Thanks so much to the NAB for making this session recording available! It was an absolute pleasure for me to participate on a panel called “A Fireside Chat with Facebook and Google: Partnerships and New Ventures.” (I am still wondering how I managed to get the invite!) This panel discussion featured a conversation with industry leaders from Facebook and Google on how TV and Radio stations can manage and monetize social media. I came in at the end to do a presentation on Best Practices for TV and Radio station newsrooms:
Archive for the ‘Twitter’ Category
VIDEO: Social Media Best Practices for Newsrooms (NAB 2013)
20
May
(HOW TO) Protect Your Newsroom from Social Media Hackers, Scammers and Spammers
22
Feb
I’m sure most news people can relate to my memories of the early-2000s Anthrax scare. My TV station built a mail room outside the building and would not let anything inside until it had been “checked” (by our newsroom executive assistant, Gail…who would laugh about the latex gloves she’d been given for “protection”). In any case, we knew then as we do now…that newsrooms are a target. And yet so many newsrooms are leaving the door wide open for hackers, scammers and spammers to strike. It may not be Anthrax…but latex gloves won’t protect you from cyber crime either. Here are a few things that will:
1) Scam Alert!
If you haven’t seen a phishing scam on Twitter, you probably aren’t on Twitter. Most recently, a rather successful phishing scam has spread to hundreds of thousands of Twitter accounts. The MO is a Direct Message prodding you to click a link. If you do, the scammers will ask for your account info and authorization. Then – whammo – they’re sending the same message FROM your account to your followers. And so it spreads. It’s of particular danger for news people as this can quickly harm your credibility. To avoid it, follow these steps and pass them along to everyone in your newrsoom:
- Do not click any suspicious links.
- Report the DM and then delete it.
- Change your Password often.
- Tell the sender that their account is compromised.
2) Hackathon!
Surely you witnessed Burger King and Jeep’s Twitter debacle and thought to yourself… that could have been MY newsroom?! Yet, I’m often stunned by the number of newsrooms who have not changed their Twitter password or updated their Facebook Admins in YEARS. And worse yet, their passwords are so simple (aka easy to remember) that any junior-high hacker with 5 minutes could break in and have a field day telling your followers about the “Free Money Falling from the Sky” or whatever nonsensical headline they’re apt to promote. It has happened to newsrooms, and yours is not immune (see photo). To protect yourself:
- Do NOT share passwords with your whole news team.
- Set SECURE passwords and change them often.
- Use a 3rd party tool (shameless plug for SocialNewsDesk goes here) to give out access, NOT passwords.
- Keep track of who posts what and when. Avoid the mob-posting mentality.
3. Can Spam!
Have you seen the one about the guy who is updating you on his weight loss progress? Yeah, that guy is probably eating a cheeseburger reveling in his good fortune that he found your page and brought his spamtastic posts to it. If you’d rather not help him promote his (diet) plan to take over the world… here’s what you can do:
- Don’t click the link.
- Report the user.
- Ban the user from posting on your Page.
- Delete the post.
Any other spams, hacks or scams you’ve seen? Let us know how you handled them in the comments. And if you have any questions about how SocialNewsDesk can help your newsroom become more secure – you know where to find me!
Social Account Ownership: Keeping Talent and Newsroom Managers Happy
17
Aug
Don’t ask me who owns the Facebook account that the main anchor started 3 years ago because the News Director told him to. The lawyers are still sorting that one out and legal precedent on social media account ownership is only beginning to emerge (see Phonedog vs Kravitz). Having worked in newsrooms as long as I did, what’s much more important to me is keeping the peace and giving managers and talent something to agree on (for once).
Here’s a step by step guide for managers on how to gain access to an employee’s social media account without starting a war:
Step 1. Profile or Page?
Twitter security is pretty cut and dry: either you have the password or you don’t. But with Facebook, a manager’s strategy for requesting access to an Anchor/Reporter’s social media account will depend on how that account is set up. First, determine which of these 3 scenarios you’re working with for each employee:
A: Personal Profile with Subscribers and Friends: Facebook is clear in this case that all rights/ownership of the account belong to the Personal Profile’s namesake owner. Managers can’t request access because Facebook does not support a multiple admin structure for Personal Profiles. As a result, there is very little that a manager can do to assert any ownership or control over someone’s Personal Profile.
