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Why Look North Yorkshire uses social media to reach audiences

2015-08-03T13:53:30+00:00

Helen Thomas, Head of Regional and Local Programmes, Yorkshire reveals how BBC Look North Yorkshire is using social media to connect with local people.

A story which was picked up by our regional news team in Yorkshire has melted the hearts of millions this week – and it’s become one of our most popular Facebook posts ever.

It is a powerful example of BBC Look North Yorkshire really connecting with its audience, and shows the awesome effectiveness of social media when the right material is chosen.

The team from Look North Yorkshire chose a short video clip for their facebook site of an eight-year-old boy with cerebral palsy being cheered on by a crowd as he finished a triathlon last weekend. It’s footage you might be familiar with if you are one of the tens of millions of people on Facebook to be served the post. The 45-second clip has now been viewed 23 million times on the social media platform. It’s a remarkable response for a remarkable boy. It’s easy to like.

It is also now the most popular Facebook post from the BBC’s local and regional teams, overtaking a post about a dying woman and her horse. And it is part of a trend we have seen in the past couple of years on Facebook – with video content at times reaching huge audiences. Another post from Look North, about a pygmy goat, has been watched 15 million times and a film about #TheDress from Midlands Today (it was created in Birmingham) has 6.5 million views.

A film of the rollercoaster crash at Alton Towers in June was watched 3 million times and a video from BBC South Today of a man dressing as Spiderman to surprise his dying son was watched 2 million times.

It’s easy to see why these posts have done so well. They are poignant, fascinating and affecting and show our BBC regional teams rooting out the best local stories which have incredible resonance with audiences everywhere.

There are many other posts that don’t reach these numbers and the challenge with them is to keep people watching.

With Facebook video it’s important to remember it will most likely play automatically and silently in people’s news feeds. Because of this we can see a big drop off in views within a few seconds of a video being played.

Shorter videos, which work well without sound, tend to have a better average view time. And we need to grab the audience’s attention with our best pictures at the start of the film.

With this in mind we’re experimenting with new styles such as using captions like on this video about a bullock with a wheelcart.

There’s a big audience on Facebook and our regional teams are already really skilled at reaching them. Reflecting stories that really matter to our local audiences is vital, and it’s great that facebook is yet another tool that we can use to ensure our viewers and listeners see and hear the brilliant content we produce, day after day.

Helen Thomas is Head of Regional and Local Programmes, Yorkshire

Read also BBC North West Tonight - Emotionally powerful stories

2014 – A year in social media at the BBC

2014-12-29T12:30:00+00:00

I work with teams from across the BBC, and as you debate throwing away the turkey carcass, I thought I'd ask the Heads of social media for News, Sport, TV and Radio to reflect on 2014 in their areas.

In 2014 content created and shared by the BBC was read, watched and listened to by millions of people each and every day. Everything from breaking news on the Scottish Referendum, behind the scenes images and video from Doctor Who and live voting on Match of the Day.

Much of this activity was complementary to our linear TV and Radio output but in 2014 we continued to experiment and launched innovative ways to deliver stand alone content including the Ebola service on What's App and BBC Shorts on Instagram. All this activity seeks to develop a direct relationship with our audiences offering even greater value to people that use the BBC.

2014 was also the year social content really began to set the news agenda and make the news - the press announcement confirming Sherlock was coming back was exclusive to social and generated over 100,000 retweets, with the hashtag #221back being included in many news reports.

The top ten most shared moments from bbc.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook in 2014 were:

1. 2014, BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards

Voting link for the best British single

2. BBC Children in Need
Children in Need Website

3. Scottish independence referendum - Results - BBC News online coverage

4. Your life on earth
Interactive news item

5. The sanitary pad revolutionary
BBC News Online

6. Gunmen storm school in Pakistan
BBC News Online

7.Actor Richard Attenborough dies at 90
BBC News Online

8. Comedian and actor Rik Mayall dies
BBC News Online

9.US actor Robin Williams found dead
BBC News Online

10. World Cup: Pick your greatest XI
Interactive news item

Source: Newswhip

Below, our social media leads from news, television, sport and radio have shared their highlights from 2014:

