Writing ‘Keep Me On Trend’ articles — a quick guide
This guide, written in collaboration with user needs evangelist Dmitry Shishkin, is part of a series on writing news stories based on the news needs approach.
No idea about user needs? Need a quick refresher? This article might help.
Ok, then. Let’s begin, shall we?
The user need ‘Keep me on trend’
This user need is anchored in the world of social media and things that are trending there. There’s a whole ecosystem of news happening there — some of it may need demystifying, some of it may need explaining, some of it just needs to be shared.
Social media is anchored in community and conversation, so this user need is about tapping into those dialogues and interacting with audiences that inhabit those channels.
It might be that publications explore hashtags or topics further, to delve deeper into why a certain issue is blowing up — or not.
Why should you write ‘Keep me on trend’ pieces?
- Community is about engagement. In order to become part of any group, you have to become invested and active in it. If you’re a trusted part of the community on a particular channel, you’re more likely to be considered as a good source of information. It’s about building audiences beyond the masthead.
- These pieces tend to generate engagement and get shared more often, which creates a nice loop — or, as we like to put it ‘story life cycle’. If you already have a team in place tracking social media, these pieces are a relatively easy way to attract readers and bolster engagement.
When to write a ‘Keep me on trend’ story
- Timing is key here: social media moves quickly, and so must you. So, if there’s a big event or a trending topic, responses need to be similarly speedy.
- If you’re looking to follow up breaking news items, looking at how often your social sharing buttons are used and what kind of reactions helps to determine what kind of follow up your audience is asking for
Getting started with a ‘Keep me on trend’ story
There are broadly two ways of approaching these kinds of stories:
- Let conversations on social media drive your topic discovery process: reactions on a particular topic can help planning
- Use social channels as a research tool. If you’re covering a larger event or story, using Twitter or TikTok or Facebook can help yield some invaluable insights for your piece.
Useful formats for a ‘Keep me on trend’ piece
The most typical format is an article or a short video with lots of social media posts ‘embedded’ inside it, a collection of tweets or FB and IG posts.
A good ‘Keep me on trend’ headline
The headline should refer to social media reactions, so people will know what to find here.
Great examples of ‘Keep me on trend’ pieces
- The best memes and social media reactions from Election Day 2020
- George Floyd protests: Who are Boogaloo Bois, antifa and Proud Boys?
Dmitry’s pro-tip
“Form a partnership with your social media editors — their job is to know everything that’s happening on your channels and beyond, they are likely able to bring you ideas by the digital armful. They also are best positioned to create a selection of social media posts to help promote and amplify your story. Always remember that social media does not represent society at large, so if something is trending, it doesn’t mean that everybody is talking about it”
