Philadelphia Inquirer is laser-focused on growing their top-performing newsletters. They consistently and successfully run newsletter campaigns – collect email addresses – and then immediately start sending out content-rich newsletters – all with an eye on potentially converting these readers into a paid subscription down the road.

Social News Desk is handling their lead gen campaigns using our proprietary Dynamic News Ads technology. Our goal is to make sure we’re acquiring new audiences at the lowest possible cost-per-lead.

Let’s throw out some impressive stats:

• Year-to-date, SND has driven 15,617 leads for the Philadelphia Inquirer. 
• Focus remains on their top performing e-mail newsletters which include: 
  • News Alerts Newsletter  
    • 6,552 leads at an average CPL of $0.70
    • This is their breaking news alert newsletter. 
  • Let’s Eat, Philly! Newsletter
    •  3,206 leads at an average CPL of $1.06
    • This is a local food and dining newsletter for the Philadelphia area. 
  • Sports Daily Newsletter
    •  4,278 leads at an average CPL of $0.60
    • A daily sports e-mail covering Philadelphia sports teams. 

We use corresponding, relevant content to drive sign-ups for specific newsletters.

Using top-performing content to build your newsletter WORKS. Philadelphia Inquirer is currently focused on growing its top-performing newsletters versus all of their newsletters.

“Social News Desk has been a tremendous addition to our digital transformation strategy. We’ve seen rapid growth with our audience. Not only in list size, but also attracting an array of diverse readers while continuing to maintain a significantly low cost per lead.” Terrance Young, Audience Development Marketing Manager of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Aside from SND’s Dynamic News Ads audience growth strategy, the Philadelphia Inquirer has a hub for all its newsletters on the website.

Some key takeaways:

-Focus on your top-performing newsletters – as opposed to all your newsletters.

-Consistency is key. Spend marketing dollars evenly over time.

-You can grow your audience quickly. It is possible.

Want to apply the same strategy to grow your audience? Social News Desk can help – reach out to us at info@socialnewsdesk.com.  

The post Philadelphia Inquirer’s Newsletters: Strategy Worth Picking Up first appeared on Social News Desk.

Our Meta-certified Promotions team quickly launched a large-scale campaign that promoted local tune-in down to the ZIP code in each market, customized for the individual times that each region airs the show. In addition, we built a strategy to drive traffic through Social News Desk’s unique Dynamic News Ads technology, showcasing the best content at the best time for each person who views an ad in the campaign.

SND’s Dynamic News Ads uses a proprietary algorithm to determine which content to use, how long it should be available, and when content is no longer eligible to appear in an ad. When breaking news happens, content can appear in an ad right away – no editing and uploading necessary. In addition, our team’s Superhuman Optimization uses up-to-the-minute data and in-house custom technology to ensure campaigns are performing as expected (or better).

Overall, SND Promotions drove millions of impressions to build awareness of The National Desk’s expanded broadcast, and Sinclair Broadcasting Group was thrilled with the results.

“We were really impressed with how SND was able to push social media traffic. Our website user count more than doubled during the campaign.”

Ed Sautter, Sr. Director of Promotion & Marketing – Digital, Sinclair Broadcast Group

The National Desk website also saw more than double the amount of social referrals, sessions, and new users month over month.

If you’re interested in learning how SND Promotions can help your newsroom reach your goals, get in touch with us at info@socialnewsdesk.com.

The post SND Promotions drives huge results for Sinclair’s The National Desk first appeared on Social News Desk.

Facebook sent the update to participating newsrooms this week, letting them know that its testing over the past few years showed that tagging posts as ‘breaking news’ using the indicator didn’t increase distribution in a meaningful way. According to their announcement, “We do not expect this to impact your performance on Facebook.”

Breaking News Indicator was not ever widely available in the United States, with the “test” limited only to news organizations operating in certain markets.

The change may point to the increased importance of Facebook’s News Tab. Campbell Brown, Meta VP of global news partnerships, told Axios last fall that news publishers get about 1.8 times more distribution in the Facebook News Tab than in the News Feed, and 30% of referral traffic from Facebook is coming from the News Tab.

