Ways journalists can engage with readers.

1. Reader
engagement
Ways to engage your readers
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2. 3 ways to engage readers
• Via social media
• Contests
• Face-to-face
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3. Engage via social media
• Facebook
• Google+
• Linkedin
• Pinterest
• Geofeedia
• NewHive
• RebelMouse
• ScribbleLive
• Google hangouts
• Tout
• Wordpress
• Etc.
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4. Twitter
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5. What is Twitter?
• Micro-blogging service
• Enables users to send and read text-based messages of up to
140 characters
• Get real-time stories, photos, videos, conversations
• Follow friends, celebs, breaking news accounts and more
• Follow specific content (ie. Food, health, fiction)
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6. Twitter tips
• Research and find relevant Twitter handles to include in
tweet
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7. Twitter tips
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• Research and find relevant hashtags to include in tweet

8. Facebook
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9. What is Facebook?
• Social networking site
• Connect with friends, family, businesses, etc.
• Share news, photos, videos and more
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10. Facebook
• Peak time = 1 to 3 p.m.,
also boost early evening
• Photos increase
engagement
• Post large photos
• Photos that evoke
emotion best (happy or
sad)
• Old photos do well
(Remember when?)
• Seasonal, sports, fun
photos
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11. Tropical Treat opening day
• 315 shares
• 573 likes
• 102 comments
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12. Post mystery photo
• Chambersburg Public
Opinion posts
mystery photo each
week
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13. Remember when?
• Post old photos.
Readers love them.
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14. Photos evoke emotions
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• 157 likes
• 87 shares

15. Google+
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16. What is Google+?
• Similar to Facebook
• News feed based on status updates and shared content
• Share with specific sets of people, called circles, as opposed to
posting on your wall for everyone to see
• SEO benefits. By sharing pages from website on your Google+
page, you rank higher in Google Search Engine.
• The higher you rank in Google Search Engine, the better
chance of getting in front of your target audience
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17. Google+ tips
• Research and find relevant Google+ accounts to tag
• Type “@NAME” to locate accounts
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18. Google+ tips
• Research and find relevant hashtags to include
• Type “#SUBJECT”
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19. Linkedin
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20. What is Linkedin
• Social networking site for professionals
• Online professional directory of people and businesses
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21. Linkedin
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22. Geofeedia
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23. What is Geofeedia?
• Geofeedia is a location-based search tool that allows
journalists to aggregate publicly shared social media
• Data sources = Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, and Picasa
• Content comes from GPS-enabled smartphone and digital
photos with coordinates embedded in image file
• Search area can be as large as a city, as small as a building
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24. Search by place name
• Searched for “The White House”
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25. Search by city
• Searched for “York, Pa.”
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26. Search by address
• Searched for 1891 Loucks Road, York, Pa.
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27. Search anywhere in the
world
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28. Uses: Breaking news
• Hurricane Sandy
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29. Uses: Breaking news
• Empire State Building shooting
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30. Uses: Breaking news
• Found photos of local barn fire
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31. Events: National/World
• Award shows (Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, Golden Globes, etc.)
• Sporting events (Olympics, Super Bowl)
• Conventions (New York Comic Con)
• Elections
• Etc.
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32. Uses: Local events
• Concerts
• Fairs
• Car shows
• Graduations
• Tailgating
• Sporting events
• Parades
• Etc.
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33. Sporting events
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34. Concerts
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35. High school graduations
• You can’t cover all high school graduations, so why not curate
via Geofeedia
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36. Local elections
• Think outside the box
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37. Farm show
• When you do find cool photos, you can ask permission to use
in print. People usually say yes.
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38. Re-enactments
• Gettysburg re-enactment (Big one coming up this year.)
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39. Pinterest
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40. What is it?
• Social media tool that enables users to "pin" images, videos
and other objects to boards
• Includes social networking features
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41. Why use it?
• Great way to collect and organize content
• Has staying power
• Builds new audience
• Generates interest in content
• Extends shelf life of stories
• Creates visual archive
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42. Ways to use it
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• Showcase user-generated content
• Use for news stories
• Use for local events
• Showcase local places
• Showcase local products
• Feature contest entries
• Promote content
• Contact board
• Contests
• Think outside the box

43. Showcase UGC
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• Readers love sharing photos

44. News stories
• Weather photos make visually appealing boards
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45. Events
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• Gettysburg re-enactment

46. Events
• York Fair
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47. Events
• Parades, car shows and more
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48. Highlight local goods
• Products made locally
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49. Showcase places
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• Museums
• Libraries
• Parks
• Attractions
• Turn into a visual travel guide

50. Storify
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51. What is Storify?
• Social network that allows journos to curate stories using
social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
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52. RebelMouse
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53. What is RebelMouse?
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• Your social media aggregator
• Connect social networks and hashtags to page
• Populates website with images, videos, headlines etc. from
chosen accounts and hashtags
• Can embed
• Curate around topic (Gettysburg 150th
, Hurricane Sandy)

54. NewHive
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55. What is NewHive?
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• Start with blank page
• Create and share web pages, call Expressions
• Combination of multimedia (videos, text boxes, audio clips,
etc.)

