GATEHOUSE NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION

1. GETTING THE MOST OUT OF FACEBOOK GATEHOUSE NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION

2. The agenda Why Facebook? Why should we even care? Facebook profile vs Facebook fan page How to build and engage your fan base How to do it – what content to post How to drive traffic to your site Finding leads and sources Be careful Wrapup/Q&A Sarah Corbitt Manager of content development GateHouse News & Interactive

3. WhyFacebook? No. 1: Weekly market share surpasses Google

4. Why Facebook? Facebook referred 754,299 page views to GateHouse sites in April 2011, jumping from 302,446 in April of 2010, an increase of 149%.

5. Why Facebook? At Georgetown (Mass.) Record: 11% of PV 2,141 fans

6. Page vs Profile Facebook requires businesses to have fan pages Facebook profiles are for people only Facebook may shut down your account if it’s not a fan page

7. Facebook fan page If you don’t currently have a Facebook fan page, contact me: scorbitt@gatehousemedia.com Masthead Info Photos

8. How to build a fan base Link from your home page Secondary navigation

9. How to build a fan base Use the promo scroll

10. How to build a fan base Use Twitter Capture any missing overlap

11. How to build a fan base Promote Facebook in print: On your rail Page 2 online teaser Put a callout in a specific story Add your Facebook fan page info to your e-mail signature If you have an e-mail newsletter, invite your subscribers to like your page

12. How to build a fan base Don’t be an RSS feed Thoughtful posts Don’t become white noise

13. How to build a fan base Don’t tempt fans to ‘un-fan’ you

14. How to build a fan base “Don't put every story you produce on Facebook. Don't even put some of it. Look for a limited number of items that will attract interaction -- a controversial or weird issue people will comment on or repost to their own page. Don't overload your Facebook page with links. People only have a tolerance for a few a day before they'll un-fan you.” Jason Piscia online editor Springfield Journal-Register

15. How to build a fan base “… put a small blurb in the print edition and on your Web site when you begin a Facebook account and include a link to the site. When we did this, we had 200 fans within hours of publication..” Julie Watts Web editor The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia, Ohio)

16. How do we do it? Let fans know there is a human on the other side Not just a steady stream of links “Be creative in what you write for the Facebook post attached to the link back to your site Don't just copy and paste the lead of the story. Be funny if appropriate. And encourage people get involved by adding "What do you think?" to the post.” Jason Piscia online editor Springfield Journal-Register

17. How do we do it? • Facebook best practices • Manually post a couple of stories a day with a comment. • Have a “voice,” a conversational tone. • Interact with fans – be a part of your community on Facebook. • Use them as sources, respond to comments, questions, criticism.

18. How do we do it? • Facebook content: What to choose • Callouts • Polls (link poll to a story on your site, then link to that story) • Quirky stories • Newsy stories with a human hook • Upcoming event, and ask if people are going

19. How do we do it? • Pose a question to go with an opinion piece or controversial story. • Highlight the salient point of a story. • Pull a great quote from a story to draw readers to click on your link.

20. How do we do it? • When appropriate, find a voice that is more conversational, even amusing.

21. How do we do it? Photo gallery/reader callouts

22. How do we do it? “I've found that Facebook is GREAT for reader call outs. I've done this for photos and comments and have gotten a great response from Facebook fans.” Julie Watts Web editor The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia, Ohio)

23. How do we do it? • Use fans on Facebook as sources for stories. • Respond to comments, questions, criticism.

24. How to drive traffic Link to high-traffic content Photo gallery links - not the galleries themselves

25. How to drive traffic “Every weekday morning I post a link to a major story that was in our paper (with art usually to add visual appeal). This can be a front page center piece, a feature, or sports story. I keep these links light hearted and leave the hard hitting news to our Web site.” Julie Watts Web editor The Times Reporter (New Philadelphia, Ohio)

26. How to drive traffic Always include a link back to your site Be concise Be interesting Remember this:

27. How to find your Facebook referrals Go to your account in Google analytics Go to Traffic overview on your dashboard Click on View Report

28. Finding leads and sources Ask fans for help Sources for stories Historic photos or archive material Story ideas Breaking news Scan fans Scan the pages of local businesses and government institutions for tips and sources

29. Finding leads and sources The Register-Mail callout “We have used Facebook for source callouts, and we have hit some homeruns. Just this week, a longtime hobby shop owner died, and we sought people who had memories of the shop. We used those comments both online and in print, and we also contacted a couple of them.” Jay Redfern assistant editor The Register-Mail

30. Finding leads and sources The Register-Mail callout

31. Finding leads and sources Marblehead (Mass.) Reporter, editor Kris Olson

32. Finding leads and sources

33. Be careful Verify Work with your editor Always be up front about who you are

34. Wrapup/Discussion

35. GETTING THE MOST OUT OF FACEBOOK GATEHOUSE NEWS & INTERACTIVE DIVISION