DUBAI - At the crossroads of traditional journalism and social media, the workshop 'How to Make Your Journalism Sell on Social Media,' held on the inaugural day of the 2nd edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit in Dubai, delved deep into the transformative strategies of media giants in the digital realm.

Amir Gomaa, Social Media Producer, Business News at Asharq Business with Bloomberg, captured the attendees' attention with an expert breakdown of how traditional media houses have evolved into digital storytelling powerhouses. His session covered strategies that news organisations employ to engage millions across social media platforms, demonstrating the art of crafting content that touches people.

He highlighted key aspects of taking business data, extracting important and relevant information, and presenting it in a simplified and appealing format that will catch the attention of social media users.

Gomaa said: “In a fast-paced world with a plethora of content on social media, you need to ensure your news is unique and stands out. It is imperative to transform rough business data and humanize it, make it relatable to your audience, back it up with historical context, and highlight how it impacts them”.

The workshop delved into how to craft catchy headlines on social media platforms, and enhance their consumption value with infographics and videos, thereby making them more appealing and engaging.

He also discussed how to extract business angles from political news. “For example, the Russia-Ukraine war, though political, had significant ramifications on global economies, including delays in shipments and hikes in commodities prices, directly impacting users. This is where we focus, by giving a broader overview of the impact on our target audience”.

Gomaa added: “It is also important to analyse the engagement with your content on social media, figure out the demographics, regions, and what types of news appeal to certain segments and users. This will help in catering to user needs and interests, which would - at the same time - increase our viewership and engagement with our content.”

Organised by the New Media Academy at the Emirates Towers and the Museum of the Future in Dubai, the 2nd edition of the 1 Billion Followers Summit is hosting 100+ speakers in 50+ expert-led sessions and workshops and 7,000+ attendees, including 3,000 content creators, influencers and creatives from all around the globe.