On its media page, Facebook publishes success stories of how media organizations are using its platform (occasionally featuring stories from Lost Remote!) Facebook says that “the average media organization has seen a greater than 300% increase in referral traffic from Facebook.”
And now, Facebook is rolling out a similar page, but targeted to journalists. Explains Justin Osofsky, director of media partnerships:
In addition to the work media organizations are doing to make their websites more social, we’ve also heard from editors and journalists who are making their newsrooms more social. Today we’re launching a new “Journalists on Facebook” Page to serve as an ongoing resource for the growing number of reporters using Facebook to find sources, interact with readers, and advance stories. The Page will provide journalists with best practices for integrating the latest Facebook products with their work and connecting with the Facebook audience of more than 500 million people.
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Osofsky says they’re also creating a “Facebook Journalism Meetup” program, hosting “hands-on workshops on how to use Facebook as a reporting tool.” The first event will be held on April 27th at Facebook HQ in Palo Alto, California.
To date, many journalists tend to focus a bit more on Twitter, so efforts to broaden Facebook’s relationship with journalists — and highlight success stories — is a natural next step.
(Full disclosure: I work with both Facebook and Twitter at msnbc.com)