Meta’s recent announcement also says that their news curation team will continue to surface breaking news to promote top stories and original reporting. News organizations should also be sure they are registered in Facebook’s News Page Index to be eligible for inclusion in the Facebook News Tab.

Keep in mind that original content also tends to perform better in Facebook News Feed. The guidelines for news on Facebook remain the same, and this change means it’s a good time to review Facebook’s Content Distribution Guidelines.

If you have more questions about this change, get in touch with our Client Success Team at support@socialnewsdesk.com.

The post Facebook announces sunset of Breaking News Indicator first appeared on Social News Desk.

It’s not available for all Facebook Pages <yet>, and you might still be on the Classic Page – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!

So, what should you expect when it’s your turn? Facebook says that all Page content will automatically move to your new Page when it’s switched. Page followers will transition, and you won’t lose your Page verification. Awesome! 

But (isn’t there always a but!) here’s what else you need to know about the New Pages Experience: 

• If someone only likes your Page but does not follow it, the likes will not transition to your new Page. More on likes and follows.
  
• Anyone who was previously an admin on the Page will have the same access after switching
  
• There are two different types of access to manage the Page – Facebook Access (which can have Full or Partial Control) and Task Access. Users need to have Facebook Access with Full Control in order to add and maintain the connection of the Page to SND.
  
• Speaking of which, it’s a good idea to reattach your Facebook and Instagram accounts in SND if you did happen to switch to the new Page experience   

The transition has been less than smooth so far. We’ve seen some discrepancies with enabling the Breaking News Indicator and have found the connection between Instagram and the new Page to be problematic.

If you’d rather not tackle these changes with the New Pages Experience or aren’t digging it at the moment, you do have the option to switch back to Classic Pages.  Consider it a temporary reprieve though, as change is (inevitably) coming.

Have more questions about the New Pages Experience? Get in touch with us at support@socialnewsdesk.com – we’ll be happy to help.

The post Facebook’s New Pages Experience? What Newsrooms Must Know! first appeared on Social News Desk.

1/ We continue to roll out Facebook Protect (now in 50+ countries), our security program that includes mandatory 2FA for people who are most likely to be targeted by malicious hackers: activists, journalists, political campaigns, etc.

— Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) March 19, 2022

How to enable Facebook Protect

If you have received a notification or email from Meta to enable Facebook Protect, we recommend taking action immediately in order to continue to access your Facebook account and associated Pages.

To enable Facebook Protect:

• Click  in the top right of Facebook.
• Click Settings & Privacy, then click Settings.
• Click Security and Login.
• Under Facebook Protect, click Get Started.
• On the welcome screen, click Next.
• On the Facebook Protect benefits screen, click Next.
• Facebook will scan your account for potential vulnerabilities and make suggestions on what to fix as you turn on Facebook Protect. Common suggestions of what to fix include choosing a stronger password or enabling two-factor authentication.
• Click Fix Now and follow the on-screen instructions to finish turning on Facebook Protect.

If you manage pages that are attached to Social News Desk, you should reattach the pages to ensure there are no interruptions to your publishing schedule.

What to do if you’re locked out

Users who are eligible for Facebook Protect but did not have the feature enabled should have received an email or Facebook notification at the beginning of March advising them to turn on the feature. On Friday, March 18th, Facebook began locking accounts that did not meet the deadline.

If you have lost access to your Facebook account, you should be prompted to revisit your security features when you try to log in. You will need to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) and may be prompted to take additional actions to secure your account. Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy for Meta, acknowledged on Twitter that some users were having trouble getting back into their accounts on Friday, March 18th.

Secure your accounts now

Even if your account wasn’t selected for Facebook Protect, it’s still a good idea to give all of your social accounts a security checkup.

Take a few minutes to confirm that only necessary staff members have the appropriate permissions and access to the correct social media accounts. Social News Desk clients can do this easily, without having to give out passwords or new credentials. Need help setting it up? Reach out to our Client Success team.

