NAA mediaXchange

NAA mediaXchange is the largest annual gathering of industry executives in North America, offering unprecedented networking opportunities that combine an exchange of information and ideas with programming designed to generate results. The conference is designed to provide valuable ideas and insights to help newspaper professionals grow audience and revenue for their print and digital products. Sessions highlight leading-edge thinking about media strategies, successes in product and revenue development, new ideas and innovation inside and outside the industry, and tactics and techniques to employ in print and digital.

Panelists tout benefits of social media - #NAAmXc11

By Stephanie Collins

The "Social Media" session explored how newspapers have used these platforms to raise traffic flow to news websites, increase revenue and facilitate sharing of information.

Jodi Gersh, manager of social media at Gannett Co., said that because many social media tools  - especially check-in applications - are still in the early-adopter phase, a lot of them are more popular with advertisers and marketers than consumers.

Gersh said 29 percent of consumers use check-in social media apps to get deals or discounts, but 51 percent have no interest in checking in at all. "My question is, can we give them a reason to check in?"

Gersh cited a new app, "Porkappolis," which will launch soon in Cincinnati. The app features badges, deals at local businesses and news pertinent to the area. 

Deals with local businesses generate revenue for these kinds of localized apps, Gersh said. Businesses want to have more of an identity in the community and therefore will pay for a check-in deal with a local app like Porkappolis.

Randall Keith, director of digital content for MediaNews Group Inc.'s Bay Area News Group, discussed the advantages of using Facebook to moderate commentary on news articles, as opposed to the commenting module common to many news websites.

"The volume of offensive posts has been skyrocketing for months," Keith said.

Because people can hide behind anonymous user names, he said, they are more inclined to post offensive comments. As a result, websites require aggressive policing and moderating.

Keith said that switching to Facebook for commentary has been an ideal solution. "The use of real names on Facebook improves the quality of the conversation," he said.

In addition, he said Facebook offers useful metrics that enable news organizations to follow exactly how many times and how often their stories are accessed.

Renee Monhollon, director of new business development and digital sales for Scripps' KNS Media Group, said use of social media facilitates detailed research that helps news media to tell advertisers who their audience is, instead of the other way around.

By following Facebook user activity, organizations can identify accurate audience profiles. "We are able to really break down the conversations that are taking place on Facebook," Monhollon said.

>> WATCH: Renee Monhollon talks about how using social media drives revenue

>> View and download speaker presentations from the Social Media session. (NAA Members Only)

Stephanie Collins is a student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Find out more about Stephanie and other students reporting live from NAA's mediaXchange here.

About Amanda Knowles

Amanda Knowles is Web & Social Media Manager at the Newspaper Association of America. Before coming to NAA, Amanda spent four years working in print journalism, both at the college and professional level. She has worked as a copy editor and news page designer for two daily newspapers in northwestern Pennsylvania, The Erie Times-News and The Meadville Tribune. Most recently, she collaborated on The American Observer, the online magazine edited and produced by graduate journalism students at American University in Washington, D.C. Amanda believes strongly in the secure future of the newspaper, and is excited to be a participant in the movement to integrate traditional print media into the burgeoning digital world.