Today's trust tip: As Twitter changes, think about where your audience is — and be there

Hi there. Lynn here.

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There has been a lot of discussion and questions asked about the future of Twitter and what it means for journalists. Some journalists are leaving the platform, some are debating doing so and others are staying. At the same time, others are joining other emerging social platforms. 

With this Trust Tips, I don’t have an answer for what newsrooms and journalists should do when it comes to Twitter, but at Trusting News we have been thinking about this issue. And we have a concern and some suggestions to share. 

First, the concern: As we watch journalists make statements about no longer being on Twitter, we wonder who they’re following to other platforms, and who they think they’re leading. Most of the country is not breathlessly following updates about changes on Twitter. And we’re here to serve people, not to talk to other journalists. If you want to jump to another platform to see how industry conversations are evolving there, great. But make sure you’re not abandoning a community on Twitter that isn’t making your same decisions. (See #3 below.)

And now, five suggestions related to your presence on Twitter or any other social platform:

1. Think about where your audience is and be there. If your goal is to reach your audience then you should be thinking about where they are consuming news and information. The evolving answers to that question should heavily influence where you share content. 
2. Explain changes in posting and engagement. If you are not going to be posting as often, or plan to post more often or different content than you usually do, be sure to tell your audiences on those platforms. People get used to seeing content — and more importantly, they get used to finding information when they need it. If they rely on your posts and your posts disappear, you’ll want to give them a head’s up about where they can find the information moving forward.
3. If you plan on leaving Twitter, be sure to explain why. Remember, without explanations, users make assumptions, most of which are negative. So explain your reasoning, and make the explanation easy to find and share.
4. Make sure people know how to get in touch with you. If you are leaving a social platform or not planning on being as active on one, be sure people can still find your contact information and know how to get updates and information from you but also contact you elsewhere. And if you are no longer going to be checking a social platform, don’t invite communication there. It’s much worse to not check messages than it is to not be reachable in the first place. (Remember, an error report could be sent anywhere you have an inbox.)
5. Ask your audience where they prefer to get information. If you are unsure where your audience is, ask them. And it’s not just about what platforms they are using but how they are using them. 

Have you changed anything about your personal or newsroom presence on Twitter or other social media platforms? If so, we’d love to hear about it and how you communicated that to your audience. Send me an email at lynn@Trustingnews.org.
 

Have any examples to share? 

Trusting News aims to demystify trust in news and empower journalists to take responsibility for actively demonstrating credibility and earning trust. It is a project of the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the American Press Institute.