Presentation given by Natalie Wardel and Janelle Hanson at the Utah PIO Conference in Sept. 2013. How to Pitch Media, public relations tips, and social media tools to use as well as some ideas and best practices for police officers, state agencies, etc.

1. Social Media from the Media
for the Media
Natalie Wardel Janelle Hanson
@nataliewardel @JanelleKSL

2. WORKING WITH THE MEDIA

3. How do I work with media to get coverage for a story?
Media
need
PIOs
PIOs
Need
Media

4. What is the Assignment Desk?

5. What Does the Assignment Desk Do?
Monitors police scanner traffic
Filter news tips
• Email
• Phone
• Social media
Coordinate content
Allocates newsroom resources
• Where reporters and photographers will be assigned

6. What does the media need during news?
Breaking news
• What happened
• To whom it happened to
• When it happened
• Where it happened
• How it happened
• And any more details you
know
Feature stories
• A “first”
• Unusual, Quirky, Unique
and Compelling
• Kids and Animals
• Celebrities
• Human Interest stories
• Trends

7. Multi-platform news
TV: Visual aspects,
Interviews,
Photos
Radio: Instant,
live
Print: Photos,
longer, in-depth
stories
Web: Video,
photos for gallery

8. Questions to answer when pitching pre-planned stories to media
Does your press
release contain all
necessary
information?
No seriously.
• Does your press release
contain ALL necessary
information?
Who is your
audience?
Is it exclusive to one
station or medium?
Anticipate
questions

9. BECOMING YOUR OWN MEDIA
NETWORK BY USING SOCIAL MEDIA

10. Why use social media at all?
• First: community outreach, public information, response and relationship
building.
• Second: “monitoring,” crime prevention and tracking.

11. The media can’t cover every story. Tell your residents what you are doing
and what is happening without waiting for the media.
“Social Media” is an umbrella term for any place where people
congregate online. Find out where your people are.

12. Do’s and Don’ts of your social voice
Do’s
• Publish up-to-date
information
• Interact and answer
questions
• Remember you’re on the
record
• Have a schedule of who’s
“on” to post
Don’ts
• Post incorrect or incomplete
information
• Rant, moan or complain
• Go silent
• Ignore questions

13. Learn how to use social media now, so that when high profile events
happen, you have a strategy in place
What to send:
Advise media and others about
what is happening.
Correct misinformation
Go beyond broadcasting to also
listening.
Be human.

14. There are 1,640,000 Facebook users in Utah.
• Second largest
website in the world.
The biggest audience
in social media
• Content goes viral
quickly with a
“share” or “like”
• Analytics show you
who you are reaching
in almost real-time

15. Public agencies can have a
page where they post
news, updates, etc.
Answer questions from public
Post documents, links, etc.
Post pictures
Orem:
Shows personality
Updates almost daily

16. Twitter users are your vocal, word of mouth audience
• Stream of links, photos
and text
• Where news breaks and
people talk about it
• PIOs can respond to
conversation in real-
time

17. Twitter and News
• Tweet accurate info that can go
straight to air
• Tweeting updates will save us and
you time
• Tweet pictures we can use
• Tweet links to full stories
• Even if you don’t have a lot
of info, Tweet what you do
know.

18. Provo Police effectively
used Twitter to
communicate with media
Up to date information over two-day
period.
Provided tips for accessing staging
location.
Tweeted photo we could use.

19. Herriman communicated
with public in search for
missing child
Provided photos that people and
media could use
Asked for volunteers
Provided updates to residents
Consistently provided information
Reputation of use of social media in
the past let to @BeReadyHerriman to
have a receptive audience.

20. SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS
Find something that fits your needs in the office and on the go

21. Find an app that you are comfortable with before breaking news happens
Download this
Facebook pages
And one of these
Native Twitter app
Hootsuite
Buffer

22. Facebook Pages
• App designed by
Facebook to edit pages
(not profiles)
• Will ensure that your
status update is posted in
the right location
• Sends you push
notifications when you
receive a message
• Allows you to upload
pictures on the go
• iPad app also available

23. Twitter app
• Can switch to multiple
Twitter accounts
• Access Twitter search
• Edit and access Twitter
lists
• Works on phone, tablet
and online

24. Hootsuite
• Can post to Twitter and
Facebook at the same
time
• Pro account: Multiple
users and members of
teams
• Schedule posts
• Follow hashtags and lists
• Track stats and data on
links
• iPad app, Desktop version
and Chrome plug in

25. Buffer
• Simple app. Can post to
Twitter, Facebook,
LinkedIn, etc
• Easily schedule tweets or
publish them
• Works on phone and
online
• CANNOT: See mentions,
follow lists, etc.
• NOT GOOD FOR
BREAKING NEWS

26. OUT OF THE BOX EXAMPLES
If you are feeling more adventurous

27. Case study: Seattle Police
Department
Tell the story of covering the police
beat while connecting with an
audience
Most of their tweets are replies –
answering questions and informing
public
Over 45,000 followers on Twitter, and
a popular blog on seattle.gov

28. Out of the Box use of
social media
#operationorangefingers
To raise awareness about the new
legalized marijuana regulations,
Seattle Police handed out 1,000 bags
of Doritos at Hempfest.
The Doritos all had a sticker describing
the new law and regulations
They attracted national media
attention and pointed people to a blog
post that had more information

29. But aren’t they police?
"For us, the big idea isn't that we want
to entertain people—we want to
engage people," says Sgt. Sean
Whitcomb, SPD public affairs director.
"There are going to be situations
where it's crucial to get public-safety
information out quickly, and we
believe we've built an audience where
we can do that effectively. People
come to us because they find us
engaging. But when it starts to get
real, they know that we're going to be
on it."

30. With great power comes
great responsibility
Denver Police sent a tweet that led to
a confusing evaluation of journalism
that in the end made no sense.
Lesson: It’s OK to be frustrated with
media coverage, life, etc. but think
twice before venting it out on social
media
Success: Denver Police host an Ask Me
Anything (AMA) on Reddit and
answers tough questions on marijuana
legislation, SWAT use, etc.

31. TWITTER HOW TO

32. Twitter terms
• Hashtag: Search team. Dialing into a specific conversation about a specific
topic.
• Username: The name you are known by on Twitter. If someone puts an @
in front of your username, they can send you a public message, i.e.
@username.
• @mention: Responding to someone on Twitter or starting a conversation.
• Retweet – Resending another user’s tweet by using the retweet button or
adding “RT” in front of their tweet. (MT = modified retweet, usually edited
for characters)
• Favorite: “star” tweets to remember them and find them later.
• Direct Message: a private message on Twitter. Can only be sent to
someone you are following who is following you back.

33. Only people following
@GraniteSchools and
@MrMixPixLix will see this on
their timeline.
Because this has a character in
front of it (“), it will be visible
to everyone.
The difference between @replies and retweets
Another good resource:
www.momthisishowtwitterworks.com/

34. Hashtag: #utpio13
Hashtag lets you dial into a
conversation. Eliminates static and
noise.
Set a hashtag early on in event or
incident and tweet it out.

35. QUESTIONS?
NWARDEL@KSL.COM
Thank you!