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The event was organized by Independent Journalism Center on 26 July at the School of Advanced Journalism, aiming to help journalists to be more effective in relation with their readers. Horea Salajan analyzed a number of Facebook posts, ways of presenting them, in view of the analytical data provided by the social network.
‘Analytical data allow collecting information that helps improve the content. Analyzing these data we see what materials are more interesting to the audience, which information display format is more accessible or at what time the information is accessed the most. Content distributors should be a kind of psychologists, in order to understand the requests of the media audience and offer them the content they need’, said the expert.
Horea Salajan stressed that in order to attract reader’s attention, media institutions must have dynamic, daily updated content and a personalized approach.
‘There is no golden fish when we speak about promoting on social networks. Each editorial office needs to identify its own approach, and promote creativity and initiative. Let’s not be afraid to experiment. When a new application appears, let’s be the first to test it. To conclude, social media means quality content, a lot of imagination and openness to new ideas’, the expert believes.
He pointed out that a new social media trend was to present the information in video format or as a slide show. ‘It is a much more accessible way for the consumer to get informed about a particular subject when he/she does not have time to read the article in full. I encourage you to make such materials where the message is presented in 15 seconds. It is quite difficult to express the essence of a media product in 15 seconds, but I assure you that it is possible, and, most importantly, efficient. Thus, you succeed to make the reader interested in searching for more information about the topic presented in 15 seconds’, urged Horea Salajan.
The expert encouraged journalists to make sure that their communication on social networks is as accessible as possible, urging media consumers to take actions: to read, to download, to analyze, to watch etc.
Participants in the meeting appreciated the importance of such discussions, as media is akin to a living, continually developing body. ‘Contemporary journalists should not only write about a particular topic, but also learn how to promote their material, how to identify the target audience in order to achieve their objective. The discussion with Horea Salajan is another confirmation for me that I have correctly set out the strategy of promoting media products and improving the efficiency of the relationship between audience and the institution I represent. ‘Certainly, the expert’s recommendations on audience analysis, the method of ‘packaging’ the content for social networks, as well as steps that I should take for an effective marketing on social media will be useful for me’, said Cristina Cucoș from the Suntparinte.md portal.
‘If we speak about the Republic of Moldova, statistics show that we have over one million users on social networks. More than half of them are young people. The trends are clear for all of us. Online platforms are becoming increasingly ‘heavy’. Social networks are the most important traffic generator for press institutions’ websites. Horea Salajan said at our “Social Media First” meeting. I think that editorial offices that do not prioritise this only stand to lose. The discussion with Horea Salajan helped us to understand once again that occasional online presence on Facebook, Odnoklassniki or Instagram does not work, there is a need for resources and dedicated people’, commented Nicu Gușan, journalist at Radio Free Europe.
Horea Salajan is a media expert and content maker, who has worked on five continents, in 20 countries. Hailed from Cluj-Napoca and educated by BBC, he established the first local Pro TV newsroom in Cluj, in 1996. He is currently working with different projects in Moldova, Ukraine, Mongolia and ASEAN for Internews, Chemonics International, Mongolian National Broadcaster and Amazing Productions.
The event was organized by the Independent Journalism Center, as part of the ‘Media Enabling Democracy, Inclusion and Accountability in Moldova (MEDIA-M)’ project, funded by USAID and implemented by Internews.
