Tags containing: "audience"

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Industry-Research | Video

Diversity-driven success overlooked in film funding

January 22, 2025 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

The stories told on screen shape perceptions and inspire change. They also reflect society’s evolving identity. Understanding the diversity of those who create and star in these stories is critical to fostering an entertainment industry that genuinely mirrors the richness of the human experience. Representation in key creative roles shapes shared narratives and affects how audiences resonate with and engage with these stories, ultimately driving revenue growth.

The Hollywood Diversity Report, Part 1 highlights the undeniable link between diversity and financial success in Hollywood. In 2023, global box office revenue rose 31% to $33.9 billion, while the North American box office grew 21% to $9.07 billion. However, despite these gains, the domestic box office lags 21% behind the 2017-2019 average. The future of movie-going remains uncertain as the industry navigates the pressure of changing audience expectations and preferences, testing the industry’s resilience and capacity for innovation.

The theatrical dataset mirrors this trend. The 109 English-language films in the 2023 dataset represent a 22% increase from 2022 but fell short of the 146 films in the 2019 dataset. In 2023, theatricals span 12 primary genres. Action, constitutes 27.5% of releases, dominates, followed by comedy (20.2%), horror (12.8%), animation and biography (9.2% each), and drama (8.3%). While action and horror hold steady, comedy and biography have grown, animation dipped slightly, and drama declined. Biopics and dramedies emerge as notable subcategories.

Representation in casting

Cast diversity continues to evolve. Films with over 50% BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) casts represent the plurality of top films for the first time in 2023, which marks a significant milestone in a 13-year trend. In 2011, 51.2% of films had less than 11% BIPOC representation; by 2023, this figure dropped to 8.5%. However, actors with disabilities remain largely absent, with 61.3% of films including no known disabled actors.

Actors with disabilities did experience modest gains, increasing their share of leads to 11.3%. However, visible disabilities remain absent among top leads. Women’s share of lead roles declined to 32.1% in 2023 from 38.6% in 2022, marking a significant setback. Female leads would need an 18% increase to achieve parity with male leads. Films with BIPOC leads often fall at opposite ends of the budget spectrum, either under $10 million or exceeding $100 million, reflecting a “feast or famine” dynamic.

Representation gaps persist across racial and ethnic groups. Latinx and multiracial actors remain underrepresented in all roles, while Black, Asian, Native, and Asian, Middle Eastern, and Northern African (MENA) actors are approaching proportionate representation. Gender disparities prevail; except for Latinas, women in every racial and ethnic group are underrepresented compared to their male counterparts.

Box office receipts

Despite continued disparities, box office performance reinforces the demand for diverse content. Films with 31-40% BIPOC casts achieve the highest median global box office receipts, while those with less than 11% perform the poorest. Median return on investment peaks for films with 41-50% BIPOC casts.

Audiences increasingly support diverse casts, with BIPOC moviegoers buying the most opening weekend tickets for seven of the top 10 films in 2023. Female audiences account for most ticket sales for three of the top 10 films, while 18- to 34-year-olds dominate ticket purchases for six of the top 10 films.

Audience preferences align with representation trends. Films with diverse casts achieve higher box office performance across global, domestic, and opening weekend metrics. Nine of the top 10 global box office films feature cast members with over 30% BIPOC representation, demonstrating the commercial success of diversity. The data underscores the importance of reflecting America’s increasingly diverse audience in theatrical releases.

Streaming genre trends and budget allocations

The 2024 Hollywood Diversity Report: Part 2 focuses on the top 100 English-language streaming films from 2023. It offers insights into genre trends, budget allocations, and representation among leads, directors, and writers. As outlined in Part 1, the theatrical film industry registers incremental recovery in 2023, but streaming remained dominant despite studios reducing original content production. This strategic pullback coincided with economic uncertainties and labor disputes, resulting in 115 streaming original releases compared to 161 in 2022.

Comedy led streaming releases at 30%, followed by drama (17%) and action (14%). Notable shifts included a rise in biography films (4% to 10%) and a decline in animated features (13% to 9%). Budget distribution starkly contrasted with theatrical films: 61.3% of streaming films had budgets under $20 million, compared to 30.3% of theatrical releases. Only 3.2% of streaming films had blockbuster budgets ($100 million or more), dwarfed by 25.7% for theatrical films.

Representation in leading roles

BIPOC and women actors achieved proportional representation among leads in streaming films in 2023, marking progress since 2022. However, disparities persisted within specific groups. Latinx (8%) and Asian (4%) leads remained underrepresented, while Black (16%) and Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) leads were overrepresented. Native (1%) and multiracial (12%) actors approached proportional representation. Gender dynamics varied by group: women outnumbered men among white, multiracial, and MENA leads, while men predominated among Black, Latinx, Asian, and Native leads.

Budget disparities also reflected systemic inequities. White male leads were most likely to star in films with budgets over $20 million (57.2%), while BIPOC leads (58.6%) and White female leads (77.5%) frequently headlined films under $20 million. Women with disabilities remained underrepresented despite an increase in lead roles from 6.1% in 2022 to 9% in 2023, with no visible disabilities represented.

Directors and writers

BIPOC and women directors saw gains but remained underrepresented in 2023. Women directors faced a budget ceiling of $50 million, while BIPOC directors maxed at $100 million, with significant opportunities skewed toward white men. Among writers, similar patterns emerged. Streaming films with BIPOC and women writers featured more diverse and balanced casts, yet these groups remained underrepresented. Multiracial and MENA writers neared proportional representation. However, shares for Black, Latinx, and Asian writers fell short.

These reports underscore the ongoing evolution of Hollywood’s streaming ecosystem. While strides in representation are evident, industry efforts still need to achieve inclusiveness across all facets of production. Examining theatrical and streaming releases as viewing habits evolve offers valuable insights into each platform’s unique challenges and opportunities. These distinctions help illuminate how representation impacts storytelling, audience reach, and industry success across a diverse and changing media landscape.

AI | Audiences | Featured Post | Innovation

Rise up against AI by doubling down on direct traffic

March 14, 2024 Theresa Cramer – Independent Journalist

From Google to Facebook and Instagram to TikTok (and so many more), publishers have spent the last couple of decades chasing their audiences from one platform to another—only to be betrayed by changing algorithms and shifting platform priorities. For years, popular wisdom held that you had to go where the audience is. Now, despite the fact that audiences (particularly younger ones) seek out news and information on social platforms, those platforms are “backing away” from making that content visible. But regardless of a media brand’s position on social media, search has remained the undisputed path to traffic.

Now, publishers face a whole new threat: generative AI search. Years of fine-tuning search engine optimization strategies may all be for naught as Google embraces AI-driven answers in lieu of links to relevant content. Meanwhile, Gartner predicts that traditional search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026 as users shift to AI chatbots and virtual agents for their answers.

The Wall Street Journal reports that publishers expect a 20% to 40% drop in their Google-generated traffic if the search giant rolls out its AI search tool to a broad audience. So, what are media executives supposed to do in the face of yet another shift in the technology landscape that threatens to put them on the outs once again? There’s really only one solution: devise a plan to regain control of their audience relationships once and for all.

Discovery: a problem as old as algorithms

AI search has yet to reach its full potential, but referral traffic is already taking a hit. AI-driven search results that fail to link to the content they scrape from is just one part of the problem. Searchers are often satisfied with AI “answers” and have little need to click through for more. And platforms from across the web are trying to keep more users within the walls of their gardens, and that means the likes of Facebook and Google have gone from partners in traffic acquisition to the opposition.

“We’re seeing an industry in real crisis,” says Jim Chisholm, a news media analyst. While Chisholm says he is not seeing evidence that AI is impacting traffic just yet, that does not mean publishers are not already feeling the squeeze from elsewhere.

