How important is social media to enhancing the career of journalists? Lekan Otufodunrin, media career development specialist shares nine points every journalist should reflect on.
Before social media, we have been accomplished and successful journalists.
VERY TRUE: Long before the coming of social media, many journalists have accomplished great heights in the profession. As a non-digital native journalist, you practised journalism and no one can take away the success you have recorded in the past. You should be credited with achieving so much without social media tools that have eased sourcing and publishing content. Kudos.
Without social media, we can be accomplished and successful journalists.
YES: Using social media is not a prerequisite for becoming an accomplished and successful journalist. Many still don’t use and they are still a force to reckon with in the profession, especially for senior journalists who may not have any point to prove again about how good they are.
With social media, we can be more accomplished and successful journalists.
CORRECT: Whatever you have achieved in the profession, mastering and using social media will definitely make you more accomplished and successful. The tools will ease your workflow and make it possible to do better than you have been doing. The impact and reach of your work will be more.
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Without using social media functionally, some of us will soon be irrelevant in the media profession.
FACT: It’s a matter of time for those who still want to remain a journalist and don’t want to care about using social media and other new media tools. Journalism practice has gone digital and those who are not digital savvy will learn the hard way. They will gradually be eased out and outclassed by those who have woken up to reality. It would not matter how good they used to be as a traditional journalist, they will easily be dispensable.
´With social media, some of us can be bigger brands than the companies we work for.
TRUE: The evidence are all over. There are digital-savvy journalists who have become more popular than the organisations they work for. They can do without being affiliated with any organisation. They have become a big brand themselves and can publish or broadcast on any platform they choose to and earn more than they used to earn in their former workplace.
There is more to social media than social, it’s a professional tool for the new age journalists.
For any professional, social media is more of a professional tool that needs to be utilised in every way possible. Many employers now demand knowledge and use of social media from new employees. They want journalists who know how to stay on top of the new information dissemination circle and even have a large following which they can leverage.
´Using social media is not an option for a modern-day journalist or media professional, it can make or mar the progress you can make in the profession.
TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT: This point has been explained earlier. It’s a matter of choice between wanting to remain a traditional journalist or having what it takes to practice effectively in the new media landscape.
Publishing online without using social media will not give you maximum reach for your content.
UNCONTROVERTED: You can’t compare your reach through the copies of printed newspapers and area of broadcast within national geographical limitation with the world wide web.
There is more to social media than sharing your content, you need to engage with the content of others.
The social media platforms are not dumping grounds for your links and content. You need to interact with others on the platforms and respond to feedback. You need to watch your analytics and know what to do per time.
