When you think of news media — especially news/talk radio — social media accounts, you should think of WBZ NewsRadio 1030 reporter Matt Shearer.
At least, you should. Few in the format have as many or as dedicated followers as the WBZ reporter.
On TikTok, Shearer has growd the iHeartMedia Boston all-news brand to more than 200,000 followers. Additionally, on his personal Instagram account, he has more than 80,000 followers.
In the first installment of our Social Studies series, Shearer explains how he started and grew the station’s social media presence, and why other news media brands should also invest in the space.
*Editor’s Note: Answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Garrett Searight: I’m certain you’ve probably answered this like a million times, but start me off with the how you got started on the TikTok journey with WBZ. Take me through the kind of the the genesis of that and to where it is today. Yeah, absolutely.
Matt Shearer: When I started this job, I was just audio only on the radio.My boss kind of saw the rise of TikTok, especially early in the pandemic, and so many people looking to handheld entertainment, if you will. So he said, ‘We’ve got to get on there,’ and he came to me to do it, because at the time, I had just come from working at a top 40 radio station where we were very much in tune with the younger generation and the younger crowd.
I think he saw that maybe I would be the guy who was the most in touch to be on social media. So, he was like, ‘We want you to start the TikTok account. I was reluctant at first because — in my mind — I was picturing just like us sitting in our 103-year-old AM radio newsroom doing trends and pointing to words on screens and stuff. And I was like, ‘Alright, I don’t want to do that.’ But what I realized is that we tell compelling stories on the air in 45 seconds or less, and that’s what all these social media algorithms are built for. So I was like, ‘Let’s just do what we do on the air, except in small, short-form video.
Early on, it was very much just taking the audio from our packages on the air and slapping B-roll on top of it, and just putting it out there and seeing what happened. But over time, you know, our video capturing skills — I say our, I mean my specifically, because in the very beginning it was just me — my video capturing skills got better to the point where I started to realize, ‘Oh, well, maybe I could specifically seek out this shot’, or ‘I can write something around this shot for a piece of audio that just won’t be on the air, but it will be on social media.’
So now it’s to the point where I’m making videos specifically for the app and then going back and retroactively, adapting them for the radio, which is the exact opposite of how it started. It started as adapting radio pieces for social media. Now we’re adapting social media for the radio, but it’s good. It’s working out.
And I mean, the reason why — at least in my mind — it’s worth it to focus so much more on social media is because there’s so much potential for growth. The whole purpose for us of being here, it’s not really for a new revenue stream. It’s to make people aware of what we’re doing on WBZ. It’s been working from what I’ve been told, we’ve seen an increase in our 18 to 24-year-old listeners since we started doing TikTok stuff.
We have several reporters in the newsroom who are now doing the same thing as me: going out, shooting video, putting together nice little pieces, and over 200,000 followers. So that’s great.
GS: It’s interesting that you put that kind of connection to the idea that it’s kind of linked, that you’re doing 45-second or less news stories, and that plays on TikTok, because when you listen to all news radio, it is TikTok. It’s a Tiktok. So I wonder, was it an immediate thought process of like, ‘Oh, well, you know what? I’m kind of already doing this.’ Or did it take you a second to do those videos and go, ‘Well, this is the same thing I’m already doing’?
MS: It was pretty much immediate. I mean, I just knew what I did not want to do was what everyone else is doing. And that’s just part of the way my brain works. I’m not one who likes to follow trends. If you know things are trending on social media, I don’t want to do that because I would rather do stuff that’s different, unique, and in my mind, that’s what gets people to want to engage with you and follow you is if you give them something different. And give them that thought, ‘Oh, I want more of this. I have to follow.’ As opposed to just blending in with the rest of the app.
So I knew that if we just took what we were doing on the air and put it out on TikTok, it would work well, because timing is everything. But, also, it would be something slightly different that people aren’t used to seeing on the app. So now that’s sort of changed. Now I think I’ve noticed a lot of other newsrooms kind of pick up on that and do their own version of it, and that’s great. Every newsroom should be really involved with social media.
GS: Did you think when you started it that it would get to the level that it’s grown to?
MS: No, I don’t think so. I think it wasn’t until I started seeing early on I was like, ‘That video hit 10,000 likes.’Tthat was an accomplishment back then. And then, you know, 50,000 and 100,000, and a million. I started to see not only are we reaching people, we’re reaching people who don’t already know about us. Because think about social media. 10 years ago, the only stuff that showed up in your feed was the stuff that you followed. You had to seek out an account, follow them, and then your stuff would show.
But TikTok changed the game by inventing the For You Page, which now everyone’s copying. Twitter has their version of it, and Instagram, obviously with Reels. And so they assume you’re gonna like something based on other stuff you’ve liked, and they put that thing in front of you. It’s amazing for us, because we’re reaching people who don’t already engage with the radio station, and that’s how you grow.
