Login
close
Login is restricted to DCN Publisher Members. If you are a DCN Member and don't have an account, register here.
Search

Digital Content Next logo

Menu

Tags containing: "Gen Z"

Featured Post | Industry-Research | Perspectives

Engaging young audiences: top trends and tactics

In today’s media landscape, engaging younger audiences is both a challenge and an opportunity for newsrooms. Understanding the media habits and preferences of Gen Z is crucial for the sustainability and long-term relevance of players across the media industry. 

Two recent papers, the latest Digital News Report and FT Strategies Next Gen News Study, offer valuable insights into younger audiences and strategies for effectively reaching and engaging them.

Here are the key trends media executives need to be aware of, followed by suggestions about how to act on them to improve engagement among young audiences. 

Trend 1: A preference for digital 

Not surprisingly, we need to start with (or truly accept) the shift away from traditional media habits. Having grown up with media on-demand and the ability to consume on mobile devices, younger audiences tend to access content very differently from their parents.

In terms of news media, as Nic Newman – the lead author of the Digital News Report – notes, younger audiences are “much less likely to use traditional sources such as TV and radio news and much more likely to access via social media, aggregators, and search.”

Instead, preference is usually given to both short-form and long-form video content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. “The youngest group (Gen Z) are most likely to say that social media is their main source of news,” Newman adds. 

Trend 2: Authenticity over traditional credentials

Another critical shift can be seen in concepts of credibility. Traditional benchmarks such as awards and brand recognition, hold less sway with younger consumers, observes FT Strategies’ Liat Fainman-Adelman. 

Instead, perceptions of authenticity are key to this group’s definition of trustworthiness.

“Someone who identifies with a certain community / group or has lived through that event is seen as more credible in covering a related news event,” Fainman-Adelman explains. “Someone documenting their daily life in Ukraine on TikTok may be more popular and trusted than a trained journalist sent to cover the war.”

This trend helps explain the gravitation towards individuals over institutions seen in both reports. 

“Young people want to feel connected to those who are delivering them news and information,” Fainman-Adelman contends. “It’s important for them to see who they really are and understand their underlying motivations.”

Trend 3: A level of news skepticism

Gen Z audiences want to understand the motivations and identities of the people behind the news. However, the formats used by many traditional media outlets often fail to speak to this need. In turn, this has led to a heightened skepticism towards the traditional news media. 

“Individual contributors are seen as more personable and relatable than a faceless byline,” Fainman-Adelman says. 

Subsequently, Newman explains, “because they are exposed to so many different sources, and see so many different perspectives, young people tend to [be] highly skeptical of most information and often question the ‘agenda’ of all news sources including mainstream news providers.”

This tendency is also heightened by the more “lean back” approach seen among many younger users, whereby they consume media in a more passive – and less intentional – manner. Their media experiences are often mediated through algorithms, rather than by going direct to specific sources. 

That means this group is “much less likely to have a connection with traditional news brands preferring the news to come to them,” Newman says, observing how relationships are “driven more by relevance of the content itself rather than where it comes from.” 

Trend 4: Broader definitions of “the news”

Younger audiences also have a looser, more fluid, interpretation of what is news and the trusted sources that are sharing it (e.g. alternative/independent sources, personalities and influencers). 

As Newman outlined in an email interview, “young people make a distinction between ‘the news’ as the narrow, traditional agenda of politics and current affairs and ‘news’ as a much wider umbrella encompassing topics like sports, entertainment, celebrity gossip, culture, and science.

“Often they see narrow(ly-defined) news as a chore to spend as little time with as possible. But are prepared to spend more time with passions and diversions.” 

Trend 5: Navigating information overload 

Participants in FT Strategies’ study were born after the year 2000. “That’s had a pretty significant impact on how they interact with media and technology,” Fainman-Adelman told me via email.

Growing up in the digital age, young audiences are adept at filtering the large volume of content we are exposed to every day to find the material that interests them. That’s one reason why short-form media is particularly appealing to them. 

And despite concerns about shorter attention spans, FT Strategies found that younger audiences do engage in long-form content (e.g. podcasts, online videos etc.) if it is of interest to them.

Five strategic recommendations for media companies to engage younger audiences

Given these insights, media players need to adopt a multifaceted approach to engage younger audiences. Of course, this demographic is not an homogeneous group. Nevertheless, we can identify a number of broad characteristics that publishers should be looking to adopt.

