Nabihah Parkar is one of the top journalists in the UK when it comes to social media videos. She is currently content editor at ITV News but in the past she has been head of TikTok at The Times. She’s also worked on video at Vice News and HuffPost.
Today, Nabihah takes the reins of Off the Record to share how comms pros can get their stories onto news brands’ social media accounts.
Nabihah, you manage branded ITV News accounts with millions of followers across TikTok and Instagram. Can you talk us through how the workflow goes? Do comms people go to other reporters with stories that you turn into video? Do you find or film video and script? For some of the biggest and best stories I’ve worked on at ITV News, specialist reporters and correspondents will come to me with their investigations and exclusives. It’s best for comms industry people to have good relationships with those telling the story directly, and in the field with expertise of that subject area. Because I specialise in managing big branded social accounts, I’m responsible for overseeing such a huge variety of stories and topics from not just across the UK but also across the world, that it’s harder for me to sift through and differentiate because I’m often dealing with the most pressing breaking news story of the day.
I like to work with everyone across the newsroom in a collaborative way. Often reporters will pitch their stories to me but if I spot a trend online that falls within their area of expertise then I often pitch outwards and see what they think. For a lot of journalists that have been working in traditional platforms for years (i.e. TV broadcast, newspapers etc), they can sometimes miss the stories that audiences are most captivated by on social media. And that’s what my job is - to spot those and turn them into the highest performing video content on offer.
Would you like to see comms people pitch directly to you for socials? If so, can you paint a picture of what you’d like to be included in the pitch? My opinion on this is that it only works if the pitch feels hyper relevant to the platforms I manage. I’d encourage this if comms people have been following ITV News accounts, know the type of story we offer, and can envision how we’d turn their pitch into a video. For example, are you following up with an idea based off a previous video which has already performed well? Can you offer me a different angle on a story we’ve recently covered? Do you already know the elements of the story I’d be asking for (e.g. case studies, stats etc)? The more personal the pitch, the better it will be received because I will know you have approached me specifically rather than send out a release or email to everyone in your contacts.
Is there something about news brands’ social media accounts that you wish more comms people understood? I’d like them to know that when looking after a big branded news account, there are an infinite number of stories you’re constantly having to juggle. Everyone now has access to everything happening around the world at all times. And that can mean a lot of pressure to react quickly to the most urgent news of the day. There is less time than you’d think to focus on more feature-style stories, or stories any further ahead than the next few days. Audiences attention spans are also shorter than ever, which means the revolving door of content has to stay relevant for a much shorter time frame. If there’s anything that can help, it’s by contacting us at the moment, or right ahead of the moment, at which your story will be of peak interest to online audiences.
You lead The Rundown which is aimed at teenagers. It’s a new social-first approach to news storytelling. Can you tell us a bit about the decisions you’re making to cater to that audience? The style and tone of content produced on The Rundown is noticeably different to the main branded accounts. The language is way more informal and chatty, the hooks for the videos are much more approachable, and the videos tend to be shorter. Also, the types of stories focus on themes relevant to that audience rather than a broader, more generalised audience because it’s aimed at ages 16-24. Even when it comes to stories about pop culture, the focus is less on mainstream celebrities and instead on influencers and streamers.
Quick fire time...
Biggest mistake PRs make when pitching social stories? Adding me to an unfiltered mass mailing list for every story
What makes you stop scrolling? When content feels personal or relatable
Polished video or rough-and-ready footage? Rough and ready
Comms pros can contact Nabihah on LinkedIn or her website.
Remember folks, keep this just between us! We’re off the record.
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