Financial Times Rebecca Heptinstall on social media and community

The FT.com?s social media manager Rebecca Heptinstall shares tips on social publishing and brand reputation

Social Media Portal (SMP): What is your name and what do you do there for at the FT.com?

Rebecca Heptinstall (RH): My name is Rebecca Heptinstall and I?m social media manager at the Financial Times. I work as part of the global communications team protecting the reputation of the brand online and acting as a key point of contact for our colleagues on the commercial side of the business.  I?m responsible for helping our staff use digital tools better and generally make social more visible across the business.

SMP: Briefly, tell us about FT.com (for those that don?t know ? hey, you never know!), what is it and what does it do?

RH: The Financial Times provides premium and essential news, commentary and analysis to a growing audience of global business, political and economic decision-makers. The FT aims to make its authoritative, award-winning and independent journalism available to readers anytime, anywhere and through whichever platform our international and increasingly mobile audience may choose.

SMP: Who are your target audience and why?

RH: The FT has an increasing, highly influential global audience who consume our content across print, mobile and digital. We pursue an audience of quality over quantity and have more digital subscribers than global print circulation.

SMP: What does your daily role entail?

RH: My role requires close collaboration with lots of different people. This means that I?m often in meetings with colleagues or technology providers discussing ideas. When I?m at my desk, I could be moderating the main social networks, shooting a Vine or writing a report.

SMP: How many are in the social media team at the FT?

RH: We have three staff dedicated full-time to social media including two in editorial: our communities editor Sarah Laitner and social media journalist Maija Palmer. We also have a social media strategy team comprised of around eight managers from different parts of the business. We get together regularly to discuss new projects and technology.

SMP: How does the FT manage social media after hours and over the weekend?

RH: The global communications team operates on a rota basis at weekends, so we?re always keeping an eye on what?s happening 24/7. We also have a weekend editor who selects content for our social networks on Saturdays and Sundays.  However, working in social media and having a smartphone or tablet, means you never really switch off.  It?s just not a 9am-5pm job.

SMP: What are the low moments of what you have been doing so far?

RH: There aren?t many. We?re so guided by the news agenda, it means that no day is ever the same, which can be challenging, but exciting.

SMP: What are the high moments of what you have been doing so far?

RH: Lighting up the Empire State Building pink to celebrate our 125th anniversary this year.

SMP: What do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities?

RH: Our biggest challenge and opportunity is keeping up with the pace of change in our industry. How people discover news has changed and we need to ensure we?re reaching them how, when and where they want us to.

SMP: What?s the next big step for social media / networks and what impact may this have upon what you do (and where you find FT readers are mostly hanging out and interacting, when not on the FT)?

RH: Twitter is very much our social network.  It drives the highest amount of traffic and is the most widely adopted by our journalists.  However, it can be difficult to hold a conversation about the US shutdown in 140 characters, so we use Facebook to ask and respond to readers' views. Here we asked our fans in Brazil what they thought it would take to end the protests sweeping the country and embedded their answers in an article on FT.com.

SMP: What is the most challenging part of building upon the FT brand presence in digital environments (including social media)?

RH: We have a paywall, which means not all of our content can be seen by non-subscribers. This poses some challenges for social media when it comes to sharing.  However, new visitors to FT.com can register to gain free access to up to eight articles per month. We therefore use social media to communicate this message and make them aware of the other benefits.

SMP: What?s going to be the most interesting aspect regarding social media / technology for the next 12 to 18-months and what sort of impact do you think this may have on publishing brands?

RH: Media fragmentation across multiple devices and social networks. Years ago our subscribers just read the newspaper.  Now, they might read the newspaper or web app first thing, then visit FT.com during the day and then go back to the paper or the app at night.  The interesting piece for publishers will be around how you keep readers? attention. Interactive experiences that include photos, videos as well as the written word will play a key role in this.

SMP: What are your top five predictions for social media for the next 12 to 18-months?

RH replies with:

1. Social business: Investment in social media will become necessary.  Businesses will start to integrate social media into everything to deliver measurable ROI

2. Wearable technology and augmented reality will become more mainstream  

3. Google+ will become more important as content creators start using authorship

4. More of us will become content creators not just consumers turning the 1% rule on its head

5. Visual networks such as Pinterest, Snapchat and Tumblr will surge as people seek more shareable content

SMP: What are your top five social media tips for social media folk like you?

RH replies with:

1. Don?t tweet anything you wouldn't want to explain to your boss

2. Plan for the worst. Always have a contingency plan in place in case something doesn?t go as you wish
 
3. Don?t spread yourself two thinly. Pick a couple of networks and do it well.

4. Read up. It?s your job to know about the latest thing

5. Stay true to the brand you represent. Tone and style should reflect the audience that you?re speaking to

SMP: Is there anything else we should know, or is there anything that you?d like to share?

RH: The FT has a global social media audience of over 5.3 million plus an additional 3 million on Chinese networks Tencent, Sina Weibo and We Chat.


SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?

RH: I had a breakfast meeting today so I had bacon, avocado and poached eggs on bruschetta to set me up for the day.

SMP: What is your favourite tea and why (how to you make it ? sugar, milk)?

RH: Proper northern tea. Strong and dark with no sugar and hardly any milk.

SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?

RH: I made my niece?s bed as she?s staying with us this week?.but that was for me really, my OCD can't handle unmade beds.

SMP: If you weren?t running or working on FT.com what would you be doing?

RH: I would be a gorilla keeper or food critic.

SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?

RH: Sardinia for my honeymoon in September.

SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office in the morning?

RH: Check Tweetdeck for mentions on the main FT Twitter channels.

SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?

RH: Flying so I don?t have to travel on the tube.

SMP:  The best way to contact you and FT.com?

More about the FT, its online communities, social media accounts from Facebook, Twitter et al see (social hub) and the social media Q&A at its website.

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