The document summarizes key discussions from the Social Media Summit on how news organizations can effectively use social media platforms. Some of the main topics discussed include using livestreaming on Facebook Live to provide real-time coverage; leveraging multiple social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram to engage audiences; and strategies for addressing challenges like misinformation and limited resources. The summit brought together journalists and social media experts to share best practices for news organizations to maximize their social media presence and coverage.

1. SOCIA L MEDIA SUMMIT
Review
C O M P I L E D B Y T H E E N G A G I N G N E W S P R O J E C T

2. N0V. 11, 2016
Sponsored by the Engaging News Project & the
University of Texas School of Journalism
The first Social Media Summit sought to answer these questions:
Has social media helped or harmed news organizations?
What social media platforms most benefit news sites? Which
platforms present the most challenges?
What’ s in it for social media companies to get involved with
news organizations, such as through Facebook’ s Instant
Articles?
How did news sites use social media during the 2016 election?
Thank You to our Funders
The Dallas Morning News Innovation Fund, Democracy Fund,
Hewlett Foundation and Rita Allen Foundation

3. COVERING THE 2016 ELECTION THROUGH SOCIA L MEDIA
Livestreaming was a big success this election
cycle. It provided access to candidates,
campaigns, and events in ways that traditional
news programming couldn't (e.g. when the TV-
feed goes to commercial, the livestream can
catch events behind-the-scenes.)
(From L to R): Moderator Robyn Tomlin, The Dallas Morning News; Jessica Huff, McClatchy,
Selymar Colón, Univision; and Katie Harbath, Facebook
Moving forward, the biggest challenges for these
organizations include:
Balancing limited staff resources on a day-to-
day basis
Fighting the spread of fake news
Winning back people who felt that news
organizations didn’t represent their interests

4. FA CEBOOK LIVE DISCUSSION
Newsrooms are experimenting with
Facebook Live, often for sharing
breaking news
Benefits
Can answer audience questions in real
time
Can increase page likes
Shows people that you have a reporter at
the scene
Challenges
No monetization right now ( although may
be coming soon)
Ethical questions about showing some
things live ( e. g. a dead body during a
shooting)
Poor quality of video captured “ on the
fly”
Tips
Think about the first image – it is the one
that will show up on Facebook
Look to answer audience questions
A reporter taking the initiative might
jumpstart interest from the newsroom
Moderated by Kelsey Whipple, The Dallas Morning
News Graduate Fellow for Innovative Journalism
at UT­Austin

5. LESSONS FROM # ELECTIONLA ND
Electionland is a nationwide project that tracked and covered voting problems during the 2016
election. Partners included ProPublica, the Google News Lab, WNYC News, Univision, the First Draft
Coalition, and the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Thirteen universities participated
With the proper tools (TinEye, Dataminr, Google, etc.) and nationwide coordination, social
media could provide an accurate assessment of Election Day problems
Electionland came together in just a few months before Election Day. With the lessons learned this
time around, it could be an important force for improving elections and voter access in the future
Presented by Dale Blasingame and
students from Texas State University

6. DA RE TO BE SQUA RE: WHY INSTA GRA M IS
CRITICA L IN NEW MEDIA STORYTELLING
When using user- generated content, you must ask for permission and give appropriate
photo credit by including their Instagram handle.
Instagram allows you to pull from the community.
When posting on Instagram as a newsroom, be open- minded with what you post. Mix
it up and post hard news, but also include a selfie or a picture of your dog. The key is
to add something personal or different to connect with your audience.
When possible, put other people’ s handles in your
caption. This will help generate new followers.
This also shows that you are part of the community.
Presented by Addie Broyles of the Austin American­Statesman

7. A / B TESTING IN
THE DIGITA L A GE
A/ B testing can help with business
outcomes ( e. g. page views, return
visitors, time on site) and
democratic outcomes ( e. g.
learning, civility)
Tips for A/ B testing
Ask what you want to learn before
starting
Test one change at a time
Test many times
Make sure that your sample size is
adequate to see differences
Evaluate why version A did better
than version B
Many A/ B testing programs
available:
Try engagingnewsproject. org/ quiz-
creator for A/ B testing quizzes
Presented by Ashley Muddiman (pictured) and
Talia Stroud of the Engaging News Project

