Aim To Engage Your Readers
The main advantage to social media is being able to communicate one on one with as many of your readers as you like. With your social media page, you should always be aiming to exploit this fact. Otherwise, you are missing a major tool in creating a dedicated readership.
A great example of this is NPR. They often post a status asking for quote or interviews about certain subjects that will appear in both website and radio news stories. They often have an overwhelming response to this tactic, and end up with plenty of quotes to use from users affected by the issue.
Use Geotargeting To Better Connect
There have been more local news outlets popping up on Facebook recently. If you know that a specific area holds a key demographic, you can use geotargeting to speak directly to that audience.
You can choose your audience with your page, making the content visible by location and language. This won't work for every news source, and for some might be detrimental. For example, while it might work for a FOX city syndicate, it could too intensely isolate national viewers.
If it will work for your business, it is a great way to foster a sense of community. Community building is by fat the most efficient white hat link building tactic as well.
Take Advantage Of Special Events
A major event, such as a major competition like the Olympics or the 2012 US General Election can create the perfect opportunity for special content. You provide a specific tab that allows people to follow updates, make comments or learn about how your news page is covering it.
This is a quick way to draw in users, who will know they can just pop on for updates instead of reading the rest of the content on your page. It could be enough to keep them off Google and make them rely on you, instead.
Customize Your Delivery
This is a big part of having a news page on Facebook. You have to know how you plan to deliver the story, and stick to it. Many major media sources choose to provide a link to the story and a small description, perhaps asking for opinions. But they keep all personality out of it, as well as any opinions.
Others are more targeted to a certain demographic, and so don't try to hide their beliefs. This is acceptable if you have put your page forward as that kind of news outlet. But you have to remain consistent.
Going With A Theme
A personal choice on the part of the news outlet, this can actually be a great way to draw readers. Having a theme can put a fun spin that keeps people coming back for more. Especially if you are looking to get a specific message across.
For example, the House Elf Liberation Front is a Liberal leaning Facebook page based off of characters and the world of Harry Potter. But it covers global issues such as politics, the environment and human rights. It has grown quickly, with over 6,800 likes in just a few months.
