Oops, We Did It Again. #Bum,Bum,Bum!

Oops, we did it again. Well, that might not be the exact song showcased on BuzzFeed last Friday afternoon, but Holt County News managed to go #ruralviral, again.
 
For the second time in less than a week, the small Nebraska medium has appeared on one of the most popular and trending websites – BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed is a website that showcases the most popular and trending stories, or buzz, as they would like to call it, happening around the globe. So how did Holt County News make the cut this time? Content, and once again, social media.
 
O’Neill Superintendent Amy Shane cancelled school on Friday due to the heavy snow fall and high winds that Northeast Nebraska received. As if calling off school isn’t great enough, Shane got creative and cancelled school to the tune of “Sweet Caroline.” In less than no time, Holt County News had the story covered and shared all over the Internet.
 
We could have easily just shared “No School on Friday,” but instead, we developed a story from the content, wrote a great headline and took it to the next level as we pushed it over social media and our website. As you will see, the BuzzFeed post came from BuzzFeed Community, meaning that the community, or specific readers, picked it up and thought it was clever and catchy enough to be BuzzFeed worthy.
 
Reporting the facts is always the goal, but developing the content around the facts is what makes a good story great. And what you do with that content after the story is developed is even more important.
 
Social media is the foundation of generating buzz and pushing stories to the next level. Sure, waiting until Wednesday for our newspaper to go out is a great option, but social media lets you receive news and the latest buzz at the snap of your fingers. If we wouldn’t have pushed this story over social media, you may still be waiting to hear about it.
 
All in all, content and social media are two of the most important aspects to focus on when developing stories and putting them out to consumers. It has taken us #ruralviral twice in the past week.
 
What will be the next story we take #ruralviral? Who knows, but if this is any indication, we’re sure you’ll see it online. 

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