As newspapers continue to struggle I’m happy to see my local paper, the Greensboro News & Record, trying different things to attract readers.
I follow the paper on Twitter because they typically push news via @NewsandRecord which is a good fit for Twitter. I also follow the Editor, @JohnRobinson and he routinely takes part in various conversations. In my opinion, the paper “gets” Twitter – kudos to them.
While I think it is ok for media outlets to push news on Twitter, I think Facebook is a completely different playing field – it’s about relationships, conversation and giving people something different.
While visiting the papers Web site Friday afternoon I noticed a banner directly under the sites navigation promoting that they are on Facebook. I’ve seen a Facebook banner on their site before, but this was a bigger push which made me think they might be doing something neat with their page.
Upon clicking the link I was a bit let down because their Facebook page was full of story links. I would be inclined to become a fan if they gave me something different, something I couldn’t already get on their Web site or by following them on Twitter.
Here are a few ways the paper might better utilize their Facebook page and attract readers:
- It might be neat if the paper published stories that were only shared on Facebook or Twitter.
- Another option would be to offer special advertiser coupons.
- It might also be cool to have reporters provide small teases for upcoming stories. I actually like this idea a lot. Story teases would not only intrigue me, they would potentially get me to proactively look for the story the next day.
It’s wildly important for newspapers to adapt, but it’s important they do things right and provide a clear added value because the margin for error is very thin.
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