Monitoring how media entities use social media -- and how their use changes my perception of them

It is amazing how much my perception of social media has changed since I started using it, roughly five years ago. While I used to view it as merely an entertainment tool, I now feel as if it is one of my most valuable resources -- not only for information, but for opinions and perspective. I have gone from using it occasionally, when I started, to trusting it and relying on it on a daily basis.

I am not alone in this building of trust and reliance, however, as I feel (and metrics show) that more and more people are now looking at social media in the same way. This trust has made something from the second chapter of Keith Quesenberry’s Social Media Strategy ring increasingly relevant over time: that brand engagement on social media is not only impactful, but also vital now, to shaping a company's perception.

In my field, as a journalist, this is increasingly true. When I am on social media, I am constantly noting how media entities use different social networks and thinking about how this usage affects my perception of their brand.

I believe that social media, especially networks like Facebook and Twitter, hosts an immense opportunity for media entities. In a starving industry, social networks provide a way for their content to be seen by anyone, anywhere. I pay attention to how newspapers push out content through tweets; when they tag people and when they don’t, who they tag and who they don’t, how they use links as opposed to images, how they use hashtags, etc.

Are media entities posting all of their stories? How do they post their most important content -- breaking stories, big investigative pieces, etc. How do they want their reporters to use social media, and how do they incorporate their reporter's posts in conjunction with the company’s? These are just some of the questions that I ask myself, often subconsciously, while studying how media companies use social media.

And because of the importance and trust that I have now placed on social media, a media entity’s use of social networks now influences my perception of that brand. If a newspaper only posts links to their stories on their Twitter feed and does not tag people, or fails to post videos and other forms of media on their feeds, for example, it gives me the impression that the company is lagging behind others who might do those things.

That's not to say that I will dismiss a media entity solely for their use of social media; I will always be most concerned with content first, as that is the product. But I believe that those who use social media innovatively have positioned themselves to gain more readership, and respect, from a wider audience.

And in a starving industry, a wider audience is worth more than ever.