Liam Andrew, Chief Product Officer at The Texas Tribune, says that while his team expects generative AI to impact search traffic, they are still waiting to see a substantial impact. The bigger problem facing the Tribune now is social media traffic or the lack of it.

Once a significant source of traffic for news publishers, social media networks are shifting away from promoting outside content. As AdExchanger’s Anthony Vargas reports, we need to look no further than “the many ways X (formerly Twitter) has messed with referral links this year – from throttling page load times for certain sites to overhauling its external link cards in an attempt to get publishers to post full-length content on the platform instead.”

While social platforms across the spectrum are pulling the rug out from under publishers, our old friend search is slowly changing the rules of the game. “Search is still working,” Andrew says. The Texas Tribune sees that explainers and guides still drive traffic and even subscriptions. However, other sites have not been so lucky.

Back in October 2023, Press Gazette found that of 70 leading publishers, half saw their search visibility scores drop—and 24 of those saw double-digit dips. That was the result of one update—more bad news is certain to follow as new updates make their way to the masses.

AI bots: To block or not to block

Publishers may be preparing for a more significant battle when it comes to traffic. However, right now, there’s another fight on their doorsteps: bots are crawling their sites and using their work to train the AI poised to steal their traffic. Some are already taking steps to stop the free—and possibly illegal—use of their content. The Reuters Institute found that 48% of the most widely used news websites across 10 countries blocked OpenAI’s crawlers by the close of 2023. Far fewer—just 24%—blocked Google’s AI crawler.

For Andrew and The Texas Tribune, blocking AI crawlers is not a major concern. They already have an open-republishing model and are used to seeing their content scraped and used on other sites (often without the requested attribution). “It improves our readership and impact, but we compete with ourselves for SEO,” he says. He also says they see versions of their stories on news sites where the content is entirely AI-written. However, it is “not affecting our core audience traffic,” according to Andrew. So — at least for now — The Texas Tribune is not planning to block the bots.

Meanwhile, Google is reportedly paying publishers to use its AI tools to write content. While in the short term, this may offer (smaller) publishers relatively small sums as well as an easier way to create low-lift content, like other Google News Initiative (GNI) projects, there’s an underlying concern that Google is not focused on publisher health in the long term.

Developing a direct-to-reader strategy

As Andrew and the product team at The Texas Tribune look toward a less search-dependent future, they are changing strategies. For 2025 and beyond, “we are not going to be focusing on a really good SERP [Search Engine Results Pages] unnecessarily,” Andrew says. Instead, they’ll focus on products built directly for readers.

“Newsletters have been part of our model for over 10 years. It’s nothing new, but we’re continuing to see success with it,” Andrew says. Not only do the newsletters still drive traffic, but they also drive conversions. Subscribers become members at a higher rate, vital to a publication that does not depend on paywalls for revenue.

DCN conducted an informal survey on concerns around the impact of AI search on traffic, and while the sample size may not hold up to scientific scrutiny, it was clear that newsletters are a crucial tactic for publishers looking to own their audiences. Other stats suggest this is a good move. Storydoc research found that 90% of Americans subscribe to at least one newsletter. That number goes up for younger audiences as 95% of Gen Z, Millennials, and even Gen X receive newsletters, compared to 84% of Baby Boomers.

Experiment with engagement approaches

The solutions to the Google problem don’t end at email, though.

“We also have a big robust event system,” Andrew notes. The Texas Tribune holds dozens every year. They range from “pre-gaming the Texas primary” to deep dives into transportation in the Austin/San Antonio area. They gather experts and pundits to share their expertise on topics that interest readers. The team also live-streams these events — a universally important tactic for engaging younger, more diverse audiences. These events also turn out to be effective for converting casual readers into subscribers and members.

Andrew alluded to products his team is working on that are still under wraps. Still, it’s clear that, like many publishers, The Texas Tribune is preparing for a future when search no longer drives most traffic.

Chisholm thinks mobile apps are another excellent direct-to-reader strategy, and research backs this up. Pew reports that “A large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say they often or sometimes get news from a smartphone, computer or tablet, including 56% who say they do so often. This is more than the 49% who said they often got news from digital devices in 2022 and the 51% of those who said the same in 2021.” Cultivating a relationship with readers through their mobile devices—where you can use push notifications and other native capabilities to grab their attention—will likely be one of the many tools publishers must deploy going forward.

“I’ve been in the news industry – which I love – for 48 years. Now we are at a crossroads,” says Chisholm. “Either we choose the road to recovery, rebuilding relationships with our readers, or we continue down the road we are on, subject to algorithms, more confusion between legitimate news and social media infested with AI nonsense.”

AI | Featured Post | Innovation | Policy | Revenue

Three trends that will shape media strategy in 2024

January 11, 2024 Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism – University of Oregon

The past year has been a difficult one for many media companies. After the rapid bounce back from early Covid-era travails, more than 20,000 jobs were lost in the US media sector alone in 2023, with few publishers emerging unscathed.

At a local level, news deserts continued to grow, while digital darlings like BuzzFeed News shuttered and Vice Media filed for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, august publications like Bloomberg Businessweek and The Nation announced plans to reduce the frequency of their physical products, and the venerable National Geographic laid off the last of its staff writers.

At the same time, concerns increasingly arose about compensation and copyright infringements from Generative AI platforms, as well as the impact of tools like ChatGPT on media traffic and search habits.

Furthermore, dramatic drops in referral traffic witnessed by many leading publishers from major search engines and social networks added a further set of challenges for content creators to deal with.

2024’s major media trends

So, how do media companies respond to these many challenges and put their best foot forward in the year ahead? Here are three essential recommendations:

1. Revenue diversification is more important by the day

Media companies have known for some time that they need to diversify their revenues. This need is only going to become more acute in the year ahead. Although global advertising spending is expected to exceed $1 trillion for the first time in 2024, this growth is not being felt by most media companies.

Fresh analysis from WARC finds that spending on content media (TV, publishing, audio and cinema) has remained largely stagnant over the past decade. While advertising markets have boomed in that time, media players have seen their share of total advertising revenues decline from 71.0% a decade to 27.2% in 2024.

With these new monies flowing to the likes of Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance and Meta, publishers and broadcasters “are fishing in a finite pool.” They’re essentially competing against one another for existing revenues, rather than attracting new ones, argues Alex Brownsell, Head of Content at WARC Media.

Put another way, “every media owner – from NBCUniversal and The New York Times, to Snap and JCDecaux, to Disney and Spotify – is competing for share of a largely fixed market,” Brownsell concludes.

Against this backdrop, the need to reduce advertising dependency and diversify income sources becomes more apparent than ever.

Within this, expect to see a greater emphasis on bundling as a means to drive loyalty and grow revenues. Blending different editorial propositions and purposes (e.g. news and non-news content) can be key, as The New York Times has shown. An ability, depending on your subscription type, to share access to your NYT bundle with friends and family can further deepen perceptions of value and reduce churn.

“So far most of these bundles have been intra-company collaborations,” observes Nic Newman in his latest annual trends report for the Reuters Institute. “But in 2024 we can expect to see some publishers partnering with other providers to add extra value to their bundle,” he predicts.

Globally, media players are also placing a greater emphasis on the value of hosting events as part of a revenue diversification strategy. Respondents to a survey by WAN-IFRA found that almost a fifth (18.8%) of publisher income comes from sources beyond advertising and subscriptions. This reinforces earlier findings shared by twipe, pointing to areas such as premium audio content, events and e-commerce as some of the most promising areas for income growth.

2. AI remains in the spotlight

The impact of Generative AI dominated every media conference I attended last year. That’s not surprising given how rapidly this technology is developing.

