This document summarizes a presentation about raising visibility for online projects through partnerships, distribution, and viral social media sharing. The presentation discusses identifying potential partner organizations using analytics, creating content for syndication, encouraging sharing on social platforms using hashtags and share buttons, and testing captions and headlines on Facebook. It provides examples of successful partnerships and viral posts. Attendees are assigned tasks related to finding new partners and practicing viral content styles.

1. Raising visibility,
awareness and reach for Susan Mernit
Knight Circuit Rider,
your online project: Oakland Local
Editor/Publisher
Distribution & Syndication
& Viral social media
APRIL 30, 2013

2. Type questions here

3. WHO’S THE INSTRUCTOR?
Susan Mernit, Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/susanmernit
Twitter: @susanmernit
Facebook: Facebook.com/susanmernit
3

4. STARTING WITH PARTNERSHIPS—WHY DO THEM?
Who ever goes to a web site anymore
with so many choices? We’re talking today about how partnerships can
increase reach, traffic--
4

5. What we will look at:
Who are your “official” partners?
Do they send you any traffic?
What kind of 3rd party links do you
have today?
Is any of it good traffic?**
**Good traffic: viewers who spent more than .65 minutes
on the site, return, and/or look at 2+ pages per visit
5 knightdigitalmediacenter.org

6. Who are good prospects to syndicate to?
Look for:
•Local media (newspapers,
radio, web)
•Local government (city, county)
•Bloggers & hyperlocal sites
(news sites, individual sites)
•Local and regional mobile apps
& directories
•Portal sites with regional or
niche content (Yahoo! News,
Google News, Huffington Post,
Patch)
Connecticut Mirror has a large
number of partners, including
the NY Times
6

7. Tools for getting partners!
Materials for reaching out:
•Description of your organization
•Information about your content
•Content samples
•Information on RSS/XML feed
•Information on photo licensing/right
•Daily or weekly news budget email
Economic Hardship
Economic Hardship
Reporting Project has a
Reporting Project has a
model that focuses on
model that focuses on
7
content distribution
content distribution

8. Bay area KQED public
media partners with many
different news sites, blogs
and non-profits to gather
quality local news.
Each of these stories is
from a different partner—
and sends that partner
traffic.
8

9. Once you’re syndicating/distributing
Content distribution (posting on a
partner site)
•Post consistently
•Use photos
•Increase posting on sites with most
click-through to you ••Contentsyndication: Sharing
Content syndication: Sharing
•Send news budget to staff through feeds
through feeds
•Push the specials
•Keep adding partners ••Regularlycheck indexing is
Regularly check indexing is
working
working
••Buildnew feeds for specific
Build new feeds for specific
Check stats on partner requirements
partner requirements
Google ••Keepadding new partners
Keep adding new partners
Analytics/Traffic
Sources
9

10. Assignment--Action steps to take to improve
visibility with syndication/distribution
••Reviewyour third-party referrals on Google Analytics over 6 months
Review your third-party referrals on Google Analytics over 6 months
••(setthe date range to see 6 mos.)
(set the date range to see 6 mos.)
••Notethe top 10 third-party referrers—how many do you know and
Note the top 10 third-party referrers—how many do you know and
connect with already?
connect with already?
••Rate3-6 referrers as A/B/C as partner prospects—What are you basing
Rate 3-6 referrers as A/B/C as partner prospects—What are you basing
••yourassumptions on?
your assumptions on?
••Tellus—who are 1-3 new partners you might approach and why?
Tell us—who are 1-3 new partners you might approach and why?
10

11. Switching gears--Social media:
Critical tool to build visibility for your
project via virality, sharing
11 knightdigitalmediacenter.org

12. We’ll also talk abut viral sharing via social media and how POWERFUL
that has become in driving traffic, engagement, attention…
12 knightdigitalmediacenter.org

