Most editors using Twitter should try to be more conversational. They use Twitter primarily to post headlines and links to their staff’s stories. Posting links is a valid use of Twitter, but if that’s all you’re doing, especially if you’re just posting headlines with the links, you’re just getting started.
Twitter has much greater value for improving your journalism and engaging with your community. As I’ve noted, too many newsroom leaders don’t use Twitter at all, but when they do, most start by sharing links to their staff’s stories. That’s a good start, but it’s just a start.
In my Twitter tips for journalists and my exhortation to editors to be active on Twitter, I encourage journalists to be more conversational. A group of Journal Register Co. editors asked me to elaborate this week, with some advice for what to tweet about and how.
My primary answer is that you can and should converse with the community and colleagues on Twitter as many different ways at you converse with the community and colleagues in person and by email (or chat or Skype or however you converse). If you feel that you don’t have time to use Twitter, think of it as conversation with the community. Editors make time to answer phone calls and emails from the community, to meet with community groups and people who show up in the newsroom. If you don’t think you have time for conversing on Twitter, check out my Twitter time management tips.
Here are some ways I suggested to my JRC colleagues of being more conversational (and some I’ve thought of since). I’ve written this specifically for newsroom leaders (using examples from newsroom leaders, many of them from JRC newsrooms), but many of these techniques would be helpful to any journalist:
Comment on the links you tweet. Tricia Ambrose, editor of the News-Herald in Willoughby, Ohio, does a nice job of tweeting her own perspective with a link to a story, rather than just the headline:
https://twitter.com/#!/triciaambrose/status/119384647850409984
https://twitter.com/#!/triciaambrose/status/111559895987404800
This tweet by Mike Morsch, executive editor of Montgomery Newspapers, is more engaging than a simple headline:
https://twitter.com/#!/mmorsch35/status/122126020835938305
Retweet and reply to people in the community. The community is discussing community issues (and sometimes your coverage of them) on Twitter. Join that conversation. You can explain a decision, thank someone for some praise, respond to criticism or just show that you’re listening.
https://twitter.com/#!/incrediblekulk/status/123613992462729216
https://twitter.com/#!/vsundqvist/status/122129700905684994
https://twitter.com/#!/GlobeMartyBaron/status/125044146183487488
Tweet links to some community blogs. Don’t make it all about your publication. Especially if you have a blog network (as JRC newsrooms do), share some link love with the network members (and include them in your conversation):
https://twitter.com/#!/nonabreaux/status/124888996584226816
https://twitter.com/#!/PhilHeron/status/124843371666739200
https://twitter.com/#!/SalineMilanNews/status/121598061112856579
https://twitter.com/#!/RickMills2/status/123807203403644928
Tweet about people in the community.
https://twitter.com/#!/Barb_Lombardo/status/123796812489428993
Tweet links to interesting content from other sources. Editors are constantly reading stories from other news organizations. Tweet links to some that you find interesting or provocative. If you’d tell a colleague or spouse about a story, it’s probably worth tweeting, with some praise or criticism.
https://twitter.com/#!/nonabreaux/status/124086645879349249
https://twitter.com/#!/caroletarrant/status/124666037307310080
https://twitter.com/#!/rajunarisetti/status/124850199469363200
Live-tweet. In the last few months, I know of two JRC editors, Nancy March and Stan Huskey, who have live-tweeted community events that they attended. You may be attending as the editor (or actually reporting on the event, as Nancy was), or maybe you’re attending a sporting event as a parent or fan, or perhaps you are participating in an event. Consider whether it’s an opportunity for live-tweeting.
https://twitter.com/#!/dlboardman/status/121705249332408320
https://twitter.com/#!/jawtry/status/125028983279599616
Praise your staff. Most editors don’t praise the good work of their staffs often enough. Of course, you should deliver praise in person, but Twitter’s a good praise vehicle as well.
https://twitter.com/#!/incrediblekulk/status/124966724037652480
https://twitter.com/#!/JanTou/status/121371476724170752
Tweet as you live in your community. Editors frequently represent their news organization at community events and in other ways. If you’re speaking to a service club, tweet when you book the event. Tweet that morning, telling club members you’re looking forward to seeing them there. Then tweet a picture from the meeting or live-tweet some of the activities and discussion that precede your talk.
Most times when the editor is out in the community, you are spreading goodwill (even if you’re addressing complaints, the fact that you’re out in the community listening to them builds goodwill). Share that goodwill on Twitter.