Here are five key approaches media executives need to implement (if you have not already):

Tactic 1: Embrace visually-oriented social networks 

Prioritize platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, where younger people spend much of their time. As Newman notes, the last few Digital News reports have shown that younger audiences are increasingly turning to these networks for news and other content. 

Although media outlets tend to prioritize connections that they can monetize, Fainman-Adelman suggests “developing socially native content to build brand awareness on platforms (and eventually transitioning to more direct relationships).” 

“Engaging the next generation will be crucial for legacy media’s sustainability and reducing the gap now will undoubtedly pay off in the long run,” Fainman-Adelman believes.

Tactic 2: Understand platform dynamics 

YouTube, Instagram and TikTok have some shared qualities, but audiences use them differently. Creators need to tailor content based on the features and audience expectations of each network. 

Fainman-Adelman advises, “Ensuring that news media is highly accessible (e.g., in terms of language, tone, humor) and engaging (e.g., multimedia, interactive, participatory). This “will be critical for building and retaining loyal audiences in the long run.”

Tactic 3: Emphasize authenticity

Shifts in tone are also key to providing a sense of intimacy and authenticity younger audiences crave. The Next Gen News report identifies “how social media personalities’ lived experiences boosted their authenticity and relatability when it came to certain topics.” 

This can be hard for mainstream outlets to replicate. But, the Digital News Report highlights younger players – such as Dylan Page (aka News Daddy) in the UK, Vitus Spehar (best known for Under the Desk News on TikTok) in the USA and Hugo Travers (Hugo Décrypte) in France – which others can learn from. 

Stressing transparency in reporting processes and clearly distinguishing between news, analysis, and opinion can also help build credibility among skeptical younger viewers.

Tactic 4: Embrace diversity

This can take many forms, including using formats such as short videos, podcasts, and interactive articles that are engaging and accessible. Broadening the range of topics covered and adopting a more conversational tone can also make news more appealing to Gen Z audiences.

Meanwhile, FT Strategies make the case for “partnering with creators, empowering editorial talent to share their [personal] stories, and … [hiring] younger and more diverse journalists who are permitted to express themselves in an authentic way, particularly on social media.” 

Sophia Smith Galer (ex-BBC and Vice News) and Taylor Lorenz (The Washington Post) were identified by the report’s Advisory Board as exemplars with large social media followings who enable “their authentic personalities to shine through their work.”

Tactic 5: Change the narrative

“One of the most profound shifts we’ve seen among younger audiences is who and what they see as trustworthy” Fainman-Adelman says.

Media players need to learn from this and avoid doing things the way that they always have done. Afterall, for many younger audiences, these tried and trusted techniques don’t resonate with them. 

Changing the paradigm means being clearer about editorial processes, funding sources, and potential biases. A genuine openness to feedback and audience engagement also matters. 

Incorporating solutions journalism and more positive narratives may also help. Offering content that provides hope and inspires action can resonate with younger demographics (and others), moving away from the “doom and gloom” narrative many consumers associate with the media. 

Bringing it all together

Engaging more effectively with younger audiences requires a deep understanding of their media habits and preferences. There are also potential long-term benefits to this too. As Fainman-Adelman reminds us, “several studies show that young people are often accurate predictors for broader shifts in society.”

Existing trends like widespread multimedia consumption, passively accessing content via social and other indirect ways (instead of doing direct), as well as a desire for shifts in the tone and breadth of content being provided, are here to stay. And they are only going to become more mainstream.

As a result, media players must be willing to experiment with new formats and approaches. These should prioritize authenticity, relevance, diverse content and more diverse voices. Through this, news organizations and publishers will be better placed to build trust and loyalty among younger audiences.

In doing this, Newman reminds us that “mainstream news brands cannot please all young people all the time due to the fragmented ways in which they consume media.” But, he says, “they can give themselves a better chance of being chosen more often.”

As the media landscape continues to evolve, those who adapt will not only survive but thrive. In an increasingly fragmented environment, adopting these strategies to connect with younger audiences can transform media organizations into trusted and preferred content sources for both the next generation and everyone else.

