One thing certainly has changed this past year. I am no longer asked by TV Stations if they need to be in the social media space! Now I get asked, “How do we do it and Facebook or twitter?”

The good news is TV Stations have realized the train left the station. If TV stations are to remain relevant they need to reach out to their viewers and establish an entirely new relationship with them. It is no longer a one-way street of “push and pray” content providing.

So what’s a station to do with limited resources and, for many, lack of understanding? Here are a few very basic suggestions:

1. Poll your employees – see who has interest and experience in Social Media. Tap into them. Those of us who love social media would accept that enthusiastically
2. Seek and/or provide social media training to all of your employees – any of your employees using social media is a representative of your brand
3. How to use – remember, posts are about the viewer/reader and NOT about the station – when to use, what to post, what not to post
4. Set up policies – please don’t be too strict. Many company policies are very short – “be smart, use common sense, if, in doubt, don’t” is one of my favorites
5. Concentrate on facebook because you can do the most with it and it most closely corresponds with your everyday operation – video, pictures, links, discussions
6. Welcome some controversy and let people talk
7. Use twitter more for breaking news and weather updates to start. Reporters use it for story ideas and contacts and well as keeping up with breaking news coming in through tweeters. PR companies use it to promote their ideas. Good combo!
8. Construct a social media calendar as part of your promotion calendar
9. Be committed to it or don’t do it

How are you using Social Media at your station? What are your policies? Seen any good posts lately? Any bad ones? Please share -