Sometimes you’re just enjoying community life, not as the editor but as a member of the community. Share some thoughts and observations about those aspects of your community life.
https://twitter.com/#!/nonabreaux/status/124879597916532736
https://twitter.com/#!/mattderienzo/status/123935810662830080
https://twitter.com/#!/EditorBobDavis/status/125318453958688768
https://twitter.com/#!/JillAbramson/status/116959266522406912
https://twitter.com/#!/johntemplecb/status/121268467306471424
Tweet about professional involvement. Lots of editors make tweetworthy contributions to the industry, through state and regional press associations and professional organizations such as the American Society of News Editors, Associated Press Managing Editors or the Online News Association.
https://twitter.com/#!/mattderienzo/status/124566222741307393
https://twitter.com/#!/bheisse/status/119379023917887488
Join a journalism live chat. #ASNEchat is geared especially for newsroom leaders, every Tuesday at noon 2 p.m. Eastern time, 9 11 a.m. Pacific. (Update: Starting next Tuesday, Oct. 25, when we’ll discuss internships, #ASNEchat starts at 2 p.m. Eastern.) This week, we’ll be discussing coverage of Occupy Wall Street. Other journalism Twitter chats include #wjchat (Wednesday night, 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific), #spjchat (Thursday, 8 p.m. Eastern) and #jrcchat (Wednesday at noon Eastern). It’s a great opportunity to use Twitter to discuss journalism issues with colleagues.
https://twitter.com/#!/ASNEchat/status/124889954630373376
Tell the community what your staff is working on. This idea came from our JRC editors, but I am happy to pass it along. Several of our editors are sharing their daily news budgets, telling the community what staff members are covering and inviting contributions. Of course, if a particular story is competitive, or if you’re checking out a potentially damaging rumor that you don’t want to repeat until you’ve nailed it down, you don’t have to include everything:
https://twitter.com/#!/merceditor/status/124490578812616705
https://twitter.com/#!/rmkelle/status/124852382952722432
https://twitter.com/#!/nonabreaux/status/125179115484610560
Crowdsource. If you have a couple ideas for your next column or blog post, seek your tweeps’ reaction to them. If your staff is seeking community photos of a news event, ask the public. If you’re seeking witnesses to a breaking news event, ask your tweeps if anyone was there. Crowdsourcing’s usefulness will grow as you engage more followers. It nearly always works for me.
https://twitter.com/#!/newsgirlct/status/124880506998370305
https://twitter.com/#!/MizellStewart/status/103287862224629760
Tell what’s going on in the newsroom. You can tweet about the important stuff you’re doing or share some of the fun of newsroom life.
https://twitter.com/#!/Record_Editor/status/122825942333796353
https://twitter.com/#!/johnrobinson/status/124903721179152384
https://twitter.com/#!/chriscobler/status/123751509589639168
Promote your organization. Your Twitter following and your Facebook following overlap, but each includes some that the other doesn’t. If you’re running a contest on Facebook, promote it on Twitter. Twitter is a good place to promote your text alerts and other services of your news organization. Promote your staff’s use of Twitter.
https://twitter.com/#!/incrediblekulk/status/124897627170021377
https://twitter.com/#!/oneidaeditor/status/121282177412505600
https://twitter.com/#!/RickThomason/status/124228348409942016
https://twitter.com/#!/mattderienzo/status/124572507977170945
https://twitter.com/#!/schisenhall/status/120129659030614016
https://twitter.com/#!/RomeObserver/status/119511294343790592
Post newsroom jobs. If you’re fortunate enough to be hiring, post the openings on Twitter. You can be hopeful that the people you reach will have some understanding of Twitter’s value to journalists:
https://twitter.com/#!/marissanelson/status/125203227254861824
Address questions about your coverage.
https://twitter.com/#!/alexsteed/status/124921653670060032
https://twitter.com/#!/amuhs/status/124970370540380160
https://twitter.com/#!/alexsteed/status/124970495350292480
https://twitter.com/#!/amuhs/status/124970653790113792
Converse with colleagues. Follow some other editors on Twitter. Where you might be too busy to call or email them as often as you’d like, a quick exchange on Twitter doesn’t take as long, and builds some collegiality.
https://twitter.com/#!/Iteditor/status/124586346978353152
https://twitter.com/#!/MJ_Tom_Skoch/status/124602531484663808
Follow more people. If you’re not following many people, your conversation will be more like a monologue. Follow some more people in the community. Follow some more colleagues (I have a Twitter list with more than 60 newsroom leaders; please suggest more if you know them).