Lest we forget, its posterchild ChatGPT only launched in November 2022. It had 140 million users a month at the time. By its first birthday, it boasted 100 million a week , demonstrating how quickly it had been adopted, including by more than 92% of Fortune 500 companies.

Despite this general enthusiasm, “the response from publishers [to Generative AI] has been a mix of defense and offense,” observes Kevin Anderson at Pugpig. On the one hand, publishers are embracing this technology and exploring its possibilities in areas such as automation, personalization and the creation of new products.

In Norway, for example, Aftenposten, the country’s biggest daily newspaper (part of the Schibsted group), has used AI-generated audio articles to deepen engagement and engage younger audiences. Within six months of launch, the audience for these AI-generated audio stories was akin to that of their podcasts, demonstrating the potential efficiency of this tool once it has been set up.

At the same time, they are also looking to limit the ability of AI platforms to be trained by scraping their content for free. “What media companies are saying is AI won’t be built without us,” contends Vincent Berthier at Reporters Without Borders.

This tension is perhaps most publicly prominent at The New York Times. Just before Christmas, the company launched a lawsuit against Open AI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, highlighting how “millions of articles from The New York Times were used to train chatbots that now compete with it.” The move came hot off the heels of the Gray Lady appointing Zach Seward as their first Editorial Director of A.I. Initiatives. It’s a role that encompasses training, experimentation and prototyping, as well as identifying when the company should, and should not, use Generative AI.

The coming year will likely only see this type of dichotomy grow even more pronounced.

We can expect to see greater moves towards AI regulation, more lawsuits issued by publishers as they seek to protect their material. We will also see more partnerships, like those inked between OpenAI and major publishers including Axel Springer and the Associated Press. Meanwhile, insights from a new survey conducted by the Reuters Institute point to a focus on using this technology for “under the hood” services such as transcription and copyediting.

Whatever your approach, having a strategy for using and deploying AI remains key, not least because of the potential reputational harm when this is poorly executed.

3. Audience development grows in importance

A third area of focus for many media companies in the year ahead will be audience development.

Alongside continued exertions to reach and engage with new audiences, businesses will be increasingly absorbed in efforts to deepen relationships with existing consumers. This will involve creating opportunities for interaction, dialogue and feedback, as well as moves to understand, and better serve, audience needs and preferences.

It’s an area where AI can help, argues Dmitry Shishkin, the incoming CEO at Ringier Media. For Shishkin, data and suggestions generated by AI should be used as an “editorial co-pilot” that will inform content strategies and efforts to ensure “necessary distinctiveness.”

“Media success now thrives on differentiation and specialization,” he told Journalism.co.uk. That means an emphasis on “quality and focus,” he said, as newsrooms seek to “establish a compelling reason for repeated engagement.”

To help generate this engagement, outlets may look at fresh ways to develop more personal and direct relationships with audiences.

Tools like Subtext enable media organizations and creators to text their audience as you would a friend. New York Times Opinion columnist Farhad Manjoo holds Office Hours where he chats with readers on the phone. Tortoise Media in the UK holds open editorial meetings. Other outlets are experimenting with mechanisms like WhatsApp Channels and Discord to reach audiences in new places.

All of this is a counterpoint to what Kevin Anderson notes was the “volume-over-value strategies” that many publishers pursued for too long. Media markets have changed, Anderson argues, remarking that reaching large audiences through search and social and then serving them with ads is seldom a model that’s fit for purpose. “It’s all about relationships,” he writes.

In doing this, as we’ve argued before, publishers should be learning more from the Creator Economy. That’s a sector steeped in nurturing and leveraging relationships to drive revenues and loyalty.

Demonstrating that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, Francesco Zaffarano writes in Nieman Lab about the success of “platform-based news brands.” These outlets do have large audiences on platforms like Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. They harness this to generate revenues through paid partnerships with brands and donations using similar tactics as those in the Creator Economy.

Zaffarano cites outlets such as Impact in the USA, The News Movement in the UK, Hugo Décrypte in France and Ac2ality in Spain, as examples of this phenomenon. Arguably, their success hinges on aligning their work’s tone and relevance with their target audience, coupled with a presence in online spaces where their audience already spends a lot of time.

In those instances, this takes the form of mainstream social networks. But, for other audiences and media outlets, the answer could lie closer to home, or in smaller (even niche) online communities. Media players will need to continually analyze audience needs and habits to find the solutions that are right for them.

A strategic path forward for digital media

In the fast-evolving media landscape, 2024 promises to be yet another year of rapid transformation and adaptation. The year ahead looks set to be defined by the need for media companies to focus on diversifying revenue streams, navigating the complex realm of AI, and prioritizing audience development.

Revenue diversification remains a paramount priority for media companies, especially as their slice of global advertising revenues stagnates. In that climate, retention and fresh sources of income continue to be critical.

Secondly, the role and impact of Artificial Intelligence cannot be underestimated. Media players will continue to experiment with the potential benefits that this technology can unlock. Yet, they’ll do this while also seeking to protect their assets from being cannibalized by it. Navigating this tightrope will not be easy, but it’s one that organizations large and small will have to tread.

Lastly, as media companies strive to deepen relationships with existing consumers at the same time as expanding their reach, audience development has to take center stage. Fostering meaningful relationships will see the use of different tactics and platforms. Nevertheless, the end goals are the same: to demonstrate value and distinctiveness, and in turn drive retention and loyalty.

As media companies prioritize these areas, they need to be mindful of being strategic in these efforts. The pace of change can be daunting, but it also presents considerable opportunities. Leveraging new AI tools, diversifying revenue streams, cultivating stronger connections and delivering distinctive content are all areas that can enable media companies to do more than just survive 2024. Executed correctly, it should also enable them to thrive for some time in the years ahead.

Innovation | Supporter Spotlight

Break social’s hold on readers with live reporting

January 2, 2024 Naomi Owusu, CEO and Co-founder – Tickaroo

Public trust in the news is dwindling, with three in 10 UK adults admitting they don’t trust the news very much and 6% confessing they don’t trust it at all. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is not limited to the UK but affects media audiences globally. A recent Gallup Poll, for example, showed a similar reality among Americans, with only 32% saying that they trust news a “great deal” or a “fair amount.”

What’s more, publishers are grappling with the fact that audiences increasingly turn to social media to get their news fix. In its annual Digital News Report, Reuters and The University of Oxford found that 30% of respondents say that social media is the main way they come across news, surpassing the 22% who access it directly. Unfortunately, social media provides a fertile breeding ground for misinformation, which (somewhat ironically) further erodes people’s trust in news.

Today’s media companies need strategies and tools that will help them re-engage audiences whose expectations have been shaped by social media. By understanding the behaviors and preferences of today’s audiences and incorporating the right tools and tactics, publishers have the ability to attract audiences and satisfy their need for a well-rounded information diet in a more social setting.

More than passing news updates

Notably, the shift to social news consumption is particularly acute among younger consumers, with people aged 18-24 less likely to use a news website or app and more dependent on social media for news. And these young consumers’ information preferences have been molded by their use of social media and mobile content consumption. Our own research finds consumers want easily understandable and readily available content. In fact, 26% of 18-34-year-olds say that they prefer news updates in short, bite-sized segments.

One of the strategies publishers can implement to replicate the social media experience–while continuing to provide quality news and information–is through the use of live blogs. Live blogs allow media companies to provide readers with an enriched and authentic experience that replicates the benefits of social media while addressing key challenges such as lack of engagement, misinformation, and declining trust.

A live blog allows publishers to provide real-time commentary, updates, and coverage on breaking news or unfolding events. Despite their rise in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic – where they served as a valuable tool for disseminating rapidly emerging critical information – live blogs have been around for quite some time.

However, publishers around the world are now working to refine their live blog strategies to capture the best aspects of the social media experience but serve as more than just a format that provides the latest superficial updates. These publishers build trust and credibility among their audiences through this more social way of authentic storytelling.