Industry-Research

How to engage young news consumers

Young news consumers understand the value that news can play in their lives, but are often disinterested in it or frustrated with how it’s being delivered to them. It isn’t a surprise that news brands tend to focus on older consumers with larger disposable incomes. However, no one can deny the importance of engaging and building future audiences.

A new report from FT Strategies and Medill’s Knight Lab, “Next Gen News” aims to help news media producers understand the needs and behaviors of younger news consumers so that they can better serve these news consumers. particularly as they come to dominate content consumption in the future. The report also points to the fact that we frequently see the behaviors and preferences of younger consumers eventually adopted by older ones as well, which gives their attitudes additional weight.

Emerging behaviors of young news audiences

The research finds that the next generation of news consumers exhibit four key emerging behaviors:

1. Digital simul-tasking

They fluidly transition between dissimilar tasks (messaging friends, buying things, playing games, catching up on socials, listening to a podcast) while they’re on their phones.

2. Sensemaking via digital discourse

They rely on the personal opinions of others in digital contexts to frame and understand the news.

3. Filtering through trusted networks

They seek out sources of information from people that they know, or feel like they know (e.g. their favorite creator), in real life.

4. Sophisticated searching

They have honed their own sophisticated search skills on social media platforms and in online communities to avoid information overload.

What young consumers need to navigate news

To navigate information, the research found that younger audiences also adopt different modes of consumption which can occur throughout the day to satisfy different news needs:

Sift

They need simple, low-effort ways to keep up with and discover relevant news.

Substantiate

 They need straightforward ways to follow up on and verify news that has sparked their interest.

Study

They need access to content that educates, upskills and inspires them (when they want to dive more deeply).

Socialize

they need information that they can share that makes them feel current, connected and socially validated.

Sensemake

They need different perspectives and other accessible ways to process and understand complex topics.

The ideal news experience for young audiences

Most news producers operate under the assumption that young audiences’ news consumption takes place on mobile phones and is primarily accessed through social media and video. While the research points out that this approach is not wrong, they found that it lacks the level of nuance required to build significant audiences for the future.

After extensive experiments and interviews with 45 young news consumers, the researchers found that that the ideal news experience for the 18-25 year old respondents revolved around three important factors: trusted source, personal significance and desired storytelling.

Rebuilding trust with young news audiences

For most media organizations today, the issue of trust is of particular concern. Traditionally news brands have relied on trust signals that lean into brand and credentials and actually avoid any personal information about the makers of news. However, younger news consumers may be more inclined to trust reporters over monolithic brands, particularly if they are more transparent about who they are. In fact, it might be beneficial to news organizations to help journalists build their personal brand.

The report suggests that media brands might better make use of the lived experiences and personal stories of journalists and other subject matter experts to build deeper connections with the next generation. However, they point to the difficulties of achieving this without undermining journalistic notions of balance and fairness.

News that matters to young audiences

Deciding what stories matter most has also long been the provenance of news providers. It is common to assume everyone is interested in “hard news” (or believe that they should be) and therefore over-index on reporting of topics like politics, international affairs, economics, and science. It is important to recognize that while younger news consumers know that these are important topics, they are bombarded with content and seek out a personal connection to information to give it relevance that will allow it to rise above the noise.

By adopting a broader definition of news that incorporates infotainment and giving more space to “soft news” topics, news brands can better engage younger audiences and provide entry points into more difficult topics that serve different life stages. These audiences want to understand how a piece of news directly impacts their life and those around them. They also appreciate context and explainers that help to bridge gaps in their knowledge. And they want to feel that they can take action; that they are part of a solution working with their community on big social, political, and economic issues.

Storytelling formats that engage young news consumers

Historically, news producers have sought out singular and uniform formats that would attract younger audiences, such as the industry-wide “pivot to video” in the 2010s.  However, the research found that format preferences were dependent on several factors, not least the mode that consumers were in. For example, those in the Sift mode may be more likely to look for short form videos or TLDRs, while consumers in the Study mode are more likely to consume long-form podcasts.

To meet the needs of younger audiences, news producers must acknowledge that there is value in a diverse portfolio of formats that match an individual’s preferences or situation (time of day). In other words, they must not default to any one storytelling structure that doesn’t align the kinds of emerging styles and formats that are growing in popularity. And it is critical that news organizations adopt an experiment-led approach that allows them to validate audience demand.

