This is the presentation associate director Andrew Chavez gave at the 2010 West Texas Press Association convention in Odessa.

1. How to be social[And keep your day job] Andrew Chavez (@adchavez)Texas Center for Community Journalism (@tccj)

2. why social media matters

3. People use them 65%of teen Internet users 35%of adult Internet users Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project

4. What’s active in your community Source: Survey of participants

5. Still popular in small towns Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project

6. They’re growing = more people Source: Compete

7. They’re growing = more people Source: Compete

8. More people spending more time 5:35:05 2:10:27 Source: Nielsen

9. More people spending more time 7:01:41 21:40 16:04 Source: Nielsen

10. More people spending more time and more money $209 million Source: Borrell Associates

11. Facebook 400 million active users Each with about 130 friends 50% login every day Used by 56% of Internet users Is the No. 3 site for Web users 65+ Growing fastest among 35+ Very personal, lots of info Source: Facebook, Nielsen, Inside Facebook

12. twitter 15 million active users, 75 million total Average users has 27 followers Active users account for most of Twitter’s activity Growing among young people Growing among 24< Short information bursts, very adaptable Source: RJMetrics, Business Insider

13. Promoting your content

14. Levels of engagement

15. Assess the need Sign up, find a few people in your community and look at their connections Search posts on the site for your town’s name Try a “geo-search” on Twitter using your zip code

16. Your promotion options Automate your updates Update manually Requires an RSS feed Suitable for getting started OK if a network has no users but you want presence Not as personal Doesn’t conform to conventions All content promoted Links show up in bursts Highly personal (and users know it) Promote select content Have full control over timing Use language, voice not suitable for your newspaper’s site Re-post, repurpose content (archives, slideshows, etc.)

17. How-to HootSuite – free at Hootsuite.com – handles URL shortening, image sharing, RSS feeding, multiple accounts, keyword monitoring, etc.

18. Easy automation In Hootsuite, go to “Launch” > “Settings” > “RSS/Atom” > “Add New Feed” TwitterFeed.com provides similar functionality, but is more difficult to configure

19. Effective manual updating You don’t have to post every story Reporters can promote their content, too Archived stories have value “Police Chief Jones stepped down today. Remember this profile we published on him when he came to Texas? http://link.link.link If the story’s big, rephrase and repost Update multiple networks at once (again … Hootsuite) Plain, to-the-point language works best Use a link shortener (more on this later)

20. Widgetize / button-up For Facebook:facebook.com/facebook-widgets/ & developers.facebook.com/plugins For Twitter:twitter.com/goodies/widgets For buttons:socialfollow.com &addthis.com

21. suggest your facebook page On your page, click “Suggest to Friends” under your picture Begin with your staff Ask your fans to do the same

22. Twitter: follow other users Find people to Follow Get staffers on individually Make sure you have a Bio, Photo and Web link Respond, reach out to other users

23. Invite them in Also: http://www.redesigntcuskiff.blogspot.com/

24. Curating the social space: comments

25. comments > forums In forums, users set the topic You may have to censor entire subjects With comments, you focus it Lets you delete off-topic posts

26. implementations Using your CMS With an outside system Disqusdisqus.com IntenseDebateintensedebate.com

27. Using an outside system Integration with other social networks Avoid anonymous commenters without requiring registration Tie trolls directly to their public online personas Easily ban repeat offenders Feed integration E-mail notifications (not available with many self-run systems) Block specific terms Reduce spam

28. More thoughts They don’t have to be available on every story An e-mail us link can substitute for some uses Commenters don’t always have something to add. Respond to users. Let them know you’re listening. Don’t talk down to people. Develop a written policy and enforce it. Encourage users to as well.

29. Commenting policy: statesman.com

30. Commenting policy: statesman.com

31. tools Monitor keywords and phrases Search at Twitter.com or Facebook.com Use an app such as Hootsuite

32. Social media analytics

33. Helpful tools: Facebook insights On your page, click “Edit page” under your picture Under “Insights” on the right side of the page, click “All Page Insights” There’s no equivalent for Twitter Example

34. clickthroughs Available from your link shortener Hootsuite (Ow.ly) provides them inside the app Bit.ly provides them with the API

35. Site analytics Look at referrals Not always completely accurate Example

36. Don’t be discouraged ROI is more than clickthroughs; don’t forget: Story tips User content No analytics solution shows the complete picture

38. Allows you to publish into their stream

40. Your newspapers 100%have websites Average circulation of 4,803 Source: Survey of participants

41. You 90%are on Facebook 45%have a Twitter account Source: Survey of participants

42. Your newspapers Source: Survey of participants

43. How often you post Source: Survey of participants

44. what you post Source: Survey of participants

45. examples Muckrack.com @tccj lists

46. Social networks as reporting tools

47. tools Use a people finder Searches the “deep Web”

48. Finding sources Search for key terms on Facebook and Twitter within content of posts Find user profiles and reach out directly Seek out user groups Contact members Post open messages Just ask for insight (think Kevin Bacon)

49. tools Track the conversation over time by searching Tweets Enter your search at Google.com, then click “Updates”

50. Finding stories Follow your users Encourage users to reach out Ask questions (they don’t have to be open-ended) “What issues do you think are important during the next election?” “Did the Council make the right decision with the smoking ordinance.” Seek out expertise “Are there any experts out there who understand how road construction works. Call us: 555-5555.” Grab person-on-the-street quotes “Tell us what you have to say about the Lions’ win. We’ll print a few responses in next week’s story.”

51. Give credit Reward your tipsters “Twitter user Jake White informed the Times of the issue on Facebook last week.” “News reader Jack Johnson submitted this photo via Facebook.” Attribute responses from social media “Smith said in a post on his personal Twitter account.” “Doe wrote in a comment on the Tribune’s Facebook page.”

52. Background sources LinkedIn and Facebook often contain employment histories Look for common connections to facilitate difficult conversations Have accounts before you need them

53. Crowdsource content Ask for pictures and video Users can upload content to YouTube and send you links Pictures can be emailed Items can be posted as “fan content” on your Facebook page

54. Monitor trends Stay updated on developing trends Let others do your research for you Find experts before you need them

55. Final thoughts

56. Game Plan Make a minimum six-month commitment Look beyond ROI Be prepared to give up control Setbacks are inevitable Connect with the Center Connect with each other

57. Resources Me Twitter.com/adchavez Facebook.com/andrew.chavez Linkedin.com/in/andrewchavez Blog: explorations.community-journalism.net Texas Center for Community Journalism Twitter.com/tccj Facebook.com/communityjournalism Slideshare.net/tccj Website: digital.community-journalism.net