Twitter recommends confirming the email address and phone number associated with your account, as well as enabling two-factor authentication (2FA). In addition, Twitter has a feature called password reset protection that prevents password changes that aren’t authorized. If you want to use this feature, it’s even more important to make sure that your email and phone number are correct.

Facebook also suggests using their two-factor authentication and login alert features to ensure that your account stays secure. If you do run into any account issue, get in touch with our team right away.

The post Facebook Protect rolls out more widely – what journalists need to know first appeared on Social News Desk.

We’ve been highly successful on our newsletter campaign and podcast traffic builders.

Kym Blanchard, Marketing Director | The New Republic

Newsletter Strategy

The New Republic’s flagship newsletter is the TNR Daily. This upper funnel tool is important for the publisher to bring in new readership that might be unfamiliar with the magazine. And the ultimate goal is to turn those newsletter signups into digital subscribers.

The company set a goal at $1.00 per newsletter signup or less. And SND’s Superhuman Optimization team went to work. By leveraging its proprietary Dynamic News Ads technology, Social News Desk was able to automatically select the best content and dynamically turn it into lead-gen ads which the optimization team then managed throughout the campaign.

The results are impactful. In just eight months, TNR Daily saw 30,000 newsletter sign-ups as a direct result of the Social News Desk content marketing campaigns at an average cost of just $0.67 per lead – well under the publisher’s goal.

Podcast Strategy

The New Republic’s podcast, The Politics of Everything, launched in January of 2020. SND’s Dynamic News Ad tech offered the perfect solution to introduce the podcast to more potential listeners through social media. In 2021, SND’s ads drove more than 71,000 clicks to TNR’s podcast. And what’s even more impressive, the ads saw a 4.36% click-thru rate which is 4X higher than the average click-thru rate on Facebook.

Interested in learning more about how SND’s Dynamic News Ad tech can help your publication acquire more audience? Let’s talk.

The post How a national magazine brand grew its newsletter footprint using SND’s Ad Tech first appeared on Social News Desk.

Content Should Be Factual

This is a cornerstone of good journalism, but in a climate of widespread misinformation, Facebook is putting more emphasis on fact-checked, well-researched content. Blatant and repeated sharing of misinformation will get pages and their content demoted and reach limited. Producing trusted content also means being transparent about who the author of the content is – include bylines as much as possible to give your readers a clear understanding of where your content is coming from.

Unique Content Rules

This is where local publishers have an edge – you’re producing unique content frequently, and Facebook considers that to be important. “Unoriginal news articles” that don’t contain extensive reporting are less likely to receive widespread distribution. According to Facebook guidelines, “Original reporting includes things like exclusive source materials, significant analysis, new interviews, or the creation of original visuals.”

What to look out for:

• Domains with Limited Original Content
• Fact-Checked Misinformation
• Inauthentic Sharing
• Links to Domains and Pages with High “Click-Gap”
• News Articles Lacking Transparent Authorship
• Posts from Broadly Untrusted News Publishers
• Posts from Pages that Artificially Inflate Their Distribution
• Posts from People Who Hypershare Into Groups
• Unoriginal News Articles

Don’t Bait Your Audience

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again – don’t publish clickbait, engagement bait, or sensational content. Facebook says explicitly that this type of content will be demoted in the News Feed. Content that gets genuine engagement will perform well, and better yet, serves the audiences we are working to inform. Go on and celebrate National Taco Day (it’s October 4th) but give your audience something more original too. For example, post about where they can find the best tacos in town instead of just encouraging them to share a graphic about it.

What to look out for:

• Ad Farms
• Clickbait Links
• Comments that Are Likely to Be Reported or Hidden
• Engagement Bait
• Links to Suspected Cloaking Domains
• Links to Websites Requesting Unnecessary User Data
• Low Quality Browsing Experiences
• Low Quality Comments
• Low Quality Events
• Low Quality Videos
• Pages Predicted to Be Spam
• Sensationalist Health Content and Commercial Health Posts

Community Safety is Paramount

With Facebook being such a huge influence on not just website traffic, but also viral information (or misinformation), there are certain types of content that Facebook judges to be unsafe. This includes unsafe reporting about suicide, sensationalist health content and commercial health posts, and links to shocking content. As journalists, we have a greater responsibility than the average publisher to make sure the content we’re publishing is factually accurate and helpful to our communities.