The time to act – to attract young news audiences – is now

Certainly, we have seen that consumer behavior and expectations shift as each generation matures. However, the authors of the “Next Gen News” report point out that news producers can’t afford to wait to build relationships with younger audiences. Instead, they need to make the effort to meet them where they are now to be perceived as a trusted ally moving forward.

It is critical to understand the shifting information consumption trends shaping the expectations of younger news consumers. By developing trust-based relationships on their terms, news brands can engage and interact with these audiences now. This requires adapting to the information environment they live in, and adopting an open, experimental mindset that maintains the values of quality news while adapting to serve the next generation of news audiences.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion | Industry-Research

Gen Y & Z want media to lead on gender equity

A new study on the gender equity views of Gen Y and Z offers important insights that will help media professionals understand and relate to these audiences. The February 2023 survey of 2,067 individuals by Vice Media Group was comprised of 77% women and 19% men and 71% of the participants were Gen Y, while 29% were Gen Z. The online survey captured responses from around the world: 27% from the United States (US), 24% from the United Kingdom (UK), 24% from India, and 24% from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The “f-word”

Responses reveal young audiences are strongly in favor of gender equality, even if they don’t necessarily identify with the term feminism. Over half (54%) consider themselves feminists – and a full 92% support gender equality. Of those who identify as feminists, 33% are open about it, while 21% consider themselves feminists but are not vocal about it. More than a third (38%) reject the term feminist but still say they support gender equality. Only 8% of those surveyed say they do not support gender equality.

Why do some who support gender equality not identify as feminists? Some survey participants explained they felt the term feminism has been negatively co-opted and politicized by anti-feminists, polluting the term.

So, what does “feminism” mean exactly? Or what should it mean?  More than half of respondents (53%) agree with the statement that the main goal of feminism is “ensuring equal rights and liberties for women as men have.” And 51% agree that the main goal of feminism should be “ensuring equal rights and liberties for all gender identities” (including men, women, trans-gender, and non-binary people). The majority who agree with the latter statement is greater among nonbinary people (87%) and US women (62%).

Most survey participants said that they consider themselves active in the movement against gender inequality. Eighty-seven percent of those surveyed say they act socially against gender inequality, and 77% say they take political action against gender inequality.

Young people want the media to lead on gender equity

Young audiences want the media to take the lead on gender equity issues. When asked “from who would you like to see more participation when it comes to gender equality and or the feminist movement,” 40% of Gen Y and Z people surveyed answered “the media.” This preference was highest among UK women (47%). Nearly a third of those surveyed (32% ) chose “companies/brands” in answer to this question. This view was highest among Indian women (39%) and US women (38%).

So how can media and brands better lead when it comes to gender equity issues?

  • Keep People Informed: Of the 77% of young people who report taking political action against gender inequality, keeping up with news and information about the topic was the most cited method of doing so (43% overall- 52% of US women). Thirty seven percent say they engage on social media with accounts /posts that support gender equality. Nearly a quarter (23%) of all respondents said they would not shop from brands that do not support gender equality.
    • Respect Gender Choice: Young audiences are more likely to define women as people who identify that way by choice. More than half (58%) of Gen Z women, 69% of US women, and 88% of nonbinary people surveyed agreed with statements indicating that womanhood is a choice. MENA women were less likely to agree with this statement, however (36%).
    • Support Body-Positivity: Body image issues continue to plague women to an alarming degree. Body size was second only to mental health in 18 disadvantages cited by women in response to this question: “When thinking about the chances or opportunities you’ve been given so far in your life, which aspects of your identity have been disadvantageous?” (In contrast, men cited socioeconomic class, followed by mental health and level of education.) A full 90% of women agreed with the statement “I think about how I dress and the reactions I might get from others” as a situation they experience as a result of their gender identity. And more than half (56%) of UK women cited issues related to appearance as the most pressing of gender equality issues.
    • Embrace Intersectionality: Over half of young people surveyed expressed concerned that the feminist movement is not inclusive enough. This opinion was especially strong in India (55% of Indian women) and MENA (54% of MENA women). Young people want to see equity when it comes to gender as well as the historically marginalized. This includes people of lower socioeconomic status, BIPOC people, and those who identify as nonbinary.
    • Examine Internal Company Culture: The report authors suggest that valuing the rights and liberties of employees is a critical part of the movement for brands aiming to partner with Gen Y and Z in the gender equality movement.

