Difference between revisions of "Seeding KDHX pages on Facebook and Twitter"

Latest revision as of 01:21, 17 December 2015

Overview

Sharing KDHX.org pages on Facebook and Twitter is a vital step of publishing. We call this "seeding." It makes a significant difference in page views, so if you are publishing high-quality, news-worthy pages (especially in the music categories), you should be sharing them on the KDHX Facebook and Twitter accounts.

To do this, you'll need admin access to both KDHX Facebook and Twitter. Contact kelly at kdhx.org for access privileges.

General Guidelines

Important: Because you are posting as KDHX, you must be careful. Your tone should be appropriate to KDHX as an organization. Be friendly, engaging, clear; avoid sarcasm or anything that could be misinterpreted or construed as negative. Avoid excess exclamation points or unnecessary hyping.

You also should be mindful when switching between your personal account and the KDHX account. On Facebook, especially, it is easy to get confused. Keep an eye on the upper right corner of the window. If the KDHX logo appears there, then you are using Facebook as KDHX. Do not comment or like or otherwise post on Facebook as KDHX. Only do this when seeding an article. After making the post, switch back to your personal account immediately. This will ensure that you don't continue posting as KDHX when you want to use Facebook as yourself.

The same principle applies to Twitter. Always remember to logout and switch back to your personal account when you are done seeding.

Seeding on Facebook

1. Copy the URL for the KDHX website article.
2. Sign into Facebook and use it as yourself, not as KDHX.
3. Go to: https://developers.facebook.com/tools/debug
4. Paste in the URL and debug it. This will ensure that Facebook generates the preview in the news feeds.
5. Go to your personal Facebook page, and switch to using Facebook as the 88.1 KDHX Page. (click on the gear in the upper right corner to do this).
6. Search Google for the words "Facebook" + the Band Name or Label Name, etc. Locate the official Facebook page for the band/label etc. and "Like" it.
7. Go back to the KDHX Facebook page, and check the timestamp on the most recent posting.
   • Check to see if anything has been posted in the last 60 minutes. If so, you should probably wait before seeding your article, or schedule it for future publication.
   • Check the Activity Log, found under the Edit Page droplist at the top center of the page, to see if anything is scheduled within the upcoming hour.
   • Using the small clock icon on the bottom left corner of the Status window, you can schedule a post for a future date and/or time. This will place it on the Activity Log for review.
8. Paste the URL for the page you want to seed into the status box and wait a few seconds for the preview to generate. Make sure that the photo and text generate completely. If not, you may have to logout of Facebook, debug the URL and try again.
9. After the preview generates, remove the URL from the status box. The preview will still display the KDHX article information.
10. Type in a brief comment, a hook to get readers interested.
    • Examples of hooks:
      1. "Gogol Bordello brought its manic gypsy punk to the KDHX studios last week. The New York-based band performed four new songs, just for us -- and for you! Stream the full session now at KDHX.org."
      2. "Dustin Winter turned in these excellent photos from Monday night's show at The Firebird with ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Ume, and The Red Paintings. Check out the full set at KDHX.org."
      3. for photos - "Rhythm and blues artist Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics brought their soulful style to The Gramophone on Friday, joined by openers Hazard to ya Booty. Sam Africano shares his photos of the performance at KDHX.org."
      4. for photos - "The LouFest Music Festival opened on Saturday, with an incredible line-up featuring Wilco, Jim James, The National, Toro y Moi, Fitz & The Tantrums, Desert Noises and more. Kate McDaniel and Nate Burrell were there to capture photos of the event."
    • If you're posting concert photos or reviews, be sure to mention all of the artists referenced in the reviews or the photo set.
11. Attempt to tag the venue and every artist/band that is referenced in the article. Do this by typing "@" and then the artists' name. This should generate a range of selections. Choose the one that you want to use.

Important: You must verify each Facebook tag for accuracy before posting. Do not make any assumptions, always verify.

Proofread!
Proofread again. And then proofread your post a third time. It is very easy to make a typo in a status update. Be patient and diligent about proofreading your post before clicking the "Post" button.

After you have made the post, switch back to your personal Facebook account.

If you genuinely like the page you have seeded, go to it on KDHX.org and "Like" it, or go to the KDHX Facebook page and share it on your timeline. The "Like" badge is found towards the bottom of each article. Cicking the "Like" button will send the post to your personal news feed and help spread the word about this great content. Again, make sure you are using Facebook as your personal account when sharing this article.

Seeding on Twitter

1. Log in to the KDHX Twitter account.
2. Google for the official Twitter accounts of the artists, venues and labels, as relevant to the page that you are seeding.
   • Search for the Artist/Band Name + "Twitter."
   • Use multiple tabs for these searches so you have easy access to copying and pasting the Twitter "handles."
   • When you're dealing with famous bands, make sure you get the official Twitter feed, not a knock-off.
3. Compose your tweet, and make it concise. Tag the Twitter handles of the artists/venue/label etc., having copied these from your Google searches.
   • Tweets for concert photos should begin with "Concert photos:"
   • Tweets for videos should begin with "Video:"
4. Tag as many artists represented in the review, photo set, etc. as will fit.
   • Important: Do not begin your tweet with a Twitter handle. If you must, put a "." (period) in front of it, so that the tweet will show up for everyone to view.
5. Copy and paste in the URL. Twitter should shorten this for you at the end. If you are over the 140 characters, shorten your text.
   • Examples:
     1. "Check out our photos from @firebirdstl last night w/ @OBERHOFERMUSIC & @danafalconberry kdhx.org/music/news/concert-photos…"
     2. "Great to have @OBERHOFERMUSIC & @danafalconberry at @firebirdstl on Friday. Don't miss our photos from the show: kdhx.org/music/news/concert-photos…"
     3. .@GogolBordello in the form of Eugene Hutz @MAMADIASPORA blew away our studios yesterday. Stream the exclusive session now: kdhx.org/music/live…
     4. for photos - "Concert photos: @RubyVelle at @TheGramophone with @Hazardtoyabooty on Friday, August 23 [ADD KDHX.org URL]"
   • These are just examples. Vary your text accordingly.

Proofread!
Proofread again. And then proofread your post a third time. Then post your tweet. There's no need to be concerned about overlapping other tweets, they can be posted at any time without regard to the timestamp of the last post.

Log out of KDHX Twitter when you are done. Switch back to your personal account and retweet the post (you should of course be following KDHX) if you wish. That helps with exposure for the article.