What to look out for:

• Content Borderline to the Community Standards
• Content Likely Violating Our Community Standards
• Content Posted by Repeat Violators of Our Policies
• Links to Landing Pages Containing Sexual and/or Shocking Content
• Posts from People Who Likely Have Multiple Accounts
• Posts that Indicate Suspicious Virality
• Unsafe Reporting About Suicide

Do you have more questions about how Facebook’s guidelines might be impacting your content? Get in touch with us at support@socialnewsdesk.com – we’ll be happy to help you evaluate what you’re publishing.

The post What Facebook’s New ‘Content Distribution Guidelines’ Mean for Newsrooms first appeared on Social News Desk.

The post You Asked For It: Organic Preview is Here first appeared on Social News Desk.

Promote your best content, automatically

It’s pretty impossible to predict exactly what will resonate with your audience on Facebook – and even harder during breaking news when things are changing rapidly. So why put all your eggs in one basket with a Boosted Post? Wouldn’t it be better if you could always promote the best stories you have – even as that list changes in real time? Now you can!

SND’s proprietary Dynamic News Ads (DNA) technology identifies your best content in real time, and automatically turns it into an ad. Think of the ad as an empty – always on – container. SND’s DNA technology is working 24/7 to create a list of your very best content and updating that list in real time as you produce more content. We’re then filling that empty ad container with stories from the list – matching them up to the users most likely to care about each story. Each ad is unique, and populated with the best content you have to offer at any given moment. We call it an “Auto-Boost.”

Because the Auto-Boost ad is always on (and always filled with fresh content) … you are reaching a much wider group of people than you would with a Boost. As Facebook users engage with your content in the ad, they see more of your content and become more aware of your brand page. This leads to increases in Clicks, Reach, Engagement and often a 6-8% increase in Page Followers to boot!

Get two (or more) KPIs for the price of one

Auto-Boost ads are optimized by the team at SND to fit your exact ROI goals. So in addition to extra Reach, you’ll also get additional website traffic (clicks), email newsletter sign ups (lead gen), subscription purchases (conversions) or app downloads. Depending on the objective, SND will set up the ad to get the best possible ROI for you in that category. This helps you get the most out of your budget and work toward success in multiple performance metrics at the same time.

Reach beyond your fanbase

The SND Promotions team of Blue Print Certified ad specialists can help you set up ad targeting that will reach the best possible audience for your brand. For example, you can specifically target ads to people who don’t yet follow you on Facebook, ensuring your advertising dollars are helping you reach the right people at the right time. Or you can reach out to both existing fans and new followers. You can even target people who like your competitors. We’ll show you all the tricks.

Ready to give it a try? Check your newsroom credit card to see how much you spent on Boosted Posts last month, and let us show you how to reroute that money this month to produce a real return on your investment instead. Email us.

The post The better way to boost posts on Facebook. first appeared on Social News Desk.

Features include:

• Add Unlimited RSS Feeds
• Ability to Set A Schedule
• Automated Posting (Worry-Free)
• Awareness of Manually Scheduled Posts
• Ability to Curate Content

SND Autopilot is also seamlessly integrated with SND Planner for the full hybrid automation experience.

It’s a client favorite!

“The ability to drag and drop to reschedule and rearrange content is awesome, as well as the ability to schedule content in an autopilot slot via the post planner module/widget. Appreciate everything SND does.”

– Doug Rogers, Lily Broadcasting

And while the technology is worth its weight in social media gold (er, Bitcoin?), what will blow you away is our Client Success Team. They’re always ready to help you get set up and always ready to make sure you get what you need. Don’t settle for service that doesn’t deliver when you can get service at the speed of news from Social News Desk.

Ready to try something new? Send us a note at info@socialnewdesk.com. We can get SND Autopilot rolling for your right away!

The post SND Autopilot: Solid & Reliable Automation Tool (with A+ Customer Service) first appeared on Social News Desk.