    A hopeful note

    Encouragingly, 81% of the young people surveyed agree with the statement “I am hopeful when it comes to the future of gender equality.” This hoped-for future includes an emphasis on individual values independent from gender stereotypes: 53% of those surveyed (90% of nonbinary participants) agree with the statement “the future is genderless.”

    Overall, Gen Z and Y eschew gender-based restrictions in favor of celebrating personality and choice. They are open to seeing media companies as partners in this vision. Partnership can range from the media covering gender-equity news to influential brands achieving more diverse representation- internally and externally. Professionals will do well to position themselves as active partners in the gender-equity movement –whether or not that includes “the f-word.”

    Research

    INMA identifies new approaches to attract a Gen Z audience 

    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.

    Featured Post | Industry-Research

    Digital News Report 2022: Four key implications for publishers

    The annual Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism is a must-read for anyone in the news, media and digital publishing industries. Clocking in at 164 pages, the latest study, which came out today, covers a cornucopia of topics, informed by an online survey of more than 90,000 digital news consumers in 46 countries.

    DCN members will want to read the complete report when they can, but ahead of that, we wanted to share some of the most relevant findings for digital content companies. To do this, I read the full report, identifying key trends and corresponding with the lead author, Nic Newman, to discuss these areas in more detail.

    It is a decade since the first Digital News Report was published. Newman reflects that, since then, we have seen a relentless decline in consumption of traditional news sources such as TV, radio, and print and the growing importance of digital and social media.

    “This has brought [a] greater variety of sources and perspectives than ever before, especially for educated and interested news consumers,” Newman says. “But at the same time,” he adds, “we see those that are less interested [in the news] often feeling overwhelmed and confused.”

    It is against this backdrop that major themes emanating from the latest report — including growing news avoidance, as well as declining interest and lower levels of trust in the news —need to be considered. With that in mind, here are four developments publishers cannot afford to overlook, and recommendations to help tackle them.

    1. Respond to the implications of news avoidance

    Issue:

    One of the biggest topics explored in the report is news avoidance. “Selective avoidance” is on the rise globally, with growing numbers deliberately steering clear of content that is often seen as difficult and depressing. Long-running and recurrent stories — such as those covering politics, the war in Ukraine, or the COVID pandemic — are also driving audiences to disconnect more frequently from the news.

    Implications / Solutions:

    To avoid audiences checking out, publishers need to recognize that some approaches in practice can be off putting. Therefore, they may need to offer a different content mix and tone. Addressing this is challenging, Newman says, because audiences also want — and expect — the media to cover difficult stories. Nevertheless, Newman identifies three areas where journalists and publishers can tackle several core reasons people often give for news avoidance: accessibility, negativity and bias.

    First, he argues, we need to make news content more accessible and easier to understand. “This is one of the reasons why young people and less educated groups selectively avoid the news.” He also notes that content is typically produced for avid news consumers.

    “Avoiding jargon and insider speak will help,” he says. More explanation, directly asking for — and addressing — audience questions, as well as producing fact-based content for video and podcast formats, could also be useful.

    Secondly, telling stories differently might mean embracing approaches such as solutions and constructive journalism, as part of a mix of formats and content styles. Newman suggests outlets consider “finding more ways to cover difficult stories that provide hope or give audiences a sense of agency around stories like climate change.”

    Lastly, we need to rebuild trust and credibility. Over a quarter (29%) of news avoiders believe the news is untrustworthy or biased. That rises to nearly four in ten (39%) in the United States.

    “Some of that is about partisanship,” Newman says, “some is about sensationalist chasing eyeballs and clicks.” Potential remedies include “signalling opinion more clearly,” as well as “not labeling everything breaking news when it isn’t,” an approach CNN has recently broached.

    2. Double-down on revenue diversification

    Issue:

    Increasing reader revenue is a key strategic goal for many publishers. However, much of the digital spoils generated by subscriptions are enjoyed solely by the biggest national brands. In the U.S, around half of paid subscriptions go to just three titles: New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. More widely, fewer than one in five digital news consumers (19%) in pays for content.

    Implications / Solutions:

    This “winner takes most” dynamic can make it difficult for smaller and local publishers to compete. Furthermore, the rising cost of living may also mean that some audiences will look to cut back their expenditure on paid-for content.