The style of live blogs resembles a mobile-friendly social media timeline. Therefore, it gives consumers news in the format they crave. It caters to the habits and preferences of users accustomed to consuming content through scrolling on their mobile phones.

Interactivity and engagement

To increase audience engagement, publishers can also incorporate interactive elements such as polls, videos, and live comment blocks into their live blogs. These mirror many popular features found on social media platforms. For example, journalists from the New Zealand publisher Stuff interacted directly with readers as millions of people attempted to get tickets to Taylor Switft’s Eras Tour in Australia. With over 150 comments on their live blog, the journalists were able to build a community with their readers as they all shared their triumphs and frustrations with one another in real-time.

Some publishers even use live blogs to provide their audiences with direct access to experts in various fields. MDR, a public German broadcaster, did this particularly well during the Covid-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis. They encouraged readers to post their questions in a comment block within the live blog. Then, the expert answered their questions directly in the chat. This tactic increases trust by giving readers access to experts in their field and reinforcing the expertise of a media outlet’s team. It also helps provide a more balanced view of events through the inclusion of a variety of perspectives, reducing the perception of spin.

With live blogs, individual personalities can come out, which allows journalists to foster better relationships with their audience. For example, reporters covering sports at Süddeutsche Zeitung engage with their audience using a lighter tone than their formal journalism. This injects personality into their coverage and makes it more relatable and enjoyable for readers, mirroring the conversational style often seen in social media interactions.

Another key advantage of live blogs is their ability to prevent endless doomscrolling by providing a curated and limited amount of verified information and data. This way, readers can choose the most relevant information to them based on their own needs and preferences without becoming overwhelmed with too much content.

Looking ahead

It’s a challenging time for publishers and newsrooms around the world. The emergence of generative AI search results, along with audiences’ increasing frustration with the news (not to mention the fact that social media platforms are distancing themselves from news), create higher barriers to engagement.

In the year ahead, publishers should turn their attention to incorporating strategies that replicate the elements audiences love most about social media to keep consumers engaged and coming back for more. Implementing this approach can help publishers meet the needs of the modern consumer, who favors receiving their news in short, bite-sized segments. Live blogs allow media companies to capture the essence of the social media experience while addressing lack of engagement, misinformation, and declining trust.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Featured Post | Video

The Boston Globe leans into video to build and diversify its audience

October 19, 2023 Theresa Cramer – Independent Journalist

In New England, we have a saying: “An ounce of experience is worth a pound of theory.” At The Boston Globe, New England’s largest news organization, the team is taking that saying to heart as they carefully launch and implement a video and larger marketing strategy designed to engage current subscribers and reach new, younger, more diverse audiences. Underpinned by an audience-centric mentality, the team focuses on understanding exactly what its users want and finding innovative ways to give it to them.

Engaging existing subscribers with video

The centerpiece of the 150-year-old publication’s video strategy is Boston Globe Today. Just celebrating its six-month anniversary, the 30-minute show is broadcast five days a week at 5 p.m. on Globe.com, NESN 360, and NESN’s linear channel. (NESN is the New England Sports Network.) The show focuses on mostly news topics Monday through Thursday, and on Friday, they switch to sports. Rather than just reporting the news, Boston Globe Today focuses on taking a closer look at the news, often from a journalist’s perspective. Host Segun Oduolowu talks to Globe journalists about their stories, sometimes even telling the story behind them.

“We know our readers watch television… but they weren’t doing it with us because we are traditionally a words-driven platform,” says Peggy Byrd, Chief Marketing Officer at The Boston Globe. The priority for this team is to engage current subscribers by meeting them where they are, no matter the channel.

“Conceptually, it was coming from who we are rather than what’s out there,” says Michelle Micone, Vice President, Innovation & Strategic Initiatives at The Boston Globe. Over a year in the making, The Globe hired a television producer and other industry pros to help bring this vision to life and ensure its quality is up to readers’ expectations. The TV team is constantly conversing with the newsroom, keeping an eye on interesting stories coming up and deciding which ones will translate well to the television format.

Boston Globe Today is available online for subscribers. However, a segment from each episode is available to all site visitors — potentially giving them a reason to subscribe. “We built this in segments as well as a full show,” says Micone. This allows viewers to engage with the content they are most interested in. Not only does this let audiences use their time wisely, but it also gives The Globe team an idea of what people are most interested in, which allows them to create an even better product moving forward.

While new subscribers are always nice, engagement of existing, loyal readers comes first. Byrd says the goal is to “expand a habit” and that the team wants to “expand the expectation and the experience and give people a new way of consuming.”

So far, Byrd says they are seeing traction when it comes to engaging existing subscribers, and they have just started to measure conversion for new subscribers.

Reaching audiences wherever they consume video

Giving your audience what it wants is always critical to building loyalty and retention, but no publication can grow without new audience members. As Byrd says, younger audiences and people of color “over-index” when it comes to video consumption, so The Globe knows that video is an essential part of finding those subscribers.

Having The Boston Globe Today available to NESN subscribers is part of that strategy. However, TikTok is also always a part of the conversation whenever publishers talk about engaging younger, more diverse audiences.

From topics to geographies to channels, The Globe tries to serve its broad audience in several ways. As Micone puts it, “We do feel like we have to do it all, and these are the ways we’re trying to service everyone in a modern way.” On TikTok, that means creating content specifically for the audience in ways that feel authentic to the platform.

“We’re definitely committed to video for the long term,” says Micone. “Part of the reason for even starting this conversation with the TV show is to become an organization that’s very skilled at video.”

Strategic approach to audience growth

YouTube has played a slightly different role at The Boston Globe and its many brands. It’s primarily been a marketing tool, which Byrd says provides valuable feedback, allowing the team to take the data they collect into its content rollout on YouTube. “This is a long road we’re on,” Micone adds. “The TV show, YouTube, TikTok, all these pieces are part of it.”

However, engaging younger audiences isn’t all about TikTok and video. The B-Side is an “email and social forward product,” according to Micone, the idea for which came from a Globe employee during the company’s biannual innovation weeks. After some massaging of the idea, the B-Side emerged, which the website describes as “a hyperlocal email- and social-only daily newsletter that provides authentic and relatable news to keep readers up-to-date and in the groove on local happenings in and around Boston.”

Up next, The Globe team is turning to SMS to expand the publication’s reach. As many mobile marketers know, getting users to opt-in is the biggest hurdle to messaging users on their phones. It’s “another way to meet people where they are,” says Byrd, and as is typical of The Globe’s methodical approach, “we’re taking our time with it.” It will be more of a marketing tool in its first iteration, eventually moving to the content distribution part of this puzzle. “The point of SMS is to learn what people want to get,” says Byrd, “and then once we discover what they want we can start to give it to them through their phones.”

Staying true to their New England roots, The Boston Globe team will continue to prioritize experience over theories as it experiments and innovates with ways to reach and serve audiences old and new.

Perspectives

Big Noises Podcast: Michelle Manafy on the media’s universal problems

July 5, 2023 DCN

Media Voices co-host Peter Houston is tired of hearing the same old industry buzzwords. The publishing platitudes are starting to wear a bit thin, and he’s decided to see if he can shake the conversation up a bit by speaking to some of the biggest characters in the business.

The latest episode of Media Voices’ Big Noises podcast features Michelle Manafy, Editorial Director at Digital Content Next (DCN).

Check out the episode here.

Michelle started out as a journalist. The rise of digital media saw her embrace the changes and after working for a range of publications, from alt weeklies to B2B titles, she joined what was then the OPA to help premium publishers with their ongoing their digital evolution. She now manages online content and events for the group, which is known as DCN.