GS: I know some news radio reporters maybe wouldn’t love the idea of being known as “That guy from TikTok.” What has been your reaction to that?
MS: You know what? I think having that mindset of that being a bad thing is something that people should get out of fast. Because there’s a very clear distinction in demographics of who knows me as ‘the guy from TikTok’ versus who knows me as the guy from the radio. And the people who know me as the guy from the radio are not the young demographic, and the people who know me as the guy from Tiktok are young. And not only that, they’re excited about it. They don’t see it as, ‘Oh, you’re just another social media person.’
Maybe the older crowd would see it as, ‘Oh, my God, you’re a social media person.’ Like, that’s cool. And so, in a way, it’s nice that I kind of have both working for me. I can tell too which app people know me from based on how they recognize me. If they say, ‘Oh, you’re the guy from the WBZ’, and it’s like, yep, that’s somebody from Tik Tok. If it’s, ‘Oh, you’re Reporter Matt’, that’s Instagram, because that’s my Instagram handle.
It’s just funny how people have their preferences for the different apps, and that’s the reason why we all need to be on all of them, right? Because there are people who straight up don’t use Instagram or don’t use TikTok. And we’re not going to reach them if we’re only on one or two of the apps.
GS: Have you found something that definitively works for the digital video world? Or maybe something that doesn’t necessarily, from your trial and error that just doesn’t work?
MS: That’s a good question. I don’t know, I feel like I’m always trying to experiment. I never really want to make the same video twice, because I feel like we all follow those accounts where they come up with one great viral video, and then just try to do the same thing over and over and over again. I think if we get into that mindset of, ‘Oh, this works’, or ‘Oh, this is what the algorithm likes’, then we’re going to just start playing like a math game and copying ourselves and get boring.
Whereas, I want to try new things all the time. I throw things out there that I have that I’m certain are gonna just tank the video. But you know what? This is the best storytelling decision, so I’m gonna do it anyways. And I do it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Sure, I’ve been right. Sometimes I’ve been wrong. Other times, I’ve put up a video and I’ve been like, ‘I did everything right. Why didn’t that go anywhere?’
I don’t think you can substitute good storytelling for good algorithm play. Don’t just play the algorithm’s game. Just tell a good story, and if it’s a good story and a good video, then people will care. People will engage with it. They’ll share it. They’ll watch the whole thing.
I mean, that’s another thing. When we started out, I was just taking my 45-second wraps, but they kind of expanded. I was like, let it go a full minute. Let it go a minute and a half. Because that was at the time of the limit on Instagram Reels. And then we can go longer than that, two minutes, 2:20 because that was the limit on Twitter. Now, I’m posting videos that are like three minutes long. Which is a huge ask to get somebody to sit through a three-minute long video on social media.
But my thinking is if I make it worth their time every time, then they’re gonna trust me that it’s worth it and they’re gonna watch it. And so far, it’s been working out. I mean, I see accounts out there with many, many more followers than I have that don’t get the amount of views that I have, maybe because they’re just forcing stuff out there for the sake of posting it. I’m more in the mindset of I’d rather post stuff when I know I have something good, so that we don’t bore people to death.
GS: If you were to give somebody advice that was going to start looking at digital video from a news media or news radio perspective, what would be the top of the list things that you would say?
MS: I would say, authenticity is key. You know, don’t be that Steve Buscemi meme from 30 Rock where he’s wearing the backwards hat, holding the skateboard, saying ‘How do you do, fellow kids?’. Don’t try to be Gen Z, if you’re not Gen Z. I’m not, I’m a millennial, but I’m just myself on social media. People appreciate that there’s enough phoniness out there. Just do something different.
If you can come up with your own concept too, and your own idea, great! Awesome! I think originality is best. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Try to do something different.
Here in Boston, over at our sister station, WBZ-TV, Christian Tanaka is a great reporter who just started doing this series where he just walks different streets in Boston. His goal is to walk on every single street in Boston and tell a different story about that street.
It’s great because he’s not trying to copy someone else. He’s not trying to be young or fit in. I don’t know how old he is. I’m guessing he’s in his 40s. But telling good, compelling stories that transcend generations. Don’t try too hard. Don’t try to fit in. Be yourself. Be original. Try new things.
GS: If there’s anything that I didn’t ask or anything you want to include or say or opine on, I’ll give you the floor.
MS: I guess the last thing I’ll say is I think most people are coming around to this concept, but it’s worth repeating: There are people out there who only get their news from social media. So as much as we may know that our legacy product is the better way to consume news, that’s just not realistic for a lot of people. So if people are only consuming on social media, then we better make sure that those of us with quality newsrooms, and resources, and journalism skills are out there as well.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