Chris Hamilton, Social Media Editor, BBC News

The BBC News Facebook page is now one of the biggest news pages in the world with over 13 million fans and @BBCBreaking has just passed 12.5m followers on Twitter. Success has been driven in part by a series of major news events including MH17 and the on-going conflicts in the Middle East but also through the production and delivery of tailored content - especially video - that is produced for social. This has delivered high levels of engagement with audiences, reach and click-throughs back to bbc.co.uk/news. Just recently BBC News was ranked as the most shared news provider in the world.

2014 also saw BBC News innovate with platforms and features. Do people want to get a news story in 15 seconds? BBC Shorts on Instagram has proved so. Since we launched in spring 2014 the account has grown to over 100,000 followers with many Instagram users now commenting on stories and debating what’s being covered. BBC News also became the first global news organisation to establish content channels on messaging apps. We covered the Indian election on WhatsApp and WeChat and launched the ‘lifeline’ Ebola service on WhatsApp. The Global English account has over 400,000 subscribers, the biggest of any news brand on the platform.

It has also been the first full year for BBC Trending - the BBC's 'bureau on the internet' - that finds the stories behind social media who in 2014 investigated Tumblr shoplifting ‘bling rings’, revealed the fraudulent war photos being passed around Twitter and reported on repressive internet laws in Turkey… they also found time to take a few selfies along the way.

Chris Hurst, BBC Sport Social Media Editor

The World Cup generated huge interest for us culminating during the week of the final when our content reached 61.3 million people on the BBC Sport Facebook page – a record for a BBC social account - and a key reason why the page has grown from just over 1 million fans to over 6.2 million fans during 2014. The tournament also saw increased collaboration with our TV colleagues to highlight the best of social media with stand alone 90-second segments for linear TV curating the best audience interaction. The World Cup squad selector was also hugely popular and another great example of how creating content for social networks is loved by fans and offers a rich experience.

Through social voting on Twitter and Facebook we allowed fans to have their say on key issues such as deciding the Goal of the Month on Match of the Day 2, the Man of the Match in our live FA Cup coverage and having their say on topical debates on Sportsday on the BBC Sport website.

The Match of the Day Facebook page saw a 3480% increase in referrals, between September and November 2014, where users engage with a piece of content that took them back to our site. This follows a change in our editorial offer to make our content more engaging in style and tone. With 82% of our page fans aged 34 and under and with only Liverpool and Manchester United having more UK Facebook fans the page is reaching underserved younger audiences that may not normally come to the BBC and shows how Match of the Day, in its 50th year, is a show that young audiences want to interact with.

Alister Morgan, Head of Social Media, BBC TV & BBC iPlayer

Social has had a big part to play in amplifying the experience around the BBC’s biggest shows. Strictly debuted its Vine Booth this year with over 2m loops. It offered Strictly fans the chance to go behind the scenes with their favourite stars. The Apprentice gave audiences the chance to have their say with Who Would You Fire? using new functionality in partnership with Twitter.

Drama proved a hit with the EastEnders Facebook page racking up over 3.5m fans and @bbcdoctorwho breaking the 1m follower mark in 2014. The return of Sherlock on Twitter gained over 100k retweets, a fact that was picked up by major news outlets. Factual proved hugely popular as well; the Life Story video documenting a Pufferfish building an elaborate 'home' has had over 18m views on Facebook. This shows how creating and 'packaging up' captivating TV in new ways can find new audiences online.

Social presents a unique opportunity to create new, more immersive relationships with our audiences. We reach millions of people across social networks and I think 2015 will be the year we develop stronger communities and facilitate a new kind of relationship built on two-way interactions.

Jem Stone, Head of Social Media, BBC Radio

It’s increasingly difficult for publishers to have impact organically on social platforms. We’ve continued to do well by not only adapting quickly to the frequent changes offered by platforms, but by focusing on optimising for social a succession of great events, performances and stories that users can’t get anywhere else.

