Not only is The Feather a daily online newspaper, it is also an active user of social media. More and more often you will see newspapers actively posting to websites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The Feather uses all three to reach different people and ultimately bring more attention to the online publication.

On June 3, 2014, Mary Clare Fischer of the American Journalism Review wrote, “Newspapers across the country are paying more attention to how to motivate staff members to post articles to social media as a means to drive site traffic?”

Sean O’Leary, Director of Communications for the Newspaper Association of America said, “It revealed that The Washington Post was the most popular newspaper site on Twitter, with its content generating an average of more than 275,000 tweets per week. The New York Times slid into second, with just more than 260,000 tweets per week.”

Woody Lewis, writer for Mashable penned, “Social media gives any business an interactive channel to communicate with its current and future customers. For newspapers, that channel can increase the chances of survival in a market where commoditized information has diminished the value of individual brands.”

A poll at FC shows that 86% of students that took the poll are aware that The Feather has an Instagram page.

Elise Winegarden, ’15, says she checks The Feather’s Instagram page daily. She uses it to stay informed on a regular basis.

“I like being able to see The Feather’s Instagram posts in my feed every day,” Winegarden said. “My favorite thing about it is the variety of pictures from different events happening throughout the entire school.”

The same poll also showed that only 48% of FC students know about The Feather’s Facebook page. However, Facebook is used more to reach the parents and alumni of FC.

I like being able to see the The Feather‘s Instagram posts in my feed every day. My favorite thing about it is the variety of pictures from different events happening throughout the entire school. –Senior Elise Winegarden

Angie Fries, grandma to Callista Fries, ’15, enjoys the Facebook page because of the accessibility it offers.

“I love that The Feather has a Facebook page,” Fries said. “It allows me to access it often and conveniently when I am out and about. Plus, when I am using Facebook, it is easy for me to comment on The Feather articles that appear. My favorite part about having Facebook is the pictures that appear. When reading The Feather, the pictures always peak my interest.”

Finally, the poll revealed that about 73% of students are aware about The Feather’s twitter page. This type of social media is used more to talk about events as they happen. It is primarily for the students to stay informed and give them reminders.

Daniel Ayres, ’17, enjoys the twitter page because it keeps him up to date on sporting events.

“When I first came to FC, The Feather’s twitter really helped me stay informed about what was happening while it was happening,” Ayres said. “For me, the best thing about the twitter account is that it keeps you updated with sporting events. Even if you don’t go, you can still know what’s going on and how the game ends.”

The ultimate goal of having these social media accounts is to start conversation and draw people to visit The Feather’s official website. Whether it’s through posting articles, pictures or videos, our desire is to peak the interest of others. We want them to feel they are informed on school events whether they are students, alumni or parents.

This is not the end, as more social media comes about, we will add them to our portfolio. For now though, we will focus on the three that we have.