B: Two Personal Profiles: If a reporter/anchor has set up two different Personal Profiles (one they use “for work” and one for “personal), then Facebook is also very clear that this is against its Terms and Conditions. A manager should encourage the employee to migrate the “work” Personal Profile into a Fan Page. Here’s how (note that all posts, photos and account info will be lost).
C: Personal Profile and a Fan Page: If the employee set up the Fan Page, chances are they haven’t given management admin access. But managers should obviously check to be sure. Next, check to see if the Fan Page is using station branding. And finally, determine if the station is promoting the Fan Page in any way (linking from the website, allowing mentions on-air). Then, see Step 2.
Step 2: Friend or Foe?
Once you know what you’re working with, it’s time to make a decision. Here are your choices:
A: Call your lawyers. Assert that the company owns the accounts and demand the passwords. Remove the employee’s direct access. And then call your lawyers again.
B: Quid Pro Quo: Agree to promote the Fan Page/Twitter account and allow use of company branding (ie your logo or call letters) ONLY if the Anchor/Reporter gives management access to the Fan Page and Twitter account during the time they are employed by the company and ONLY if the Anchor/Reporter agrees to follow the company’s social media rules on content and brand promotion. When they leave, they get to take the account with them and can feel free to remove managers’ admin access and change the passwords.
Step 3: Get it in writing.
Whatever you decide, make sure you have a clear social media policy or contract that explains the rules and is signed by employees and management.
For managers who would prefer to avoid this debate altogether, it’s best to create a better plan for incoming employees. In most cases if the Anchor/Reporter is coming into your newsroom without a significant presence on social media, then it’s best for a manager to create a Facebook and Twitter account for them from scratch. However, if a new reporter or anchor (or writer) already has a large social media following, then it may make sense for the newsroom to leverage that audience. This will only be a productive partnership if the new employee is willing to follow management rules (content, branding etc) in exchange for the newsroom’s promotion of the account. And again, in all cases…get it in writing!
If you have any questions about social media strategy or you’d like to find out more about how SocialNewsDesk is helping its clients with their social media security, contact me @kimsnd!
Social Media in Breaking News: Lessons from KKTV and the #WaldoCanyonFire
29
Jun
While covering the epic Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado Springs, KKTV* has taken an agile approach; turning to social media to distribute life-saving information. With nearly 35,000 evacuees, traditional news distribution is turned on its head and many residents are relying on Facebook and Twitter. It’s clear – after nearly doubling their Facebook Fans since the fire began – that KKTV is doing something right… Here are a few great take-aways from their social strategy:
1) Read, Respond, Read, Respond
Read through the posts made to KKTV’s Fan Page and you’ll notice a few things. First, the engagement is through the roof. Every post has hundreds (if not thousands) of shares, likes and comments. Certainly, the subject matter is key. But for KKTV, this isn’t a one-way street. The staff is reading comments, responding to them and creating a sense of “we’re all in this together.” It’s the number one reason the Page has exploded. Take a look at the exchange below. And then, notice the time-stamp. Who in your newsroom is reading and responding at 2:30am?
2) Organize and Centralize
KKTV completed 130 hours of wall to wall coverage today. Finally taking a few off-air moments to catch their breath. But throughout their coverage, the station promoted the hashtag #waldocanyonfire. Not because it was “their” tag…but because it was “the” tag. This is where everyone was talking about this event. From city officials to journalists to volunteers and evacuees. And KKTV did a great job of encouraging the conversation on Twitter by promoting the hashtag.
3) Make it Viral
Social media is inherently viral, but KKTV was able to harness that with a creative campaign that encouraged viewers to show their support for the firefighting and relief efforts by sharing or posting a graphic on their Facebook personal profile. The station posted one image which it encouraged viewers to use as their profile pic and another which they encouraged viewers to share. As you scan through the comments on KKTV’s Fan Page … you can see plenty of Fans who got on board:
4) Ask for Shares
Both Facebook and Twitter studies show if you ASK for what you want, you’re more likely to get it. And for KKTV, this strategy was a winner. The station literally asked Fans to ‘share’ content-driven posts as a way to spread valuable information to people using Facebook as their only access to news. The resulting viral spread of information helped KKTV cast a wide net and reach an unprecedented number of people.
If you’d like to check out KKTV’s coverage for yourself, go to www.facebook.com/kktv11news or www.twitter.com/kktv11news.
*KKTV is a SocialNewsDesk client.
How Often Should I Post to Twitter and Facebook?