13. Important: Think
about VIRAL SHARING
as a new goal
Use social media
Use social media
platforms
platforms
to increase users,
to increase users,
drive interaction &
drive interaction &
engagement
engagement
And reach more diverse
And reach more diverse
audiences
audiences
CHECK IN: Are you using share buttons
CHECK IN: Are you using share buttons
on your site?
on your site?
Do you encourage sharing interactions?
Do you encourage sharing interactions?
13 knightdigitalmediacenter.org

14. 14 knightdigitalmediacenter.org

15. To build visibility, add visible share buttons
To build visibility, add visible share buttons
to your site for key social networks
to your site for key social networks
**Make it EASY to share**
**Make it EASY to share**
Note buttons for Reddit,
Note buttons for Reddit,
Stumbleupon,
Stumbleupon,
Google +, Linked In,--
Google +, Linked In,--
where
where
are your people?
are your people?
15 knightdigitalmediacenter.org

16. SHARING IS DRIVEN BY WORDS, PHOTOS
CAPTIONS ON ON PHOTOS
Good content
Photos w/ captions posted to
Facebook
& Twitter
Copy with the captioned photos that
engages deep curiosity—and doesn’t
give much away
If Facebook is your top referrer,
focus on that—and use crafted
headlines
& captioned photos
16
(Hat tip: Upworthy.com)
(Hat tip: Upworthy.com)

17. Oakland Local caption/headline test on Facebook
Methodology:
Took 5 stories and build captioned
photos
Posted photos & new headlines on
Facebook
Compared results to previous
promotions
Results
Pie photo: Feb 24: 14 hours after
posting: 1,187 people saw this post;
Feb 17 (no caption), 300
Occupy photo: Feb 24: 14 hours
after posting: 1,037 people saw this
post
17 Feb 21: 502 saw this post

18. And don’t forget the power of the hashtag
Remember the 2012
Olympics & the
#NBCFail hashtag?
Thousands of people
used the tag.
At the 2013 Oscars,
#hathawaynipples
went viral due to a
Prada dress
Create hashtags for your
Create hashtags for your
events, coverage and
events, coverage and
issues
issues
--and see ififthey catch on
--and see they catch on
18

19. Resources for building skills
SOCIAL MEDIA & VIRALITY
•The rise of digital influence by Brian Solis, Altimeter,
http://www.slideshare.net/Altimeter/the-rise-of-digital-influence
•Upworthy: 10 Ways To Win The Internets
http://slidesha.re/15faQUs
•Upworthy: How To Make That One Thing Go Viral
http://slidesha.re/15faVrd
•Susan Mernit: Test slides (in resources in class folder)
19

20. Assignment (Pick one , or do both):
SYNDICATION/DISTRIBUTION FOCUS: Who are your best partners?
• Check Google Analytics to see your third-party referrers.
• Create a list of potential partners and why you want them.
• Compare the two lists.
• Develop a timeline and action list to go after new partners.
SOCIAL MEDIA/VIRAL FOCUS: Practice your (viral) headlines
• Read the UpWorthy presos in resources and Susan’s test preso (they
are fun).
• Get 3 pictures. Write great captions in this style for each photo.
• Post on FaceBook if you are brave; share with us if you are less brave.
• Discuss.
Please post your work by Friday, May 3, so we can
Please post your work by Friday, May 3, so we can
discuss, share, comment before the May 7 class.
discuss, share, comment before the May 7 class.
20

21. Type questions here

22. THANKS!
mernit@gmail.com Susan Mernit
@susanmernit Knight Circuit Rider,
Oakland Local
http://oaklandlocal.com Editor/Publisher

23. Virtual Class: Raising Visibility || Starts on April 15, 2013
Virtual Class: Raising Visibility Starts on April 15, 2013
Go to bit.ly/raising-visibility for more information and to find out how to apply.
Go to bit.ly/raising-visibility for more information and to find out how to apply.
23 knightdigitalmediacenter.org