    As a result, publishers can’t afford to be over-reliant on subscriptions. It has to be just one component of their revenue portfolio.

    That’s a development Newman says news providers are alive to.

    “More publishers are recognizing that subscription on its own will not be enough,” Newman says, “especially as further growth is likely to [be] constrained by rising prices and the squeeze on household budgets. Developing multiple revenue streams will provide resilience and help publishers weather the coming storm.”

    This impending subscription storm is not unique to news publishers, but all media players. A chart on page 21 of the report outlines this tension. It shows that while 14% of digital news users in the U.S. think that they will have more media subscriptions in the next year, a further 14% of users believe they will have fewer subscriptions in the same period.

    3. Ensure you have an effective first-party data strategy

    Issue:

    As the experienced product marketer Aphrodite Brinsmead noted last year, browser updates and privacy regulations impact the ability to use personal identifiers and capture customer data through third-party cookies. Subsequently, Brinsmead reflected, “the race is on for publishers and brands to leverage first-party data.”

    However, news consumers appear to be wary about providing personal information, such as email addresses, to publishers. Just under a third (32%) of the report’s sample indicated they trust news websites to use their personal data responsibly. This drops to fewer than one in five in France (19%) and the USA (18%).

    Implications / Solutions:

    Most publishers understand that they need to develop their first-party data capabilities. But knowing you need to get to grips with this, and effectively doing so, is not the same thing.

    “The low numbers (28% average) who have currently registered with a news site show that most news websites simply do not have a clear enough value proposition to get people [to] give up their data,” Newman argues.

    This principle aligns with the subscription challenge publishers face too. It is hard to convince audiences to pay for content if the same material is available elsewhere for free. In these circumstances it seems not even inclined to hand over their email address to access it.

    To remedy this, Newman suggests, “publishers will need to use a mix of competitions, events and special features to get those numbers up. They also need to persuade people that they will treat personal data responsibly.”              

    4. Do things differently if you want to reach Gen Z

    Issue:

    As we outlined recently, Gen Z is a demographic with its own outlook and media habits. The Digital News Report reinforces this, with Dr. Kirsten Eddy, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Reuters Insitute, commenting on the growing gulf seen in the media behaviours and preferences found among many younger audiences compared to other demographics.           

    Implications / Solutions:

    This cohort is less interested in traditional news subjects like politics. It also has a weaker connection with news brands. “They are also more skeptical of traditional sources,” Newman advises. “They are also shaped by social aspect of news ‘who is telling the story’ and what others think about it.”

    As a result, this is a demographic more likely to seek out diverse voices online. They are less concerned about impartiality and more comfortable with journalists expressing opinions on social media. A preference for more visual social networks has meant that across all markets the use of TikTok for news consumption has jumped among 18–24s from 3% in 2020 to 15% in 2022.

    “But they are not simply all TikTokers,” Eddy cautions, recommending in a dedicated essay (found on pages 42-45 of the full report) that publishers connect with the topics young people care about, and develop content that is aligned to the style and tone of specific platforms. Publishers should do this, in preference to “expecting young people to eventually come around to what has always been done.”

    The big four (and much more)

    These four issues – reaching younger audiences, addressing issues of news avoidance, ensuring you have an effective first party data strategy and the need for revenue diversification – matter to publishers large and small. As a result, these were the topics that emerged as most critical upon first read of the Digital News Report 2022.

    They are, of course, just a fraction of the actionable insights that can be gleaned from this weighty annual research study. Readers may also want to delve further into issues such as trust, polarization, as well as data related to the consumption of podcasts, online video, email news and attitudes towards coverage of climate change.

    Learn more by reading the full report.

    .

    Featured Post | Perspectives

    5 ways media companies can better reach — and engage with — Gen Z  

    True digital natives, Gen Z grew up with smartphones, social media, and video on demand. “Understanding Gen Z’s media experiences and entertainment preferences is a priority for publishers,” Michelle Manafy, DCN’s Editorial Director, observed, “ because they provide a proxy for the future of digital media.” 

    Image via eMarketer / Insider Intelligence 

    Not to be confused with millennials, Gen Z’s outlook and media habits are very much their own. A powerful demographic — and audience — in its own right, Insider Intelligence noted Gen Z is expected to constitute more than one in five (20.2%) of the U.S. population in 2022. With nearly 70 million tweens, teens, and young adults falling into this category, “Gen Z is the most racially, ethnically, and sexually diverse generation in history.” 

