KAIT-TV, the ABC affiliate in Jonesboro, Ark., is having great success with its full press into social media. The station, which is in market 180, is kicking butt with its considerable number of Facebook and Twitter followers. That alone would be impressive. But what makes the KAIT effort really interesting is that it is truly engaging its audience, and that it has really changed its newsroom culture. From Poynter’s Regina McCombs:
“While using Facebook and Twitter as promotional tools has become second nature, Weeks says using social media has also changed the newsroom. It’s made them much more aware of how their audience feels about events happening in the Jonesboro area, and the six counties they cover, stretching all the way to Little Rock.”
McComb’s story also contains the station’s four principles for a newsroom social media presence. I won’t steal their thunder, but I really like #1 (Get everyone involved) and #3 (Find an internal social media guru, and let that person lead the charge.)