More than a decade in, Michelle still has hope for the media, but is frustrated by many of the publishing practices she sees. “Now we’re in a world where two thirds of our job is to rise above the noise. ‘Listen to me. Look at me’ right? Are we providing a value exchange? When people give us that gift of their attention, do we provide them with value… was it worth their time?”

AI | Featured Post | Innovation

Successful media leaders are focused on AI, audience and acquisitions

June 15, 2023 Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism – University of Oregon

Last week, over 400 attendees from 43 countries descended upon the Portuguese seaside town of Cascais for the 45th FIPP World Media Congress. They heard from more than 70 international speakers on a range of topics.

Here are three key themes that caught my eye from among the many insightful talks, demos, and individual conversations that I enjoyed over the course of the event.

1. It’s all about AI

Not surprisingly, it was impossible to ignore artificial intelligence. AI was mentioned in every session, reflecting AI’s dominance in shaping media strategies and operations, as well as the speed with which it is developing.

Despite universal interest, media companies and publishers are at different stages of their journey with this technology.

Jan Thoresen in discussion with Damian Radcliffe at FIPP World Media Congress.
*Photo credit: Reidar Hammerfjeld*

Bonnie Kintzer, president and CEO of TMB (Trusted Media Brands) explained how the company is “leaning into AI and Machine Learning.” They have set up an internal task force to help understand the risks of AI, as well as identify the best ways to use AI tools to grow their business.

For others, AI is already at the heart of what they do. Jan Thoresen, at Labrador CMS shared how AI was baked into their platform. With an emphasis on productivity and improving workflow, their content management system uses AI to create headlines, metadata, and tags, as well as produce story summaries.

“We try to make the tech disappear for the journalist,” he said. “Breaking news can´t wait,” he told us, “and you can´t wait for a developer or designer to deliver special effects. The tools have to be at the fingers of your reporters and editors.”

Juan Señor, President of Innovation Media Consulting, outlined what he sees as the transformative power of Generative AI. He predicts this technology will transform digital and create “AI-first” media companies. That may mean that “AI-first” becomes the new “digital-first,” essentially meaning companies prioritize–and seek to tackle challenges, opportunities and processes–with an AI solution at its heart. (FWIW: It’s an approach that Richard Heimann’s book Doing AI cautions against given concerns that companies may have with the solution, rather than the problem they are trying to solve.)

Aside from AI-generated content (images, text and videos), he anticipates other opportunities for publishers. “AI will never find the news, AI will never find the stories,” he told delegates. In fact, with this technology potentially ushering in a new era of fake news, Señor stressed the value of verification, trust and objectivity; areas he believes that publishers should lean into.

He also cautioned about some of the potential pitfalls.

“AI will supplant social and search,” he predicts. On that front, he emphasizes the importance of ensuring that publishers protect their IP, especially from scraping by AI tools. Others—such as the music industry—are already further advanced in tackling this issue.

Señor also recommended content creators learn from past mistakes. That means not getting into bed with tech companies on the promise that a revenue model will be worked out down the line. “We cannot rely on someone else’s platform to build our business,“ he cautioned.

2. Understanding your audience is paramount

Juan Señor
*Photo credit Damian Radcliffe*

Connecting with your audiences was another thread that ran throughout the event. This is essential not just for acquisition and retention, but also for revenue diversification.

Dr. Jens Mueffelmann, Executive Chairman of Bonnier, talked about how the company had developed its Marlin property to “move beyond a $10 magazine.” As part of this, he outlined the importance of their multichannel offering and the creation of new income streams under the “umbrella brand” of Marlin Expeditions.

This includes large-scale fishing tournaments, several of which featured participants with an average net worth of $10 million, as well as smaller expeditions. The success of these ventures is such that between 2020-2022, media accounted for just over a third (34%) of Marlin’s revenues. Tournaments, in contrast, generated 55% of their revenue.

As a result, earlier this year, the company created a new structure “built around brands and communities instead of products.” This includes the creation of a new “Marine Division” which oversees all print, digital and broadcast assets in this space, as well as relevant tournaments and expeditions. As Mueffelmann wrote on LinkedIn, when sharing these developments, “First the vision, then the strategy and now the structure…..as taught in business school.”

At TMB, revenue diversification comes in many forms including advertising, commerce, production and licensing. But the relationship with the audience is integral to many of these efforts.

Dr. Jens Mueffelmann
*Photo credit: Damian Radcliffe*

The century-old company’s tagline is “Content. Inspired by You.” Many of its properties rely on audience-generated content. Therefore, it is integral to nurture and nourish those relationships.

For example, Taste of Home’s recipes are supplied by home cooks. And across their portfolio of brands, more than 350k people submit content ranging from videos to photographs, tips (e.g., Family Handyman) to jokes (Reader’s Digest), and more.

Relationship management also shapes revenue strategies as well as editorial. TMB’s affiliate revenues are up 72% year-on-year, but all of this content is written by their editors, not PRs or AI. “When you have the trust of your audience you must be careful to preserve that trust,” Kintzer said.

For Kerin O’Conner, Founder and CEO of the consultancy Atlas and a former CEO at Dennis Publishing, a focus on audience means the “customer must sit in the middle of your business model.”

Discussing recurring revenues, O’Conner pointed to the rise of the subscription economy and its implications for media companies. He observed that “subscription income is more consistent than other forms of monetization.”

Subsequently, media companies should focus on building long-term relationships with subscribers. “We need to be really good at relationships and understanding what we mean to our customers,” he advised.

3. Acquisitions can be integral for growth

There are multiple ways to grow your audiences and revenues. However, launching new products and verticals can be fraught with risk—and costs. One idea which emerged in multiple sessions was to reduce these potential pitfalls through partnerships and acquisitions.

This can take multiple forms. You can, for example, acquire an audience for a day, or even an article.

Juan Señor, noted the return of micropayments in the form of day passes. “We gave up on them [micropayments]. Now they’re coming back,” he says, outlining how this model can be a means to establish a relationship with audiences.

At the other end of the spectrum, Bonnie Kintzer shared how TMB had acquired LA-based JukIn Media. This enabled them to build their base of user-generated content, manifest in brands like Fail Army and The Pet Collective.

Pet Collective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAH-ixdFWFs

In turn, this has led to the creation of new FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) offerings and expanded TMB’s footprint on different social media channels. And with much of this content also user-generated, it’s also created further revenue opportunities in the form of licensing, as well as ads on their new digital TV channels.

TMB’s programming delivered over 12 billion minutes of watch time last year on FAST platforms. The company won the “Best Publisher Pivot to TV” category in the 2021 Digiday Awards.

Acquisition goes beyond acquiring other companies and its online properties. It lies at the heart of growing this part of the business too. To help TMB continue to build their clips library, they have teams around the world (in LA, India and Romania) looking at—and then acquiring—social content.

Kintzer revealed that the company has paid out over $30 million over the last decade to clip owners. In turn, clips are being licensed by TMB for use in commercials for Cheerios, Huggies, Coca Cola, and others. Deepening this archive also creates more possibilities for streaming, video production and social video, too.

Looking Ahead: interrelated trends to watch

AI will likely continue to dominate the conversation for the next 12 months and beyond. Earlier this year, IAC chairman Barry Diller said that media publishers should sue AI companies to protect their assets.

At FIPP, Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, the new chief executive of Impress UK, an independent press regulator, also emphasized the accuracy of generative AI (and the opportunity this may present for publishers). Alongside this, she also spoke to the challenges of determining copyright and “fair use” that we can expect to see play out in the near future. “We may see a wellspring of copyright regulators emerge in response to this,” she predicted.

Meanwhile, Madeleine White, co-editor-in-chief at B2b site The Audiencers and Head of International at the membership and subscription platform Poool, stressed the continued importance of registration strategies. This can help you get to know your audience and also increases the likelihood of converting visitors into subscribers. Using AI, in the form of a dynamic paywall, with the fashion magazine ELLE, White revealed that free registered members are up to 40x more likely to subscribe.

