How Phoenix’s KNXV Is 2.5 Million Ahead On Facebook

How is KNXV able to dominate the Phoenix market on Facebook by more than 2 and a half million actions?

KNXV tells Social Scorecard this week that its success is due to a focus on positive, local stories, a complete station effort to listen to what its users want, inventive use of Facebook Live and a marketing team that is digitally savvy.

KNXV, the Scripps-owned ABC affiliate, is ahead by more than 2.6 million in social media actions in the market over the last six months according to data from audience insight firm Shareablee.

KNXV has almost than 15 million actions out of the market’s total 40.9 million total social actions generated in the DMA (No. 11).

KNXV also led the market in actions per post with 905, and was tops on Instagram with 1.2 million actions.

Top-40 KZZP-FM (branded KISS FM), owned by iHeartRadio, led the market on Twitter with almost 930,000 actions.

Kevin Clay, KNXV’s digital content director, says one reason for the station’s success on Facebook is that everyone contributes with the same goal set and strategy in mind.

“It begins with listening to our audience. We are going to post the breaking news and the big stories of the day. We always keep a healthy mix of things like positive, local Arizona pride. Those are the types of posts that we see really connecting with our audience. We really try to highlight the people and places in Arizona that people will find memorable and share with their friends and family. It’s those types of Arizona posts that they remember and associate us with us. When you can get thousands of people to share an interesting post that we created with their friends and family, I just think that’s really special.”

Another key to KNXV’s social media success is two regularly scheduled Facebook Lives. One of them is during the NFL season that focuses on the Arizona Cardinals football team called Cardinals Countdown.

“Craig Fouhy, our sports guy, hosts it,” says Clay. “We really like to have fun with it and our sports guy really interacts with the audience.”

Another KNXV Facebook Live happens year-round on Thursdays with the station’s consumer reporter, Joe Ducey and his team, a segment called Let Joe Know.

“Our audience can go on Facebook and ask them for actual help on how to deal with issues,” says Clay.

“We are providing this service for people that actually have legitimate questions. No one there asking a question goes unanswered. So we find that really pretty cool.”

But it was an unscheduled Facebook Live about something new in town that became the station’s top post of the year.

“We heard about this new drive-through holiday lights display that had lights and music and the whole shebang,” says Clay.

“We sent our team out there to drive through and actually Facebook Live what it looks like. It was a pretty cool idea. I don’t think we ever expected the response that we got.”

Another example of KNXV’s inventive use of Facebook Live came when controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced he was running for the Senate. Melissa Blasius, a KNXV reporter, set up an interview and instead of editing the video for use in the station’s newscasts later, did the interview live on Facebook.

“Our viewers have the experience of sitting across from Sheriff Joe,” says Clay, “and hearing his unedited responses to our questions one on one. It was one of our most successful posts of the week of the month and I just found that really cool and really engaging for our audience.”

Clay says the station’s marketing department is a key component to KNXV’s success on Facebook.

“Our marketing team is as digitally savvy as they come. They know everything about social media. They know what works and what doesn’t. That team is coming up with content ideas for our Facebook page and they are the brains behind a lot of the videos, a lot of the images, a lot of graphics that are successful on our Facebook page.”