    So, what do we know about this demographic, and how can publishers best reach and engage with them?  

    1. Understand their social media habits 

    Given that this group was “born digital” it is no surprise they are active users of social media. One key segment of this demographic, teens, spends around four hours a day on social media new research from Piper Sandler shows. This latest semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey also revealed TikTok is teens’ favorite social media platform (33%) surpassing Snapchat for the first time (31%). Instagram ranks third (22%). YPulse’s social media monitor reports that, although Gen Z’s use of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat increased slightly last year, “no platform has seen growth comparable to TikTok’s in 2021.”   

    Image: via YPulse 

    2. Create digital campfires  

    Gaming platforms and emerging social spaces also present some intriguing possibilities. For example, YPulse found Gen Z is more than twice as likely as Millennials to use platforms such as Discord (34% vs. 15%) and Fornite (25% vs. 10%). They are also less inclined to use products like Facebook (42% vs. 75%) and Facebook Messenger (42% vs. 62%) although that may change as they get older.  

    Writing in Harvard Business Review, Sara Wilson remarked on “how younger audiences are leaving many public-facing social platforms and flocking to smaller, more intimate online destinations.” She calls these spaces “digital campfires.” 

    With roots in gaming culture, but not exclusive to gamers, Wilson argued, “digital campfires have become a force defining not only how Gen Z audiences connect, but also how they experience and shape the culture at large.” 

    “For that reason, marketers can no longer afford to ignore them,” she said. The same argument can be made for publishers and other content creators too. Twitter Spaces, live streams, and AMAs are just the mainstream tip of this intimacy iceberg. Other platforms like Roblox, Geneva, and Discord should also be on your Gen Z radar. 

    3. Keep it real 

    “Connecting with Gen Z means much more than just creating a company TikTok account,” suggests Max Pinas, Executive Creative Director, Dept. “As digital natives with a sixth sense (and zero tolerance) for insincerity, Gen Z is expecting more from brands,” Pinas told AdWeek.

    That means “you must earn their trust, as they need to believe in your product as well as your purpose,” according to Erik Huberman, the Founder & CEO of Hawke Media, a full-service, award-winning marketing consultancy headquartered in L.A.  

    For media players, that may mean everything from providing more behind the scenes stories on Instagram Stories, as well as having a more defined voice on issues that matter to Gen Z. Those subjects include climate change, social justice and the wider uncertainties faced by this generation; uncertainties impacting Gen Z’s economic prospects and their mental health.  

    Having a voice on such matters may challenge traditional journalistic concepts of neutrality and objectivity, but can be clearly seen in outlets such as VICE, Complex, and The Recount. These are publishers I find many of my Gen Z students naturally gravitate towards because of this.  

    4. Lean into their content preferences 

    Video, mobility, and short-form content all matter to this cohort. DCN’s research established the primacy of video. Gen Z values video over other media platforms by a margin of around 2-to-1.  

    More than half of their daily video viewing is on Netflix and YouTube (both 30%) Piper Sandler showed.The research also found ​​87% of teens own an iPhone; with 87% expecting an iPhone will be their next phone too.  

    “Gen Z typically have an attention span of just 8 seconds,” the IAB reported, “a few seconds shorter than millennials, who come in at approximately 12 seconds.” From Under The Desk News on TikTok, to Axios’ penchant for bullet points (a format they’ve trademarked as Smart Brevity®) and the emergence of audio “microcasts,” no medium is immune to this short-form trend. Given that it’s not just Gen Z with infinite sources of distraction and entertainment available to them in the palm of their hand, short-form’s prevalence is only likely to grow. 

    5. Find fresh ways to make it pay 

    “The number of those [Gen Z] investing in cryptocurrency in the US increased by a whopping 200% since Q2 2020,” GWI highlighted last month. This presents intriguing possibilities for outlets seeking new content verticals, as well as new ways to secure reader revenue.  

    As I demonstrated in a list of 231 Ways To Make Media Pay, publishers such as the Chicago Sun-Times, Time, and The Marginalian (formerly Brain Pickings) have already been experimenting with cryptocurrency payments. More widely, Gen Z’s propensity to consume media on platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify may mean they’re more in the habit of paying for premium content. 