Radio 1’s accounts on Facebook and Twitter are not only the biggest radio accounts at the BBC but also across the the industry with both now having over 2m followers/likes.

Smartly targeted and full of wit, humour and most importantly a steady stream of exclusive pictures, gifs and video, the accounts are remarkably successful amongst Radio 1’s key 16-24 demographic and sensibly don’t try and attempt to copy minute by minute the on-air output.

BBC Music launched this year to better support the discovery and reputation of music coverage across the BBC. Although there is still room to grow in terms of followers and likes, their posts and tweets are widely shared. The video for God Only Knows, BBC Music’s unique broadcasting and musical moment, gained over 17 million views across the main BBC Facebook pages and Music came into its own during the BBC Music Awards as the home of news, announcements and key video moments from the event.

Conclusion

And finally, the corporate team have had a few moments - a simple tweet from @AboutTheBBC commemorating WW1 Lights Out was shared over 4000k times and the @BBCPress rebuttals to media coverage have caused a stir with a riposte to The Sun newspaper garnering 2500k retweets and much media coverage.

With such a diverse range of issues debated, liked and shared from across everything the BBC does in 2014 this is a very, very, top line summary of activity. And as people receive connected devices for Christmas and 4G and super fast broadband usage increases, 2015 promises to be even more connected and social for audiences and the BBC. We are already preparing for the General Election, the FA Cup, Radio 1's Big Weekend, Strictly 2015 and numerous other events we're not even aware of yet.

Thanks for interacting and happy New Year.

BBC North West Tonight - Emotionally powerful stories

2014-11-17T15:08:12+00:00

When BBC North West Tonight was first alerted to a story at Wigan Hospital, we realised it was the kind of emotionally powerful story which would appeal to our audience. But we could not have imagined the impact the coverage would have across social media and specifically on the NWT Facebook page.

The story is that of Sheila Marsh and her horse Bronwen. Sheila was a cancer patient at the hospital and her dying wish to be reunited with her favourite horse Bronwen. Hospital staff liaised with her family to arrange it in the hospital grounds just hours before she passed away.

We posted the story first on Facebook. Within minutes, it was clear it resonated with our audience. In part, that online interest then influenced our more traditional news gathering - as we fixed a TV interview with Sheila's daughter. The BBC News Online story followed soon after the Facebook post - and a link was added. But it was the phenomenal Facebook reaction which has stunned many people. With a current reach of 43.5 million the story has become the second most viewed BBC Facebook post.

The power of social media and specifically Facebook on this occasion has been incredible - within an hour it passed a million. We watched that figure rise in the studio while live on BBC One - during North West Tonight the post reached a further 500k.

We only post a few stories each day on Facebook and try not to overwhelm people’s timelines, however this story is typical of the type of story we know attracts our audience. But it has post and has exceeded all our expectations - our previous highest reach at BBC North West Tonight on Facebook was 4.4 million for Betty, the 104-year-old Girl Guide.

So why did this story appeal so much? Well to start with, it was an incredibly moving story which was really helped by a picture that told the story almost without the need for any words. I also think including a quote from one of the nurses really helped: the words were powerful and credible coming from her. Had I written them into the report, it may have seemed like a journalist being sentimental for effect. Everyone in our audience can relate to the death of a loved one or the love we have for animals. Sheila, had six horses, three dogs, three cats and other animals but her last wish was to see Bronwen – the horse she had looked after for 25 years from when it was a foal.

The hospital said that Sheila, unable to speak properly due to illness, "gently called" her favourite horse, who then "nuzzled her cheek" as they said their last goodbyes. They say pictures speak a thousand words, so the NWT evening bulletin simply captured those moments in a series of pictures.

Roger Johnson is a Presenter for BBC North West Tonight

See BBC North West Tonight on Facebook
Follow on @BBCNWT on Twitter

BBC College of Journalism's third Social Media Summit

2014-05-13T09:41:10+00:00

Logo updated for #smsldn London Social Media Summit on 16 May 2014.