Lastly, Reid Deramus, Growth PM at Substack, noted how the leveling of the tech-stack had made it easier for small companies to do everything from collect payments (e.g. through Stripe), create good-looking content (with a good CMS) as well as reach audiences through channels like newsletters.

“It’s never been easier to pick up your iPhone and start your own media business,” he said. Because of this, it’s not just AI that’s a potential threat to publishers. You need to work hard to acquire, keep and develop talented staff.

“A lot of people who come to Substack felt like they couldn’t be themselves,” he said. To avoid hemorrhaging good people he encouraged companies “to find ways to motivate” some of their top performers. “Give them creative freedom,” he said, “keep them motivated financially… and let them have a seat at the table.”

The big picture

As we delve into the trends shaping the media landscape of Summer 2023, it becomes clearer than ever that media executives need solid strategies in three key areas: AI, audience, and acquisitions.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing workflows. However, it is also offering a number of IP challenges that we must address. Simultaneously, enhancing your knowledge—and relationship—with audiences is integral for growing subscriptions and reader revenues, including maximizing the relationships you already have. And the art of acquisition can encompass everything from other companies to UGC, as well as creative talent and new audiences.

Having strategies for these areas in place can help media organizations unlock areas of innovation and growth during a period that promises to be as transformative, and tumultuous, as any in recent memory.

Industry-Research

How two publications are attracting new, younger audiences

February 20, 2023 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Successful digital publishers produce content that connects with audience expectations. These publishers are committed to engaging audiences more deeply with an audience-first approach. To assist digital publishers in attracting new audiences, the World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), in partnership with Google News Initiative, created Table Stakes Europe (TSE). Their latest report, Building and engaging specific audiences, outlines case studies in which publishers tackle core challenges to connect to new and distinct audience segments based on targeted demographics or psychographics.

The TSE identifies seven core strategies for news publishers to employ in developing new audiences. Notably, the process is relatively the same, regardless of the target audience — whether they be younger, sports-minded or niche, religious, and cultural segments.

Serve targeted audiences with content and experiences they want.
Publish on the platforms your targeted audience uses.
Produce and publish constantly to match your audiences’ lives.
Funnel occasional users into regular and paying loyalists.
Diversify and grow the ways you earn revenue from the audiences you build.
Partner to expand your capacity and capabilities at lower and more flexible costs.
Drive audience growth and profitability from a “mini publisher” perspective.

Finding younger paying readers

Using the TSE framework, FWT, a regional and local news publisher in the region of Värmland, Sweden, sought to appeal to a younger audience. Their case study deals with the publications’ concerns around their aging audience and the need to attract readers under 45.

NWT’s business model is subscription based, with a hard paywall. They offer articles free only for the first hour after their publication. Their current reader revenue contributes 70% of their total revenue, with advertising the remaining 30%. NWT’s first step is to learn about the interests of a younger audience. Focus groups and research studies immediately provided needed intelligence. They found that adults 18-29 like to read about entertainment, relationships, careers of other young people or celebrities, and breaking news. While adults 30-45 are interested in society and investigative journalism, real estate, new stores and restaurants, and topics about kids and family life.

NWT identified five goals to measure their effectiveness in attracting a younger audience:

20% of subscribers will be under 45
65% of all new digital subscribers will be under 45
30% increase in subscriptions on e-paper
20% of page views from logged-in users under 45
37% percent increase in digital subscriptions

Notably, NWT increased its digital reach among the 18-39 segment from 24.4% to 35.1%, and digital reader revenue increased too. NWT identified six steps attributing to these achievements.

Learn about the younger audience’s needs, interests, passions, and problems.
Produce relevant content for the right people on the right channels at the right time.
Educate and recruit both current and new staff.
Make changes to the current digital product to serve a younger audience.
Constantly test and evaluate product(s) against set goals.
Develop and implement a social media strategy.

Identify tactics to target new audiences

Another case study using the TSE framework to help attract a younger audience focused on Le Parisien in Paris.

The French publisher used vertical videos on TikTok to appeal to new and younger subscribers.

The plan for TikTok was to focus on “explainer” videos, offering essential details and insight during the French presidential elections. They hired a dedicated TikTok journalist, introduced an experiment-to-learn attitude, and included segments of hard news in addition to their explainer series.

Le Parisien’s TikTok following grew from zero to more than 400,000. While Le Parisien is not monetizing on TikTok, the vertical videos are essential to building brand awareness among a younger audience – their future paying subscribers.

TSE offers an important framework for digital news businesses to identify and attract new audiences. While the two case studies offered here focus on attracting younger audiences specifically, the report includes additional target audiences. Importantly, the transformational process includes a similar process regardless of the target audience. Connecting newsrooms to audiences and personally resonating with each is essential for publishers’ success.

Audiences | Research

INMA identifies new approaches to attract a Gen Z audience

September 20, 2022 Rande Price, Research VP – DCN

Whether reliant on advertising, subscription revenue, or a combination of both, attracting new audiences is a critical component of media success. And, given that Gen Z is the largest generation, the cohort takes on particular significance. While they consume about the same amount of news as Millennials, they use it much differently than previous generations. Therefore, it is critical that media leaders understand their specific consumption style to attract this younger audience.

The International News Media Association (INMA)’s new report, What Gen Z + Media Need From Each Other, identifies strategies to grow digital news media appeal among the Gen Z audience. Author Paula Felps explores six case studies to see how news media companies are experimenting with connecting with Gen Z. The case studies were on Germany’s Funke Zentralredaktion, The Wall Street Journal in the U.S., Norway’s Dagens Næringsliv, The News Movement in London, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Australian in Australia.

Understanding Gen Z

The report first offers insight for a better understanding of Gen Z’s news consumption habits and what drives those habits. Felps cites Reuters Institute report to profile Gen Z’s digital consumption habits, and McKinsey and EY research to identify levels of engagement.

Attitude and behavioral differences identified in the research reports:

Most Gen Zs turn to social media platforms for news coverage. WhatsApp and Instagram are growing. However, TikTok is becoming the fastest-growing network for news among its younger users. Forty percent of 18 to 24 years old use TikTok and 15% of them use it for news. (Reuters Institute)
Gen Z is very inclusive; they reject hierarchy and crave transparency. (McKinsey)
Making news more understandable and balanced is key to reaching this age group. (McKinsey)
Authenticity is a significant personal value. Issues like climate change, racial injustice, and health care are authentic concerns of Gen Z. (EY)
Gen Z doesn’t want more crisis coverage. (Reuters Institute)

Attracting the Gen Z audience

The case studies covered in the report reveal that experimentation is essential in attracting Gen Z. Two of the successful initiatives included are Funke Zentralredaktion and The Wall Street Journal.

Funke Zentralredaktion creation of a political TikTok channel is a strong example of attracting and growing a Gen Z audience. Funke used TikTok to introduce top politicians to the platform and asked them questions concerning the Gen Z demographic. The TikTok videos included serious issues but maintained a creative and modern look using filters, emojis, and sounds. The channel grew to nearly 70,000 followers in less than one year, with some videos reaching more than 3 million views.

Important lessons learned from Funke Zentralredaktion’s Gen Z subscribers:

Approach serious topics in a creative manner.
Ensure that the topic is relatable; find the right angle to address.
Meet Gen Z on their platforms, e.g., TikTok.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), part of Dow Jones, created a student membership program to capture college students to create new readership habits. WSJ learned the great value of acquiring younger subscribers and creating a lifelong relationship with the brand.

