Presented by Jodi Gersh, Director of Social Media & Engagement, Gannett

ContagiousContagious

Status by association. People like to look smart, funny, and in-the-know, so they talk about things that help them portray a positive image.

People want things that make them look good rather than bad.

SS

People talk about things that are top-of-mind. Using subtle reminders to help them think about your idea will make them more likely to share.

TT

When we care, we share. High arousal emotions—like excitement, anger, and awe -- fire people up. This activation, in turn, drives them to share.

EE

People often imitate others. But you can’t imitate what you can’t observe. Making behavior more public enables social influence.

PP

News you can use. News you can use. People share things People share things to help others, to help others, whether it is advice whether it is advice on saving time, on saving time, saving money, or saving money, or making them making them healthier.healthier.

PP

Stories are like Trojan Horses: Stories are like Trojan Horses: Information travels under the guise of Information travels under the guise of idle chatter. People are more likely to idle chatter. People are more likely to share a memorable story than a list of share a memorable story than a list of technical facts and features about a technical facts and features about a product. product.

SS

Every city has traits, quirks and habits that are begging to be dissected. These characteristics are well-known to locals, but no one ever stops to explain why they even exist in the first place. Place Explainers investigate, answer and explain these questions.

1

We all love to brag every once in a while about the area we call home. Crowd Pleasers zero in on that feeling of pride. These stories provide an opportunity to celebrate everything from beautiful weather in the Pacific Northwest to the athletic prowess of California athletes who won 93 Olympic gold medals.

2

You know those stories you come across that you can’t turn down? The You know those stories you come across that you can’t turn down? The ones that have you hooked at the headline? It’s the type of story that ones that have you hooked at the headline? It’s the type of story that

captures a geeky or quirky side of a city. captures a geeky or quirky side of a city.

3

Event-based stories chronicle the news of a city. This bill was passed. This person was hired. That person was fired. News Explainers make sense of the news. Rather than just telling you what happened, News Explainers dissect why or how it happened.

4

Cities are saturated with everyday news stories such as traffic jams and fires. But Major Breaking News has a much bigger impact on a city or a region. Massive storms are an easy example of this because they tend to make life difficult for entire regions. But Major Breaking News doesn’t happen often.

5

Think “awww,” think “awesome,” think “hilarious.” Most of all, Think “awww,” think “awesome,” think “hilarious.” Most of all, think positive: this category is made up of happy stories. think positive: this category is made up of happy stories. Humor, which tends to make people feel good, also plays a role Humor, which tends to make people feel good, also plays a role in Feel-Good Smiler content. in Feel-Good Smiler content.

6

A Topical Buzzer is the story of the moment A Topical Buzzer is the story of the moment that everyone’s talking about locally. The key that everyone’s talking about locally. The key to deploying a Topical Buzzer on your site: to deploying a Topical Buzzer on your site: knowing when something is beginning to knowing when something is beginning to buzz.buzz.

7

Have you ever come across a story about your city and you could feel your blood beginning to boil? That’s usually what happens when people encounter a Provocative Controversy – they get ticked off and highly opinionated.

8

“Whoa...” You know that feeling?

We already know people like to gaze at beautiful images. People love to goggle at beautiful images of their city. Awe-Inspiring Visuals capture that wonderment through photos and videos.

9

Think about whether your headline is something people will want showing up in their Facebook or Twitter feeds with their names next to it.

Headlines :: ask yourself

o Does it grab attention?o Will it target a particular audience?o Is it specific?o Are you generating a great deal of curiosity?o Is the headline promising benefits?

Shortcut URLs

Social Media SharePoint Sitehttp://bit.ly/GannettSocialSite

Creating Shareable Contenthttp://bit.ly/GannettSocialSharing

Social Media Training Sitehttp://bit.ly/GannettSocialTraining

Social Media Strategy Resourceshttp://bit.ly/GannettSocialStrategy

*Shortcut URLs are case sensitive

Jodi Gersh :: jgersh@gannett.com :: @jodiontheweb