Twitter, Facebook and blogs for business

[Brazen]

The pressure's on. In order to remain in business, we need more click-throughs to the magazine website so advertisers pay more.

The publisher and editor, despite both being IT Luddites, have got it in their heads that the best way to do this is to engage our "reader community" through Twitter, Facebook and blogs by us writers.

Myself and the other team nerd have been tasked with working out how we might go about this and what we need from IT to do it.

Anyone got any experience of this, model magazines you might follow that we could rip off, or ideas of what kinds of things would intrigue readers enough to increase our click count? Obviously there'll be topless pics of the female journos available to anyone who joins

[Grey Fox]

Your editor & publish are idiots.

but choose a subject & make a blog about it. Gadgets, just steal gizmodo & engadget stuff.

[Barrister]

Just take a lot of the same kind of stuff you post here and put it in a blog.  Off to such and such a town for such and such a story, follow ups to stories you've written, a few behind the scenes looks at stories, interesting tech stories that catch your eye.

Sounds like a lot of work (and it probably is), but as long as your posts are short it shouldn't take much time.  And each time of course provide a link to the actual article in your magazine it links to...

[The Brain]

And always add a Byzantine twist.

[Brazen]

Thanks! So how do you link it all together? Do we need a single blog page with all our different user IDs then send out a Tweet version as we post each story?

[Barrister]

I think so.  But twitter is not anything I have experience with.

[Martinus]

For Facebook, decide whether you want to go a Fan Page or a Group way (I'd presume a Fan Page).

A Fan Page allows for less interaction, as it is designed mostly for vertical communication. However, it has no user limit, you will not be marked as a spammer if you send message to all users (whereas in case of a Group, you may be), and is something that is in principle designed for IP content owner. (Yes, I realise the name "Fan Page" may be misleading in that sense). Also, anyone can become a member of the Fan Page by simply subscribing.

A Group is a more of a community/limited circle affair, as you can restrict access (i.e. make membership subject to the admin approval), allows for more horizontal flexibility and communication. However, sending a message to all group members may be regarded as spam by the Facebook admins, and it has member number limits. It is designed for people wanting to discuss some issue or thing, but has a more of a forum feel to it.

So if you are a publisher or a company or an artist and want to communicate to people about your products, works etc., you start a Fan Page.

If you are a fan of some product or artist, etc., and want to discuss it, you start a group.

The new Share facebook feature is very good for spreading your articles, as it allows them to spread in a quasi-viral way. For example, if you start a Fan Page for your magazine, then if you then post an article link on that page, anyone who subscribed to your Fan Page gets that link in their Facebook live feed and by a simple click can choose to "Share" it further if they want - thus making it appear on the feed of their friends, and so on. That way you can reach a lot of people quickly and generate interest beyond your established audience.

[Martinus]

As for Twitter, ask Stephen Fry. Apparently, he is like a god of Twitter these days.

[Barrister]

As for Twitter, ask Stephen Fry. Apparently, he is like a god of Twitter these days.

Isn't he frozen in a cryo-tube right now?

[lustindarkness]

Your first twitter/facebook promoted blog/article should be on The Giant Isopod.

[Martinus]

As for Twitter, ask Stephen Fry. Apparently, he is like a god of Twitter these days.

Isn't he frozen in a cryo-tube right now?

Surely you must be thinking of someone else - he is in his 50s, as far as I am aware.

[Barrister]

As for Twitter, ask Stephen Fry. Apparently, he is like a god of Twitter these days.

Isn't he frozen in a cryo-tube right now?

Surely you must be thinking of someone else - he is in his 50s, as far as I am aware.

I was thinking of Futurama, but that's Philip J Fry (he always goes by Fry though).

[Martinus]

Oh. I haven't seen that show (despite numerous recommendations), I'm afraid.

[Barrister]

Oh. I haven't seen that show (despite numerous recommendations), I'm afraid.

You suck.

It's brilliant (and the source of many good avatars around here).

[Grey Fox]

Twitter is 140 chars a post.

Just use word press.