Yesterday was December 14, 2012 and I spent a large portion of the day producing content for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. as commentary and encouragement regarding the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, CT. The common term for this is news-jacking. I’ve always found that a derogatory term, but it does describe what we do. I hope that any content Social Network Voice produces adds value and helps people express what they feel and think when events, tragic or joyful occur.
The shooting of children is an incomprehensible tragedy. Content producers certainly tap into their own feelings, but also try to key in on how others may be feeling. In this case, our content was geared toward our online ministry needs and rather than express the outrage of the day, we immediately attempted to turn our hearts to God and hope. It’s easy to hop on the coat-tails of anger and the populist platforms around gun-control, finger-pointing, and violence. We are here to do good, and that means we serve the public to give them another way.
Here are some highlights of the content from the day.
Article on Facebook: Elementary School Shooting
Images from the news:
Psalms 147:3 (CEV)
Psalms 38:18 (ESV)
It’s said that a picture paints 1,000 words. In social media, like in print journalism, a powerful image will attract the attention of the viewer and bring them to the additional content you want to promote. Whether that’s a product, service, or in this case helping people know God’s word as it applies to this senseless tragedy, an image can make a tremendous difference in engagement and should be cornerstones of your content strategy.