Important lessons learned from the Wall Street Journal’s Gen Z subscribers:

Less news in more formats, offer alternatives to reading news like podcasts or videos.
Free and easy, meaning content needs to be compelling and cost-conscious subscription pricing.
Digital only and be present where they are – such as Instagram and TikTok.
Personalize to attract, engage, and retain this audience.

Hiring Gen Z in the newsroom

Another aspect of attracting this younger audience that the report covers is their critical role as content creators. One example offered in the report is that of The News Movement. Created by two news veterans, William Lewis, former chief executive of Dow Jones, and Kamal Ahmed, former editorial director at the BBC, the goal of this news platform is to commission and produce content by and for Gen Z. The News Movement distributes its content on Gen Z’s their favorite platforms (i.e., TikTok and Instagram) as well as on its own site. It also has partnerships with the Associated Press (AP) and others to help it produce content. It’s presently in beta.

Felps’ INMA report identifies new approaches for the news media to experiment with to attract Gen Z, like using video or podcast formats and creative filters.

To ensure future sustainability, media companies must engage with Gen Z to offer news that is more understandable and relatable. And, in addition to meeting this audience where they already are, by distributing content on the platforms and in the formats this generation prefers, it is also critical that media leaders understand that Gen Zers must be included on staff and afforded a voice in the newsroom.

Perspectives | Supporter Spotlight

How to convert Millennial and Gen Z TikTok users into readers

September 6, 2022 Roland Hamilton, Roland Hamilton, SVP Global Licensing – Jukin Licensing, a division of TMB

Although TikTok is widely considered a “Gen Z platform,” the video-sharing app also boasts an extremely high number of Millennial users. With over 100M active users in the U.S. alone, 32% of TikTok’s global users are between the ages of 25-34. With such a large and diverse audience – not to mention the recent revelation that young people are even turning to TikTok as a search engine over Google – there is a unique opportunity for digital publishers to adapt their strategies on the platform to reach critical audiences at scale effectively.

To do so, media companies must consider how best to leverage the viewing trends and the receptiveness these generations have to certain types of media. Below are key insights into how Gen Z and Millennial demographic similarities and differences fit into the larger social landscape, what influences their decision-making when it comes to attention, and ultimately what success looks like for digital publishers on the platform.

Where to find Gen Z and Millennial social media users

The rise of TikTok has significantly shifted the way people consume media. In fact, when surveyed about which sources of digital media they use the most, 37% of Gen Zers revealed TikTok takes up most of their time. While Millennials still skew a bit more towards Facebook (39%) and Instagram (19%), there is still a sizable audience of Millennials on TikTok. Nevertheless, as the preference for engaging short-form content continues to grow in popularity with Gen Z and Millennials, other social platforms are beginning to take note.

With so much buzz around TikTok’s growing user base and platform layout, it’s no surprise that Instagram introduced Reels. And, with 42% of Gen Zers sharing they also use Reels, it’s clear that this demographic jumps at the chance to create and consume short-form content no matter the platform. This insight gives publishers the perfect opportunity to maximize viewership of their short-form content. They can post virtually the same video to several platforms which means that they can cast an even wider net with little to no additional effort.

What’s influential in TikTok users’ decision-making

Though more social media platforms are mimicking TikTok’s strategies, 40% of Gen Z and 32% of Millennial users find advertisements on TikTok to be the most creative and authentic versus other social platforms. And two-thirds of users research products after seeing them on TikTok. This points to the platform’s power in helping to build brand awareness and influence purchase decisions.

This provides a unique opportunity for publishers to capitalize on especially when it comes to branded content. Last year, Buzzfeed signed a first-of-its-kind deal with TikTok, signaling the beginning of media companies leveraging the platform to create innovative deals between publishers and brands. This allows brands to capitalize on a built-in audience and allows publishers to attract new audiences – brand loyalists – to their content.

Branded hashtag challenges are one of many great tactics to attract engagement by enlisting consumers to become active participants in brand campaigns via user-generated content. So, empowering platform users to join campaigns by submitting their own content is the type of word-of-mouth marketing advertisers crave and built for the digital age. Using creative means to get information across results in a higher chance of user recollection and can help to increase follower count (for both publishers and brands), and eventually – readers.

Strategies for digital publishers to try ASAP

There are a few breakout media brands whose success on social platforms like TikTok provides insight into how digital publishers can best approach converting Gen Z and Millennial social media users into subscribers and promote consumer loyalty.

The Washington Post successfully uses TikTok to reach a younger audience and break away from its more traditional, serious tone. Morning Brew, the media company that aims to help professionals of all ages, began to use TikTok to help grow its newsletter subscriber count. The publication partnered with a creator to create authentic TikTok videos while also promoting the Morning Brew message. This enabled Morning Brew to expand its social media footprint as well as gain thousands of quality, engaged newsletter subscribers.

Digital media publishers have an opportunity to extend their reach by using social media platforms focused on short-form video content. Ultimately, TikTok truly allows for and incentivizes creativity that both Gen Zers and Millennials heavily respond to. Digital publishers can use a variety of features and trends to create effective, immersive, and interactive content to reach their target audiences with unprecedented efficiency. Authentically reaching consumers through TikTok will help media properties gather accurate data on consumer interest as well as humanize humanize the company by providing digestible content in a more relatable and accessible way.

Audiences | Perspectives | Supporter Spotlight

Predict and respond to audience behaviors with confidence

July 22, 2022 Mark Zohar, President & COO – Viafoura

As much as your media organization values its audience, you might find their online behavior wildly unpredictable.

Whether your readers are active on your website only to become randomly inactive or subscribe and unsubscribe at a moment’s notice, it’s essential that you get to the bottom of your audience’s expectations, needs and actions. After all, there’s an abundance of other online services and media organizations competing for your audience’s attention.

“[For] local media companies to survive and thrive into the future, they must deliver beyond what they traditionally have offered,” John Newby, a business strategist, shares with Editor & Publisher. “[They] must understand their most significant threat — that of their reader’s limited time.”

To consistently earn your readers’ time and loyalty, you’ll have to successfully predict what kinds of digital experiences will captivate them. And while this may seem like an impossible task, there are actually a few easy ways your organization can predict and respond to audience behaviors:

Pay attention to audience engagement signals

Every action — or inaction — your audience members make on your brand’s website or app is crucial information that can help you foresee their next actions before they ever make them.

For example, actions as simple as liking a content topic or interacting with other commenters can indicate that your users are highly engaged and ready to subscribe. On the other hand, declining interactions can also reveal that a user is about to unsubscribe or stop visiting your website altogether.

All of this information can be collected as first-party data through your digital engagement tools. They can then be fed into a user re-engagement or subscription strategy to target readers with paywall messages, subscription discounts and content promotions as needed.

“When we look at data as tools to predict [behavior] we have the opportunity to intercept an undesired action, or multiply the effect and impulse actions aligned with our goals,” Stephanie Lievano, a subscriptions expert, tells the International News Media Association.

The attention span of humans is also dropping worldwide. A Microsoft study reports that the average person’s attention span has fallen from 12 to eight seconds.

This means that it’s important to watch out for drops in user attention, visit frequency and engagement actions. If and when alarming engagement signals do come up, taking data-driven steps to keep audience members hooked on your digital properties can prevent them from losing interest in your brand.

Identify behavior patterns from groups of people with similar interests

From solidifying strong relationships with readers to growing registrations and loyalty, success in the media industry often starts with data. By going beyond third-party data in particular, your company can draw consented information around the thoughts, likes and dislikes of its registered users. You can then look to this information for actionable insights into the behaviors and interests of your organization’s unknown audience.

More specifically, when a group of known audience members follow a particular pattern of likes and interests, your organization can form a lookalike audience made up of anonymous users with similar characteristics. You can then target this lookalike audience with relevant ads, content, and registration prompts based on the insights drawn from your known audience.

