It’s not hard to find a slew of articles on best practices for social media tweets and posts, but if you can only focus on five things, here’s where to start!

1.  Share “news.”
Before you say, “Duh!” — let us explain.  In addition to sharing pieces of information about any story you’re reporting, be sure to add value to other content you may share.  Vadim Lavrusik of Facebook says posts that include some interpretation are shared 20 percent more often than posts hat just state the facts.

2.  Add media.
Study after study finds that adding images — video and still – boosts engagement in posts.  People are more likely to favorite, share and like a post that incorporates multimedia.

3.  Ask away.
If you ask people for a response,  you’ll often get it.  Whether you’re looking for opinion, a source or for information to help you better cover a breaking story, the social media audience is ready to help.

4.  Consider quotes.
Quotes from newsmakers add interest and credibility to tweets and posts.  If you have a Twitter or Facebook user name for the source, be sure to include it.  You’ll not only alert the person quoted, but potentially add relevant background about that person for anyone who clicks on the name.

5.  Hashtag it.
Those hashtags are a form of shorthand for identifying tweets or posts with a specific topic.  Be sure to double check any you use to verify that they’re appropriate — and don’t overdo!  One or two per post is plenty.

Check out the screencast for some examples of these best practices in action.