Over the last few blog posts I have been talking incessantly about what’s important about an online newsrooms, who is using them, and the overall of why companies should have them. Before I move on to how to make a great newsroom and examples, I want to stress one more time why having a newsroom for your company, big or small, is important.
The news is ever changing, we aren’t living in a world where we get a morning and an evening edition of the paper. We are living in a 24 hours news, streaming information, fast paced world. The online newsroom gives corporations the opportunity to keep up with journalists of cable channels like CNN and online newspapers. Journalists are updating and writing stories at a constant rate. The Washington Post Web site refreshes itself every couple of minutes to keep their viewers updated. Their headlines are posted on Twitter with links to the story. Even my local newspaper back home, The Roanoke Times, is using Twitter to keep their readers updated. If your company’s news isn’t available, it’s not going to get posted. A Web site post by Jakob Nielsen, titled Press Area Usability, says that many of the newsroom sections of corporate Web sites don’t give the information that the press needs to write the story. He stresses the need for usability on a corporate Web site and warns that if your site isn’t user friendly or is only corporate jargon, whoever is lurking in your newsroom will not be back.
Feedback from the newsroom is vital. Just like any other form of social media, the option for comments and feedback is what defines the new Web 2.0 world. These options allow your company to know what’s useful to your audience and to know if what’s being posted is necessary or helpful. It also helps with the company’s in depth look and understand as to who the audience is.
The newsroom can also be used to bring people into the main Web site and to link to other social media pages that the company is using. According to an Advertising Age article titled Some Social Media Tips for Cause Marketers, Scott Pansky says that around the world, people are spending 5 billion minutes on Facebook everyday. To add to that, thee is an average of 1.9 million Tweets posted daily. Companies need to be online embracing social media and their newsrooms to share press releases, videos, advertisements, or you’re quickly going to be falling behind. It’s not too late to get started.
Wow! Five billion minutes on facebook is a lot! But that just goes to show that people are constantly trying to stay connected and “in the know” about their social networks just like people use news websites to constantly be updated about current news. I think that it is good that news is being updated and stories written and posted as soon as things happen but at the same time it is a little overwhelming to know that something happening right now will be known to hundreds within minutes or hours. I’m overwhelmed because I think it’s crazy how people can know so much so soon and people can united over social media sites just as quickly to make opinions and have conversations over what is happening. We are connected to the world more then ever before through online newsrooms. It makes me wonder though if people can keep up with this constant flow of news and if stories ever get lost as new stories get posted.
I think it’s interesting what some companies consider news and what is really news. If companies have the ability to post anything and everything they want it seems like it might be a pain to sift though what really is news.
It amazes me that newspapers are now on Twitter! I know the Roanoke Times is a pretty big paper, but I know even my hometowns paper is on Twitter and I live in a very small town! I think everyone is now getting Twitter, and if they aren’t writing on it frequently, they are at least looking at other people’s updates. Linking your newest news stories to Twitter, or even your Facebook status is a great way to easily get people to your site. I know that I am more willing to read an article if the link is provided from me, right where I am looking or reading. It is a great use of social media by the newspapers and I’m glad that they are realizing that not everything needs to be in print these days (coming from a Journalism major!)
I agree, I really like reading headlines on Twitter and being able to click on the story if I’m interested and ignore it if I’m not. I also really like on Twitter, being able to follow anyone I want. I feel like Facebook has become a little too obsessed with applications, games, and quizzes. I like how Twitter is pretty specialized to what I want.
I love that the washington post refreshes to keep posts timely. I once read a blog on some newspapers report of President Obama’s speech and felt as if i was there. Your post illustrates that we are really moving away from traditional media.
I like it to because I don’t have to think about when I last updated the page. I just know that they will do it for me. I wish other social media sites would do this like Facebook and Twitter. I think it’s annoying to have to do it myself even though it doesn’t take a lot of effort.
I think companies such as newspapers had no other choice but to join the social media trend. If they weren’t trying to innovate and be the first one, they now must catch up to their competitor. Although social media sites like Twitter and Facebook were designed for everyone and anyone do you think that it is getting a little too over board. Does a newspaper really need to be tweeting about what’s coming out tomorrow if they also have a website the refreshed the page every so often? I guess the more social media they use the more fan base the can obtain. But how much should they be posting on these sights. If companies start posting more and more details about what they are coming out with people might just read the topic sentences and decided they have either got enough information or they aren’t interested anymore.
I think that’s the point. Newspapers need to be able to keep in touch with their audience and when their audience is on Twitter and Facebook, they need to be there too. They aren’t posting what’s going to be in the paper tomorrow, they’re posting what’s currently in the paper and linking to their Web sites. I personally think it’s a great idea and I really like getting my Washington Post, NPR, and Roanoke Times updates. It keeps me from having to go to three different sites and only go to Twitter.
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