Social media: Entering the conversation

A major duty of Western journalism is to tell people what is happening in the world so they can make informed choices about how their democratic institutions and leaders are and should be operating. Today, the road to informing younger people — and a growing number of those older — runs through social media. Yet news-related information delivery is only one of many reasons people use social media. Competition comes from personal uses such as conversations with friends and family, sharing information about restaurants people may be thinking about frequenting, or simply publishing snapshots of the day. This makes the effort to connect with and engage the audience through social media channels all the more important. This paper focuses on steps involved in engaging people online, from finding and listening to the people you want to connect with, to being prepared to enter conversations, to actually engaging people. This paper proposes ways to develop a coordinated social media approach that could help enhance an organisation’s brand image.