Ultimately, the more you learn about your registered users, the better you can match their behaviors to unknown audience members so you can appeal to their interests and habits.

However, an average of 99.6% of unsubscribed audiences are anonymous on publisher properties online. Therefore, forming groups of anonymous users that mirror known audiences can improve your company’s overall business results.

Moderate evolving language to keep audiences protected

It’s no secret that online social experiences help to build connected and loyal audiences for publishers. Yet, allowing toxic comments to exist on your website can push people and advertisers away.

For this reason, your media company must do everything in its power to keep toxicity off of its digital properties. And that means stopping people from posting offensive comments before they can ever hit that publish button.

Unfortunately, this is easier said than done.

Betty Birner, a professional linguist, explains that “language is always changing, evolving and adapting to the needs of its users.” So how can publishers moderate toxic comments on their pages confidently when users are constantly developing new words and phrases?

Media organizations can stay ahead of trolls by taking on a moderation system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that learns as language evolves. That way, companies can stop toxic language from offending users and damaging the reputation of their brands.

Viafoura data highlights that good-quality, troll-free conversation increases audience engagement, leading to 35% more comments and 62% more likes per user.

The bottom line is that an effective moderation system can give you greater insight into how to keep your community healthy and active before destructive, trolling behavior can take root.

Why foresight is critical to the media industry

If your business strategies are only focused on responding to past audience behaviors, it may be too late to captivate your users or prevent churn. To keep your audience happy, hooked on your content and loyal, you’ll need to accurately predict their future behaviors before they ever come to fruition.

That said, staying ahead of your audience’s changing habits and interests will give your company the opportunity to serve readers better — and forge stronger, lasting relationships with them.

How social audio supports The Washington Post’s “adoption, addiction, and affection” strategy

May 19, 2022 Jessica Patterson – Independent Media Reporter

In the 18 months since social audio spaces were introduced the media landscape, digital content companies have experimented to uncover their purpose and how they can best serve audiences. For The Washington Post, the answer was revealed amid the discussion of a massive leak of offshore data, which exposed the secrets, deals, and assets of the world’s rich and powerful.

The Pandora Papers investigation was not The Post’s first use of social audio. They’d experimented with Clubhouse in mid-May 2021 and held their first Twitter Spaces event June 10, 2021.

It was, however, one of their most ambitious experiments as it involved other global news organizations simultaneously joining the Twitter Spaces event. The Pandora Papers investigation spanned five continents and involved 600 journalists in 117 countries.

“The Pandora Papers was the largest reporting consortium in journalism history. We’re talking about [journalists examining] 11.9 million documents and financial records,” said Michelle Jaconi, head of news talent strategy and development at The Washington Post.

That’s a wealth of information – but a challenge to present given its scope and depth. “The amount of nuance that you can go into in a platform in audio where you don’t have the set limitations of an article is wonderful.”

“Twitter Spaces has been an incredible playground for creativity and exploring ways where we could stretch that platform,” Jaconi said. “That one was one of the biggest and most ambitious spaces we’ve done, because we did it across different newsrooms. It was an incredibly fascinating test and stretch, and incredibly well received.”

Space(s) for transparency and engagement

Social audio allows The Post to share the teamwork and collaboration that takes place in their newsroom, Jaconi explained. The work that goes into a large scale, investigative report is largely invisible to readers. However, the audio format allows the journalists to communicate the process and passion that goes into a project like this one. As Jaconi points out, “The voices humanize the work, effort, the passion and the care that goes into every piece of journalism at The Post.”

One thing the team at The Post has learned through its use of social audio is that the audience is incredibly curious and wants to learn more about the journalistic process.

“We learned, wow, there is an audience for this, and [social audio] is incredibly good for things that are so complex that you need extra time and nuance and care to explain,” Jaconi said. “And, especially with Pandora Papers, we were testing the platform and how much we could stretch the production capabilities of an audio event that was truly global. We had some issues. But I think Twitter’s even gotten better since then at the product and the production aspect of doing massive events.”

Attracting and engaging audiences

Like all publications, Jaconi says The Washington Post not only wants to increase the size of its audience, but also engage younger, next generation, diverse and global audiences. For the use of Twitter Spaces grew the following of @washingtonpost on Twitter, as well as the following of their reporters.

“I think one of the things that social audio is incredible for is that social platforms convene audiences of curious people – or sometimes just bored people who become curious when they see a trending hashtag,” Jaconi said. “Every time we do one of these spaces, our reporters get new followers. That shows that we’re building audience.”

Social audio spaces create an intimate connection between The Post and their audience, on a device that many use to interact with their family and friends. “That is a wonderful way for us to not tell our expertise, but instead to show it. We do it in a way that provides intimate connection between our reporters and their audience,” Jaconi said.

For reporters who often work in text-based mediums, one of the things that makes social audio fun is that they get to know their audiences more personally and engage directly.

“While you’re talking, you can actually see avatars and photos of people joining in that conversation right there with you. And that is something that I love for reporters to know,” Jaconi said. “Who doesn’t like telling a story and looking at the avatar of someone and saying, ‘oh, thank you for listening. That’s so interesting that you’re popping into this conversation and listening to me.’ That has been really rewarding for everyone who’s participating.”

And, as it continues to improve the functionality of Spaces, Twitter is now surfacing live audio to users when they first log in and providing beacons to audiences indiscriminately. This adds value for digital content companies because previously, Twitter had only surfaced Spaces to an organization’s existing audience.

“Social audio is one of the most exciting playgrounds right now to gather new audiences because the product keeps getting better,” Jaconi said.

Adoption, addiction, affection

In helping Post reporters reach new audiences, Jaconi looks for a funnel of adoption, addiction, and affection. With The Post’s recent reporting on the war in Ukraine, Jaconi said they are seeing an uptick in followers, but also affection. Social audio plays into this by increasing the personal engagement between audience and reporters.

In particular, The Post has sees a trend of audience members sending deeply moving messages. “People have been following reporters for the first time and posting comments like: ‘I am praying for your safety. I hope you’re okay. Please be all right.’ That is affection and concern for our journalists,” Jaconi said, noting that she’s never seen this kind of thing take place at this scale before.

“To have that be the overwhelming chat response to an audio space from our reporters covering the war, boy, is that a different experience for our journalists and reporters,” Jaconi said. “It means that we we’ve done a really good job and reaching people who are interested in information and are interested in building that relationship with us and our reporters.”

Lessons learned

Jaconi explained that there are a few best practices in the social audio space that digital content companies ought to think about.

First, update your Twitter app. Jaconi explained that Twitter often updates Twitter Spaces and improves and fine tunes its functionality. (We covered some of those in our last social audio piece.)

Second, remember that audience members can join Twitter Spaces mid-stream. It’s possible those audience members have never met you before. Hosts should make a habit of re-introducing themselves during the course of an event. This should include addressing new people joining the Space and telling them what they’re speaking about, their name, background, expertise, and the topic of discussion.

“It doesn’t have to be boiler plate. It can be done in a casual way. But also, because there’s audiences that are listening while they’re multitasking, I really urge people to introduce themselves again,” Jaconi said.

Thirdly, Jaconi suggested that digital content companies who engage in social audio spaces ought to “feed their audience.” This means give your social audio space a thread of everything you covered in that space. If you’re using social audio to discuss investigations, mention the methodology of your investigation, the complexity of doing the investigation, biographies of speakers or guests and the like, in a thread. This assures that the listening experience isn’t just a one-off that happened in the Twitterverse, and instead is and can be connected to other content, events, or used in the future.

“It is so rare, and so exceptionally powerful, to be in the same place as your audience at the same time, with everybody convened,” Jaconi said. “You’re convening the curious at something that you’re an expert in. So feed them when they’re there, because it might be a while before you convene them again.”