13
Jan
It’s still the number one question I get asked. And for good reason. Setting and keeping goals for frequency of posts can have a major impact on your fan count, your web-traffic referrals and your engagement levels. For journalists, the answer to this question is different than for other brands because journalists have more valuable content to share. Here are some basic parameters:
Facebook: The most current data from Facebook suggests that optimum frequency for newsroom posts depend on the goals of that newsroom:
5-10 Posts per day yeild the highest feedback (likes and comments)
11-15 Posts per day yeild the highest referral traffic
Twitter: I have yet to find a study related to Twitter frequency specifically for Journalists. However, several studieshave shown that 1-4 Tweets per day yeild the highest referral traffic. These studies focus on brands and individuals. My general thought is that newsrooms can get away with a much higher frequency rate so long as they’re putting out valuable content.
Of course the real key is enforcement. It’s not practical in a busy newsroom to run around with a stopwatch, keeping track of when the next Tweet is due. This was the inspiration for one of SocialNewsDesk’s most popular features: the Frequency Manager. It’s worth mentioning since we are on the topic and since SND is the ONLY social media manager with this feature. Inside SocialNewsDesk, newsroom managers set an individual frequency goal for each of the accounts attached to the system. Then, SocialNewsDesk monitors how often posts are made and displays information about when the next post is due. Here’s a snapshot:
If you’re interested to see how it works in a live demo, reach out to me anytime. kwilson [at] socialnewsdesk.com.
Establishing Ownership Over TV Talent’s Social Accounts
14
Nov
Tech reporter Noah Kravitz and his former employer, PhoneDog are fighting for ownership of a Twitter account Kravitz created but PhoneDog promoted. Kravitz believes the account belongs to him because he created it, managed it and has always had sole access to it. PhoneDog believes it owns the account because PhoneDog managers required Kravitz to create the account in the first place and because PhoneDog promoted the account each time Kravitz published an article.
The court will decide who’s right. But in the meantime, here are 3 ways your TV station can clearly define its ownership of talent accounts now, and avoid a lawsuit later:
1. Start From Scratch
Rather than allowing the reporter to do it, have a newsroom manager create a Facebook and Twitter account for any new on-air talent. The account name should include station branding (ie @News5Kim). This will establish the origin of the account as a professional tool rather than a personal tool.
2. Password Power
At the end of the day, whoever knows the password controls the account. This person can edit settings, change the password and change admin access. If you want to maintain control of an account, you must maintain control of the password. For station managers, this may mean using a 3rd party tool to grant limited access to social accounts versus giving out direct access. This is one of the most popular features of SocialNewsDeskbecause it gives TV stations the ability to hand-out individual usernames and passwords and to instantly remove access when turnover happens in the newsroom.
3. Create a Social Media Policy
Chances are, your station has a social media policy. Check to make sure it includes specific details about when, how and if the station will promote a personal social media account. There are times when promoting a personal account can benefit the station (such as when the account has a significant number of followers already). Be thoughtful and consistent with your policy.
And remember, advertisers pay thousands of dollars to promote their brand on your airwaves and website. When you promote a reporter’s personal social account…you’re giving them free advertising. Make sure you’re doing so with purpose and an exit strategy. Because when they walk out the door…that account is going with them.
3 Ways NY Stations Used Social Media in Storm Coverage
31
Aug
Thanks to mother nature, local stations in New York have had a lot to talk about on the social media channels lately. And they’ve made good use of Facebook and Twitter to gather and distribute news. It’s a testament to what an amazing newsroom resource Facebook and Twitter can be. Here are just a few examples of how stations used social media to enhance their storm coverage:
1. Fans Breaking News on Facebook
2. Answering Viewer Questions
3. Distributing Important Information Quickly
NEW: Weather Channel Social
11
Aug
People love to talk about the weather. It’s the best conversation starter around. And The Weather Channel is hoping you’ll love to use Twitter to keep that conversation going on their website. They’ve launched The Weather Channel Social which is essentially a page on TWC’s website with aggregated tweets based around weather keywords. It’s also a great excuse to get a TWC plug on The Today Show, courtesy Al Roker:
The system is geographically targeted, meaning you can enter your city or zip code to see weather related tweets in your area. Users can also mouse over the interactive map to select a city or state and view tweets in that area. And a legend below the map shows which area has had the most tweets in the last hour.
Of course, keyword aggregation is not a perfect science and there is the occasional Justin Beiber lyric that slips past the filter:
Tricky homonyms.
But nonetheless, TWC’s foray into the world of social is an interesting resource. And could be particularly useful during a major weather event.