On Friday 16 May 2014, the BBC College of Journalism will be hosting the third Social Media Summit on BBC Broadcasting House in London. The full agenda of the event is available on Eventbrite. College website editor Matthew Eltringham introduces the days events, including a session with Director of News and Current Affairs, James Harding.

It’s becoming a springtime ritual - along with the shorts, the Pimms and the cricket, comes our Social Media Summit.

This one - #smsldn - will be the third we’ve held and the second with our friends and partners at the New York Times, with the support of the Knight Foundation - after #smsnyc last year and #bbsms in 2011.

The purpose of the event remains the same: to provide practical, relevant and useful conversation about how social media is affecting the journalism that we do day in, day out. But the focus of that conversation has changed dramatically since 2011.

#SMS has therefore become a default yardstick that allows us to measure the incremental, daily changes in newsrooms around the world caused by the pervasively disruptive influences of the global families of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and their many relatives.

Read the rest of this post on the BBC College of Journalism Blog.

How we're using social media at Glastonbury 2013

2013-06-28T07:36:20+00:00

One early evening last summer I walked through Hyde Park on my commute back to Victoria. Occasionally I'd look up to make sure I didn't bump into anyone but my eyes were mostly focused on my Twitter timeline which for 2 glorious weeks had been mostly #teamGB this and #london2012 that. A few minutes later I was watching bikes whizz around the Velodrome on a screen in my hand and the voice of Hugh Porter was describing yet another gold medal. On a phone. In a park.

12 months on and that brief Olympics anecdote will hopefully be repeated but for Seasick Steve or Public Enemy or Chic or Elvis Costello as the BBC returns to a small farm in Somerset for what you probably have heard is the biggest, most digital and we hope the BBC's best Glastonbury coverage yet.

My role at the BBC has been to help plan more comprehensive and closer social media coverage than ever before from our journalists, presenters, radio networks, and TV channels.

Our aim is to help audiences, that aren't in Pilton for the weekend, get closer to artists, find coverage of their favourite music and make them aware of the breadth and depth of the weekend. Most viewers expect headliners and top of the bill acts like Arctic Monkeys, Mumford & Sons and Dizzee Rascal to be covered but viewers are delighted to be also told how to find Public Image Ltd, Rufus Wainright and Dinosaur Jnr and 100+ other artists online or on TV and radio.

A dedicated Twitter account @bbcglasto will be answering questions throughout the weekend fielding such audience queries, selecting the best tweets from artists and sharing links to the best reviews, live blogs and commentary from UK newspapers and media. 100s of Real time images from the main stages will be shared to key social media platforms; (Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter) and the best artist, fan and media commentary will be curated by editors on a daily live blog. For real social media geeks we will also be sharing live Twitter stats, facts and figures in partnership with UK start-up Second Sync.

As with other live music events selected performance tracks from 100+ artists are also syndicated to YouTube, media partners and bloggers. And on air listeners and viewers will be encouraged to request a #glastoshout. On set guitars, DJs and BBC Three's treehouse studio will gradually adapt over time to reflect the Twitter usernames of audiences that have joined in. Keep an eye on the presenters mugs.

It's going to be quite a weekend. Quite a long weekend. Monday, for example, is just as big a day for traffic as users at work, or back from the festival itself catch up on performances they've missed. Most of our coverage will stay online for up to 30 days.

Please say hi on Twitter. Oh and if I look up for the next four days then I'll be hoping Bobby Womack will finish Sunday night with a moving "Across 110th Street…". It's a "Hell of a tester" says Bobby in the chorus. Well exactly.

Jem Stone is Editor, Social Media and Syndication, BBC Radio.

Live coverage of Glastonbury is available on TV, radio and online.
Read about The Ruen Brothers journey to Glastonbury the BBC Introducing blog.
On the BBC Internet Blog, Sam Bailey from Radio & Music Interactive writes about how Glastobury coverage is being delivered to people's smartphones.
There's also a blog about the Connected Red Button service for the Festival plus full details on our digital coverage on the BBC Media Centre website.
Radio 2 and 6 Music Controller Bob Shennan also blogged about how we're staffing Glastonbury this year.