The Reels strategy helping one TV news anchor grow her audience

For television news anchors, social media often becomes another item on an already full to-do list. Between preparing for multiple newscasts, reporting stories, shooting promotions and responding to breaking news, consistently creating content for Instagram and Facebook can be difficult, even for those who enjoy it.

Amanda Taylor, evening anchor at News 9 in Oklahoma City, found herself in that position.

Now in her 25th year as a journalist and her 20th year with Griffin Media, Taylor has anchored News 9’s 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts for the past 14 years. While she has embraced social media as another way to connect with viewers, finding the time to create content alongside her daily responsibilities wasn’t always easy.

“The biggest challenge I’ve had is finding time to do social media,” Taylor said. “As a news anchor, I get pulled in a lot of different directions. Sometimes I’ll have an idea for a post, but then I have to get ready for a newscast, work on a story or shoot a promo.”

Over the past two years, Griffin Media has worked with David Arkin Consulting through its Fractional Digital Leadership program, an ongoing partnership that provides newsroom coaching, audience strategy and practical workflows that help journalists produce stronger digital content more consistently.

David Arkin has worked with Taylor, as well as many other anchors and reporters at News on 9, on their social media approach helping craft custom strategies and providing feedback regularly.

How TV news anchors can save time on social media

One of the biggest shifts for Taylor came from changing how she thought about timing. Like many journalists, she felt pressure to publish content as soon as it was created. She soon realized that approach wasn’t necessary for many of the stories she wanted to share.

“The first thing that really helped me was understanding that not every post has to go out right away,” Taylor said. “Breaking news should be posted immediately, but many of the stories that have online interest can easily wait until the next morning. Knowing that has taken the pressure off when other things come up and I’m not able to post right away.”

That simple change helped remove unnecessary stress while allowing her to focus on the priorities of the day’s newscasts.

A simple Reels strategy for TV news anchors

Another change that paid immediate dividends was developing a repeatable format for Reels. Rather than approaching every video differently, Taylor now follows the same basic structure for many of the social media Reels she creates.

“Having a roadmap has made a huge difference,” she said. “I know I need a strong hook, then I introduce myself, explain the story in a few sentences and finish with a call to action.”

Having a consistent framework eliminates much of the guesswork and makes it easier to create videos quickly, even on busy news days.

Here are a few examples:

How newsroom collaboration improves social media content

Taylor also discovered she didn’t have to handle every step of the process herself. While she enjoys creating the videos, she found that collaborating with Griffin Media’s digital team helped speed up production without sacrificing quality.

“I love the creative side of making Reels, but sometimes I run out of time finishing them,” Taylor said. “I’ll put the Reel together and then ask our web team to add the captions. They’re so much faster at it, and it helps us get the Reel posted sooner.”

That partnership allows her to focus on creating engaging content while relying on teammates to help prepare it for publication.

The social media tools that help TV journalists save time

Small workflow improvements have also had a meaningful impact on Taylor’s efficiency.

One of the biggest time savers has been using a free teleprompter app that allows her to quickly paste in a script before recording.

“When time is of the essence, I don’t have time to do five takes,” Taylor said. “The teleprompter app has been a real time saver.”

She also plans the visual style of each Reel before recording begins.

“It helps to have a quick game plan before I hit record,” she said. “Am I going to cover the video with b-roll, use a green screen or do a split screen? Making those decisions first speeds up the whole process.”

How to repurpose newscast content for Reels

Taylor says one of the easiest ways for television journalists to create social content is by starting with stories they’re already producing for the broadcast.

“I’ve found it’s much easier to create Reels from interesting VOs or VOSOTs that are already in the newscast,” she said. “They’re written so concisely that they can usually be tweaked for social pretty quickly. Trying to simplify a reporter package often takes more time than I have.”

Rather than creating entirely new content, she recommends looking at the day’s rundown for stories that naturally translate to social platforms.