Online Best Practices
Prep the Site and Spread the Word
Cell Journalist will help you “prime the site” with content, but a great way to build station support and get the site populated is for the GM or News Director to send a memo to the entire staff requesting content.
- You can even create an internal station contest with a prize for the most popular content that is sent in.
- Have news videographers and reporters send in cell phone images from the scene of stories they are covering.
Use Your Home Page
Put a content widget on the front page of your broadcast website and also include the e-mail address so your audience can send in content via e-mail.
Use Social Networks
Promote the site via Twitter. Give your audience specific examples of what kinds of content you're looking for, such as pets, weather, and high school sports. Also promote the e-mail address so they can easily send in content.
- Use your station’s Facebook and YouTube accounts to promote the site.
- Anchors and reporters who have blogs should talk about the site and how to use it so they are ready when the Big Story breaks.
What are some other best practices that your station has been using?
