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The Dover Post invited the community in on Halloween. That's always a good idea.
WHAT THEY DID: From Executive Editor Jesse Chadderdon: "We put a callout in our paper to have parents bring their children by the office in costume on Halloween. We handed out some candy and then had them pose in front of our banner - which we decorated with Halloween decorations - for a photo. The photos are all going to run online in a gallery and in the next edition of the paper.
"Sometimes it's a challenge to get UGC and so with minimal effort we took the next step and brought the UGC to us, so to speak. In total we had about a dozen families and 15-20 kids get their picture taken. It'll get us pageviews, to be sure, but also creates some goodwill in the community."
They also put the callout on Facebook.
THE TAKEAWAY: Chadderdon is right on all counts: By inviting the community into the newsroom, taking pictures and posting them online this weekend, they get pageviews and goodwill. Solidifying your relationship with your readers face-to-face is something we can easily overlook these days. But we should take time when we can and invite our readers in. It's the neighborly thing to do.
GateHouse Media news organizations are finding ways to work corporate strategies for best practices into their websites and newspapers every day. National content development managers Jean Hodges and Sarah Corbitt are on the lookout for your best work, and we'll share it here.
