked up next to your desk? Any posts you refer to over and over? Let me know. Cheers!