What do Pinterest, SoundCloud and Storify have in common?

When nearly 350 people signed up for our recent NCME-APM webinar on Pinterest, Storify and SoundCloud, we were thrilled by the interest. At the same time, we weren’t surprised. Across the Internet there’s constant chatter about the potential behind these platforms.

For public media, they offer opportunities to move beyond using social media for marketing and distribution. They give stations a chance to engage, learn from and build relationships with their communities (even people who may not be current public media listeners.)

Find out if they’re useful for you
The webinar was full of helpful information and tips about how public media is (and could be) using these tools. Here are ways to explore the content:

• Watch (or re-watch) the webinar. (The Storify presentation starts at the 5 minute mark, SoundCloud at 17:20 and Pinterest at 26:00.)
• Read Kelly Chen’s blog post on Pinterest, Michael Caputo’s post on SoundCloud or check out additional Storify resources from Ian Hill.
• Flip through the slide deck from the webinar:
  Digital Tools of Engagement: Storify, SoundCloud, Pinterest

A checklist to keep you on the right path
At the end of the webinar, we suggested a checklist for stations to use as they look to engage their communities and enhance their content. (We adapted ours from one created by Graham Griffith and shared by Amanda Hirsh in Current.)

Did I engage in a conversation with the public through social media this week?
Did I learn something about my community this week? Did I teach something?
Did I get a story idea from an online community that I engaged with this week?
Did I find a source for my reporting through social media this week?
Did I represent community interactions using digital tools?

Think about these questions with your team as you consider the work you do on the web. You won’t always say ‘yes’ to every question, but you will get an idea of whether you’re accomplishing what you set out to do. If you’re not, never fear. With social media, you can always experiment with new techniques to make sure you’re listening to the community and involving them in the content you produce.