ABC News' Social Media Success

Mallary Jean Tenore has a post on the Poynter blog that looks at what ABC News is doing with social media that is making it more successful than the other major networks.  Part of it is a concerted push to make use of social media to inform its reporting, and not just as a marketing device to build audience.  Another is that ABC is willing to experiment - Joe Rubbolo, the senior VP of ABC News Digital said that in today's rapidly evolving media landscape, "that's the only way we can learn."

“The market is continuing to grow and shift — there are new entrants, new user expectations, new technologies — and we have to continue to try new things just to stay current, but also to learn how to optimize ABC News experiences going forward,” Ruffolo said. “We’ve tried a lot of things, from increased involvement from on-air correspondents, to sweepstakes, to breaking news information, to polls, and feedback.”

Another lesson is that to be successful on social media, you can't just broadcast - it's not enough to post content, you need to engage with the social media audience.  For John Shehata, ABC News' director of search and social media, the key is not to push content, but to give users a reason to care about it.

“When it comes to content, be selective and interesting. Don’t just promote your work, show your personal side as well. Let users be involved in your work, ask them questions, collect questions for guest interviews, etc.,” Shehata said. “Always try what’s new on social platforms. Get involved in up-and-coming social networks if your brand feels like it could work well there, even if the audience does not exist yet. If the new initiative does not take off, you tried. If it does, you were a groundbreaker.”

  The post's worth a read.

Source - How ABC News built a top social media presence with a small dedicated team,  Poynter