56. NewHive
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57. Tout
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58. What is Tout?
• Record 15-second video clips and share on social sites
• Use to promote content
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59. Tout
• Build Tout widgets to embed on blog or website
• Populate widget with Touts from users or hashtags that you
choose
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60. Blogs
• Journos often have
blogs that stem from
their beats (Cram
Session, Belief &
Beyond)
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61. Newsletters
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62. Newsletters
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63. Polls
• Twiigs
• ProConIt
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64. Spundge
• Tool used to curate content
• Can collaborate
• Create stories, publish to web
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65. Scroll Kit
• Visual editor
• Transform stories for the Web
• Make magazine style layouts
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66. Other tools
• Scribblelive
• Etc.
We learn about new tools every day. Try what you can. Keep
what works for you. Share successes with others.
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67. Engage through contests
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68. Why do contests?
• Everyone loves a contest
• They attract new readers, help build audience
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69. What kinds of contests
• Short answer = all kinds
• Tie contest to holiday (ie. Christmas, Valentine’s Day)
• Events (ie. Parades, fairs)
• Weather (ie. Snowman, beat the heat)
• Anniversary (ie. Peeps 60th
anniversary)
• Popular TV show or film
• Biggest fan or school spirit
• Bartender, lookalikes, tattoos, etc.
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70. Consider various platforms
• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blogs
• Videos
• Print
• Photos
• Pinterest
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71. Halloween pet contest
• We asked readers to share photos of their pets wearing their
Halloween costumes.
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72. Sharp-dressed sneakers
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• We asked readers to turn plain white sneakers into creative
works of art.

73. Doing ‘The Y’
• You heard of planking; we invented ‘The Y’ and asked readers
to send us photos of them doing it.
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74. Marry platforms
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• We asked readers to share their Instagram photos and include
the hashtag #YDRFair.
• We found the photos via the hashtag, pinned them to our
Pinterest board and created a slideshow via Storify.

75. Slideshow
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76. Vacation with YDR
• Readers share photos of them holding our newspaper while
on vacation around the world.
• We pin their photos to our Pinterest board and post to our
Google map.
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77. Instagram contest
• We pinned Instagrams with hashtag #YDRschool to our Back
to School Instagram contest board.
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78. Blog
• Connected to St. Paddy’s Day
• Kicked off on blog, socialized via multiple platforms
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79. Print
• Kicked off in print, socialized via multiple platforms
• We wrote beginning of a Christmas story; readers wrote
endings
• Winner chosen and complete story published on Christmas
Day
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80. Consider Upickem
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• Contest hosting software
• Users can submit online
• Readers can vote online
• Drives traffic to hosting website or blog

81. Peeps voting online
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82. Peeps Pinterest board
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83. Lots of engagement
• This entry in our Peeps
diorama contest, titled Peeping
Day-Hunger Games, garnered
77 likes and 212 repins.
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84. Face-to-face
• NewsVroom mobile media lab
• Seminars for community held in newsroom
• Teaching in the community
• Newsroom tours
• Etc.
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85. NewsVroom
• Football games
• Scouting events
• Parades
• Fairs
• Libraries
• Etc.
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86. Teaching in the community
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87. Seminars held in newsroom
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88. Newsroom tours
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89. Follow me
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• Buffy’s World:
http://www.yorkblog.com/buffy/
• Buffy’s Write Zone:
http://buffyswritezone.blogspot.com/
• Author website:
www.authorbuffyandrews.com
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Buffyandrews
• Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/buffy.andrews
• Google+:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/10264693623
6475852585/posts

90. Follow me
• Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/buffyandrews/
• Tumblr: http://www.tumblr.com/blog/buffyandrews
• Storify: http://storify.com/buffyandrews
• Instagram: buffyandrews
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?
id=40047960
• RebelMouse: https://www.rebelmouse.com/Buffyandrews
• Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7370309-buffy-
andrews
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91. Contact
Buffy Andrews
Assistant Managing Editor
Features and Niche Pubs
Social Media Coordinator
York Daily Record
Email: Buffy@ydrcom
Phone: 717-771-2052
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