20 Social Media Writing Tips to Share News Stories

High five! The PR client just hogged a feature in the local newspaper. Or, your company’s president was interviewed on morning news. Or, even sweeter, you landed a great story online with the Wall Street Journal.

Then what? You smile to yourself, email everyone, hit up Facebook and Twitter, and sit on PR easy street for the day.

Since the coverage might only go as far as the day of, it’s a good idea to have a writing routine and focus on content to help spread that media hit like a one-week high school rumor (with a bit more maturity and creative copywriting, of course).

Here’s some finer points and writing tips to consider the next time you share media hits with your online communities:

Twitter: Work with the headline and content from the hit and develop 3 – 4 tweets for the next couple of days. You can:

Nice publicity! Now, go write and spread that media hit.

1. Pull a quote.

2. Call out numbers.

3. Make it short and sweet.

4. If you’re truly engaged with your following, ask ‘em to check it out.

5. Find a popular, relevant hashtag (but don’t abuse it).

6. Plug the handle for the media outlet.

7. Tag others included in the article.

For headline writing tips, CopyBlogger’s (8.) “How To Write Headlines That Work” provides some great know-how applicable for tweets. And, you can always refer to a (9.) Thesaurus or pick-up some alternate words and fight off a case of writing blah’s.

Facebook: You’ll get automated content through the link you post; sometimes it’s enough. Other times, it’s not a bad idea to:

10. Double-check the headline and re-write it, if needed.Include it’s name in the headline, if it’s a well known local or national outlet.

11. Work with the content under the headline and write a catchy 1 – 2 sentence overview of the article.

12. Get a good look at the image and scroll through the options for the best, most relevant visual that catches your eye.

13. Make your status update 1 – 2 sentences, tag others included in the article (it will spread the news on their wall) and include a call to action.

For status writing tips, USA Today did a nice overview a couple years back with do’s and dont’s at (14.) “There’s an Art to Writing on Facebook or Twitter – Really.”

Blog: If you have a few media hits to work with:

15. Try a news round-up with a quick lead and links to each of the stories.

16. Be creative with your blog headline, which can also make for a couple nice tweets.

If you only have one hit to work with, and it’s a big one:

17. Give the publicity it’s own blog post with a couple links to the article.

18. Include others noted in the story and share some link juice.

19. Have a nice call-to-action beyond “read me.”

20. And at the end of the year, pick the best media hits and post a top 10-type list.

Of course, you’ll always have go-to channels to spread media hits, like company newsletters and an online press room.

Sometimes, sharing publicity across your social media sites doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. But, if you have active Twitter followers, “like”-happy Facebook fans and some avid blog readers, you can help spread the coverage by focusing on sociable content.

What practices have you used for writing and spreading media coverage?