8. DOES TONE ON
SOCIA L REA LLY
MA TTER?
Text overlay, inspiring quotes, and
faces all work to personalize the
message and grab the reader’ s
attention
Three rules of posting news articles
to Facebook:
Shorter is better
Express some kind of relatable
emotion
Include something in the “ share”
text ( like a caption)
Presented by Penny Riordan of
GateHouse Media
Presented by Penny Riordan of GateHouse Media
What you write on social media can
affect whether the audience visits
your website

9. ENGA GING PLA TFORMS DISCUSSION
Outlets worry about the small payoff when it comes to day- to- day news
on Twitter
With so many platforms, it’ s hard to distribute resources toward things
like Snapchat and Instagram ( these platforms are difficult to monetize
so it might feel like a waste of team resources)
Some news organizations struggle with balancing sending readers
important push notifications and the concern that they' re violating
their personal privacy
Moderated by Amanda Wilkins of The Dallas Morning News
A few platforms that newsrooms use for data analysis include Share
Rocket, CrowdTangle and Chartbeat

10. FROM PA PER ROUTES TO PUSH A LERTS: HOW WE’ RE SA VING
OUR LEGA CY NEWSPA PER
In the digital age, math and analytics
play a huge role in the newsroom with
real- time metrics
The role of “ Web Producer” is rapidly
changing; focus on writing, ability to
produce strong content, and social
media skills
What' s next?
Austin- American Statesman confident they are going in the right direction
They are dedicated to growth in the digital field, and are looking to hire
people who are also dedicated
Presented by Courtney Sebesta and Eric Webb of
the Austin American­Statesman

11. WHY YOU SHOULD BE USING SNA PCHA T
Snapchat is successful for newsrooms because audiences like to get that “ behind the
scenes” experience
Snapchat is less about monetization, more about branding and promotion
Outlets should be downloading the Snapchat stories they post for online content
Teasing a story online might increase engagement
Presented by Cassandra Jaramillo, The Dallas
Morning News; Jon Zmikly, Texas State
University (pictured); and Shannon McGregor,
Engaging News Project. Photo courtesy of Cindy
Royal, Texas State University.

12. NA STY TA LK ONLINE: WHA T' S A JOURNA LIST TO DO
Study # 1: Interviewed 34 journalists ranging in gender, work experience, and
medium to ask how they handle comments
All journalists interviewed read comments
Most feel overwhelmed by number of comments
Split on whether to answer back - majority said journalists should respond in
comments, but not when the comments become uncivil
Presented by Gina Chen of the Engaging News Project
Main findings:
Study # 2: Interviewed 38 female journalists on how they handle harrassment
Extent of harassment:
100% faced some type of uncivil comments
81. 5% experienced gendered harassment
TV journalists faced the most
Harassment worse if cover " male" topics
Strategies for dealing:
Call out the commenters or block them
Pre- moderate on professional Facebook page
Delete offending comments quickly
" Ignore it and do my job"
Hide page from family

13. SUMMA RY
Livestreaming platforms, like Facebook Live, offer opportunities that other
platforms can' t provide, such as connecting with the audience in real time. But
there are challenges to livestreaming, including the ethical issues that come from
sharing live, unedited video.
There are a number of ways for news organizations to use social media to cover an
election cycle, including as a way to connect with audiences and track voting
issues on Election Day.
Although news organizations may not think they can devote the resources needed
to manage non- Facebook or Twitter accounts, there are benefits to using
Snapchat and Instagram. Both platforms provide a way to give the audience
" behind the scenes" access, and they can help news organizations build
community.

14. CONNECT WITH ENGA GING NEWS PROJECT
@ engagingnews
/ engagingnewsproject
engagingnewsproject. org