Social media: the new photographs

A great photograph will boost not just a story’s chance of being covered in the press but also the likely size and placement of its coverage. Now there is a new add-on available: social media.

The media loves a story with a social media angle. Recently the Daily Mail and The Telegraph both credited Facebook with persuading the manufacturers of Pears soap to change its formula – despite the Facebook group containing just 31 people.

Insubstantial attempts to add a social media sheen to a story will (usually!) be found out, but done properly they give a story extra legs.

Keeping a close eye on social media is also important to avoid being caught out by a wave of public reaction, as happened with the controversial “Career women make bad mothers. Agree?” billboard advertising campaign for the poster industry. A deliberately provocative question intended to highlight the effectiveness with which billboard posters catch the public’s eye – it instead generated a widespread online protest campaign. It is now incredibly easy for like-minded people to find each other and amplify each other’s voices.

Be warned: just as a powerful photograph can make a story or break a reputation, so too can social media.