Social Media and the Press: A Game Changer

With all of the turmoil in the traditional, mainstream press about newspaper closings, job losses and the impact of electronic news delivery via the Internet, I thought it was a good time to bring back the below post on how social media is affecting the press. While it was published only a few months back, I think it is more relevant now than it was back then. Enjoy.

There’s no doubt that social media is and will have a huge impact across all kinds of different businesses. And it’s all good, believe me: Giving people access to, and the ability to interact with, all different kinds of information is a game changer in and of itself. As is having the ability to engage the company and other users within a Web site (hopefully a branded one for the site/publication/product involved, although public social networks are certainly acceptable).

I’ve already described how I think real estate and social media go together like tequila and hangovers. Now it’s time for another area that I believe SocMed will even have more of an impact: the press. How? Read on after the jump.

I attended a panel discussion yesterday by Welz & Weisel Communications on Social Media and the Press (I guess “Social Media and the Media” doesn’t roll off the tounge so much). Having lots of past experience in the media (mainly television and Internet-based) and combining it with my more-recent “travels” in SocMed, I can certainly see how this could happen — and is happening. It’s all good for the “consumer” of media, but may not be so much for those involved in it.

As those who follow the media know, ad spending is way down across all categories. Blame the economy for that. Not necessarily SocMed related. But the way people are taking in news is changing, too. More people want a lot of content via the Internet – the proof here is that TV viewership and readership of printed material is way down. They also want interactivity with the brand, and the people behind the brand (read: reporters and editors).

At yesterday’s event, four people actively involved in both the media and social networking from brands like Government Computer News, IDG News, InformationWeek and the Washington Post spoke about themselves and their respective publications. You can see what was said and what people commented on by reading the Twitter posts from the event, including mine, by clicking this link. It’ll take you to Twitter Search and the results. For those who like to know what the specific hashtag is for the event, it is #w2tweets.

I do want to make a specific point about the press and SocMed; the “game changer” I mentioned in the headline. Will more paper publications cease and move to Web-only? Probably. Will paper pubs cease to exist? Doubtful. As one panel member said, it’s difficult to read very long stories online. Plus there’s just “something” about reading the paper or a magazine. It’s tactile; it’s real. Plus, try reading a story on a laptop at the beach. Three words: sand in keyboard.

In my opinion, the key for such publication is to publish more-immediate news online at their own branded Web sites, the develop full stories for print. Maybe even consider not offering the full, final story online (unless the reader pays for it). Then use social media at those sites (as well as the public sites like Facebook and Twitter) to engage the audience and listen to them. Also, use the site to get tips from readers (while avoiding the CNN fiasco a few months back by vetting such “citizen journalist” reports).

As print pages go down at these publications, this can be a potentially effective strategy. Plus, the publication has two places to push advertising: at the Web site itself and in the paper. The same thing can be said of broadcast journalism.

The only point-of-view I would have like to have seen on the panel that wasn’t there was the broadcaster point of view. It could have been done very easily, too; after all, Chris Dorobek of Federal News Radio was right there in the audience. And he definitely “gets” social media. Plus there’s others who “get” it and are in broadcast media as well.

That’s not a criticism, of course, just a wish. Overall, Welz & Weisel did an excellent job with the panel, and I look forward to going to more of them. They definitely “get” social media. And I promise not to put “get” in quotes any more. After that sentence. For this post only.