Media Awareness in the Digital Age. Dr. Nicole M. Lee, June 2017

Transcription

1 Media Awareness in the Digital Age Dr. Nicole M. Lee, June 2017

2 AGENDA! Effective social media use on official channels! Professional social media use on personal channels! Social media policies! Consequences of the digital age! Working with news media 2

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4 WHO WORKS FOR A DEPARTMENT OR ORGANIZATION THAT USES SOCIAL MEDIA TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC? ANYONE HELP RUN THOSE ACCOUNTS? 4

5 WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA?! Reach a large audience! Opportunity to listen! Direct two-way communication in real time! According to Pew: 76% OF ONLINE ADULTS USE FACEBOOK 24% OF ONLINE ADULTS USE TWITTER 62% OF U.S. ADULTS GET NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 5

6 BEST PRACTICES! Uniform look! Professional bio, profile photo, and cover photo! Strong brand voice! Consistent messaging across platforms

7 BEST PRACTICES CONT.! Diversify your content! Find quality visuals! Repetition is okay! Consult analytics 7

8 RISKS AND CHALLENGES! Sharing something intended to be private! Posting inaccurate information, missing typos, etc.! Being trolled by offensive, often anonymous, users 8

9 ...AND HOW TO AVOID THEM! DON T feed the trolls! Double check before you hit send! Check sources! Have a social media policy 9

10 CREATING CONTENT: TWITTER! 140 characters allowed! Fewer characters gets more engagement! Post a lot of images! No more than 1-2 hashtags per tweet 10

11 CREATING CONTENT: FACEBOOK! Shorter posts receive more engagement! Visuals can grab attention! Avoid clickbait headlines! Learn about the Facebook algorithm 11

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13 WHO USES SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES FOR PERSONAL USE? 13

14 IF I ONLY LOOKED AT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES 14

15 WOULD I HIRE YOU? WOULD I WANT TO RETAIN YOU? WOULD I RECOMMEND YOU? WOULD I KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF YOUR EMPLOYER OR COWORKERS? WOULD I SEE YOU AS A GOOD REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR MUNICIPALITY OR COMPANY? 15

16 YOUR ONLINE IMAGE! 60% of hiring managers check social media (Career Builder, 2016)! Know your employer s expectations or policies! Think before posting about work! Do not give the impression you re speaking on behalf of your employer

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18 YOUR ONLINE IMAGE! Legal smart to post! Think about how private you want to be! Context is everything! Take the high road! Keep a secret

19 BE A GOOD CONSUMER OF MEDIA Beware of false news stories! Consult fact-checking sites! Check about us! Search for traditional news sources! Seek out primary sources Source: The Plantain 19

20 SO WHAT CAN A MUNICIPALITY, DEPARTMENT, OR ORGANIZATION DO TO HELP? 20

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22 SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES! Written policy to address its employees' use of social media! Major components:! Use of organization social accounts! Use of personal accounts at work! Use of personal accounts outside of work! Policy enforcement

23 SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY CONSIDERATIONS! Define social media! Be aware of relevant legal considerations! All relevant departments should be involved! Guidelines are another option

24 SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY RESOURCES! National Labor Relations Board! Institute for Local Government! SocialMediaGovernance.com

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26 EVERYONE HAS A CAMERA AND AUDIENCE 26

27 LOCAL NEWS BECOMES GLOBAL NEWS 27

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29 MEDIA RELATIONS! Proactive vs. reactive! Know whether or when you are personally allowed to speak to the media! Be helpful know who to direct journalists to! Respect deadlines 29

30 NEWS VALUES! Timeliness! Geographic & cultural proximity! Relevance & impact! Uniqueness! Prominence! Conflict 30

31 INTERVIEW TECHNIQUES! Determine objective(s) and key message(s)! You are always on! Always be truthful, clear, concise! Avoid jargon! It s okay if you can t answer a question 31

32 TYPES OF QUESTIONS! Complex or Confusing Questions! Restate; choose part to answer, ask reporter to follow up! Questions with Long Answers! Use 1, 2, 3 so cannot edit! Speculative Questions! Acknowledge that it is speculative, bridge to a key message 32

33 Discuss in groups of 3 4: 1. What would the public want to know? 2. What should PAW post to Twitter? 3. If you re part of the crew on scene and a reporter asks for an on-camera interview, what should you do? 4. If you re a spokesperson for PAW being interviewed by a journalist, what are some of your key messages? 33

34 Discuss in groups of 3 4: 1. If photos are already public, what might the reasoning be behind the firing? 2. What else might you want to know about the situation in order to determine if the firings were justified? 3. If you re a spokesperson for the contracting company, what are your key messages? 34

35 THANK YOU Dr. Nicole Lee 35