By Lynn Walsh, RTDNA Blogger

With election season in full swing and after the recent Super Bowl, I have been reminded just how important it is to post to Twitter and Facebook if you want to share news and break news with your community.

You may be thinking, "I share links to my stories all the time," and that's great, but I believe it takes more than that. And I am not saying this is a journalist but as a consumer and user of social media.

When I want an instant update on what is going on (latest poll numbers, score of the big game, etc.) I do not turn my TV on, I log-on to Twitter. Within seconds I saw that the Giants scored, that Romney was ahead by a certain percent or that Madonna just announced a world tour.

(Disclaimer: I actually do not have cable or satellite service at home. I stream my Internet through my TV. And I have found that the void of LIVE TV has been easily filled by updates on Twitter and Facebook.)

The posts and links I see from my friends and followers keep me informed. And a good portion of the time the news and updates are not coming from news organizations; they are coming from individuals who just like to tweet or share links on Facebook.

Thinking about who is posting the updates reminded me just how important it is to do more than share article links. Sure, most of the people tweeting are probably watching TV to originally get the news and then sharing it on social media. But, shouldn't we as journalists be doing the same thing?

I think we should and I am going to make it a point to be more active in the day to day news cycle with my posts.

How? I have not completely figured it out but looking at how I use social media to receive information I have come up with a few suggestions.

1. Prepare to share during big events. There are certain events that people want to know about: Super Bowl, elections, big community meetings, etc. While you may not be the one covering it or you may not be a political or sports reporter, your audience probably still cares. RT what others are posting, be aware of other people that will be sharing live updates from your news organization and tell your followers how they can keep informed.

2. Continue to engage your followers beyond the articles and stories you create. Continue to share links to stories but do not just do that. If you have a beat, share articles related to it or your coverage area that may be from other states or areas. It can get your followed thinking about what may be the next hot issues in your community.

3. Try to post while gathering the news. Even if it isn't anything more than an update about who you are interviewing, it keeps your name and account showing up in their feed. It also shows them what they can expect to see posted later or on TV that day.

4. Use hashtags. I think this may be the most important thing. When people are searching for news about a subject or an area they will probably search for the name of a person involved or the subject matter. Hashtags are a great way to make sure your posts show up in search results. Just make sure you are using ones that make sense, just like you would when choosing words to write a headline.

5. Tag people, companies, etc. in posts. For Facebook, this is the equivalent of hashtags on Twitter. If you are talking about a celebrity, a company, a government official, etc. tag their name in your post. This will link the post to their page creating more viewership for you. Also, don't forget to link back to your own news organization by tagging on Facebook.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think LIVE TV is going anywhere, but I do think the way people view it is changing and I think it will continue to change. And while it continues to change journalist and news organizations will have to continue to adapt.

These are just some examples and I know there are a lot more and that's why I want to hear from you. This is how I think I, as a journalist can better serve my followers on social media based on my user experience. What do you think? How are you?

Lynn Walsh is the Investigative Producer for WPTV, NewsChannel 5 in West Palm Beach. E-mail her: Lynn.K.walsh@gmail.com or connect on Twitter @LWalsh.