Say thank you. People will respond to your requests for help. Tell them thanks.
https://twitter.com/#!/forever_trust/status/124547243943542784
https://twitter.com/#!/RickMills2/status/124568647250358272
Opinion may be OK. Opinion is a sensitive issue for editors and other journalists. Different people should handle this differently. Consider whether and when opinion might be acceptable for you on Twitter. If you have a column where you voice your opinion, similar commentary on Twitter should probably be appropriate. Even if you decide that opinion about political or community issues is not appropriate, perhaps some general opinions on more universal issues, journalism issues or sports loyalties are OK.
https://twitter.com/#!/RickMills2/status/124946834195087362
https://twitter.com/#!/johnrobinson/status/124891445311180800
https://twitter.com/#!/gregmooreDP/status/124857178543751168
Show your sense of humor. Most editors I know are funny. Tweet some funny remarks or links to things you find humorous.
https://twitter.com/#!/glenngilbert2/status/124917064216494080
https://twitter.com/#!/mmorsch35/status/122126020835938305
Update: Speaking of humor, Gene Weingarten summed this advice up below (if you’re not that funny yourself, follow Gene and retweet him now and then and people will think you’re funny):
https://twitter.com/#!/geneweingarten/status/125626134833545219
Show your personality. Even if you decide opinion isn’t appropriate for you, your personality is much more than your opinions. People will feel more like engaging with you if they see you as a person and feel like they can identify with you. Each person needs to decide how much of their interests, family, etc. they feel like sharing. (People who follow me get some banter between Mimi and me, photos of my granddaughter, complaints about travel delays and some sports trash talking.)
https://twitter.com/#!/PANEWZMAN/status/124952510870994945
https://twitter.com/#!/incrediblekulk/status/125072668503445504
https://twitter.com/#!/Barb_Lombardo/status/124534599891161088
https://twitter.com/#!/RickThomason/status/124977925547241472
https://twitter.com/#!/vsundqvist/status/124339021190152193
https://twitter.com/#!/amuhs/status/125201735013765120
https://twitter.com/#!/reynoldspost/status/114698856297545728
Sometimes the headline is a good tweet. While I want editors to do more than tweeting headlines and links, sometimes the headline is a strong tweet just by itself.
https://twitter.com/#!/tadamis1/status/123724531662716928
https://twitter.com/#!/glenngilbert2/status/124948237231726592
https://twitter.com/#!/PhilHeron/status/124892550174748672
There’s nothing wrong with tweeting a headline and a link. But I like to see editors doing more than that. What are some ways you converse on Twitter (or enjoy conversation with your tweeps)?
Update: John Bethune made some of the same points (with some interesting numerical analysis) about Twitter use by editors of trade publications in his post, Do B2B Editors Get Twitter?
Good ideas here. I had somewhat pulled back from engagement efforts on Twitter, feeling that Facebook was a better medium for conversation, but I think I’ll start putting more thought into being interesting and conversational, even if I’m not trying to start a long discussion.
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Thanks, Erik. They’re different conversation platforms. I think both are worth the effort of conversing. I do have some long discussions on Twitter. It just takes lots of tweets.
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As a consumer of news via twitter, I believe you are spot on with your advice to other journalists! Obviously, the benefits of building a relationship with your twitter community can extend the reach of most journalist. As I am sure you are aware, many of us click on links to news articles (e.g. NYT) from those who consistently tweet links that are within in the scope of our interest.
Curious: Other than non-perceived value of twitter utilization …what are the greatest barriers to a journalist using twitter that you are confronted with?
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Thanks, Jim. You’ve identified the biggest barrier. I think time is another, but that relates to value, too. We make time for the things we regard as valuable.
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As usual, lots of good tips, Steve. And I so love the one about showing your personality. Not a problem for me, but many journos don’t feel comfortable doing this.
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Do these apply to newsroom accounts (@TimesHeraldPA) or just individuals within the newsroom?
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Some of them do apply to newsroom accounts. I think they should be more conversational, as I noted in a separate post on engaging through newsroom accounts.
Some of the advice here (sharing your personal experiences and observations on community life) certainly relate to personal rather than newsroom accounts. Showing a personality is a bit harder for a newsroom account, but @ColonelTribune, the persona of the Chicago Tribune newsroom, does so quite well.
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