    Examples of tipping on social media, via The Information 

    In a similar vein, the tipping culture manifest in parts of the creator economy also offers some fascinating possibilities. Publishers may want to tap into Gen Z’s relationship with influencers and above-average propensity to use platforms like Discord and Twitch where this type of functionality is baked in. 

    Lastly, as more and more publishers seek to add e-commerce into their revenue mix, the emergence of social commerce — and Gen Z’s growing habit of not only drawing inspiration from social networks but then purchasing products and services directly through them — is another area publishers must pay heed to. 

    Implications for publishers 

    For content creators chasing after Gen Z consumers, the data suggests it is important to be active on newer, more visual, video-led social networks like Instagram and TikTok. At the same time, YouTube remains the most popular social media channel used by Gen Z and the rest of us, a traditional platform many publishers do not make the most of. 

    And it’s not just social video attracting Gen Z. Spotify’s data shows that Gen Z (and millennials) actively use audio to access diverse viewpoints and to find out about social issues, potentially creating a space to dig deeper and offer more long-form content. 

    Embracing these platforms, certain characteristics of the gaming ecosystem, as well as the style and tone of voice Gen Z expects from much of the media they consume, is essential if publishers are to develop long-term relationships with Gen Z. Given their size and purchasing power, Gen Z is a group no publisher can afford to ignore. 

    Featured Post | Innovation | Video

    “I Feel Seen”: How HBR connects with Gen Z through video

    “What side of TikTok are you on?” 

    The contents of your TikTok “For You” page, a stream of videos curated by the near-omniscient algorithm, says a lot about what you stand for, who you are, and what you like. It’s part of what draws audiences to the platform. When you open the app, you know what to expect. And, better yet, you know you’ll like it. 

    This type of personal experience is what digitally native audiences have come to not just enjoy, but expect, from the content they consume. If it isn’t authentic, vulnerable, and personal, they don’t want it. 

    So, when it came time to reimagine what video content would look like for Ascend, Harvard Business Review’s brand for young professionals, we knew we’d have to make it real. We knew we’d have to take a host-driven approach. And we knew we’d have to meet our audience where they are. On TikTok, yes, but also on YouTube, Instagram, and whatever comes next. 

    Appearing as on-camera hosts, being authentic in front of an audience of millions, and making sure that audience feels engaged — this is all easier said than done. Here’s how we make it work at HBR, and some tips on how to make it work for you and your audiences.

    Authenticity and vulnerability are necessities.

    Obviously, neither video nor social media was new for HBR in 2020. But that was the year Christine vs. Work marked the first show that we designed specifically and primarily for YouTube. This meant leaning into a host’s personality (in addition to credibility), embracing mistakes that make us human (the word “flawesome” is often applied), and creating a dialogue with our audience. 

    In each episode, I (Christine) address a real work dilemma, seek advice from experts, and then put that advice into practice (with varying levels of awkwardness). Although I feel like I “should” know the answers to my biggest career questions by this point in my path as a manager, I often don’t — or I’m not confident about them. In Christine vs. Work, I’m honest about that. It’s that vulnerability, which many can relate to, that earns the trust of our audience.

    The same goes for Career Crush, another host-driven, YouTube-first series we launched in 2021. In this show, I (Kelsey) interview people with my “dream” careers to get to the bottom of what their jobs are really like. I dive into how much money they make, misconceptions about their roles, and whether they actually enjoy what they do for a living. Most of the time, I have no idea what it takes to get a job like theirs, and I don’t pretend that I do. After all, I’m not an expert in software engineering, or Twitch streaming, or photography. I’m still in my early career, too. So, the questions I ask and the ideas I uncover are based on things I’m genuinely curious about. That curiosity is crucial to creating a connection with our viewers. 

    A key element to making this work is to remember that you can’t manufacture “realness” and “authenticity.” We film in our own homes as much as the office (a necessity during lockdown), process complex emotions on camera, and are transparent about ourselves in front of a virtual global audience. It’s not always easy for us as hosts, but the human connection that forms from sharing our vulnerability is a lasting one. That’s particularly important for bridging the HBR brand to Gen Z audiences and reassuring them that we’re here for them in a world where it’s harder than ever to determine what is real and who to trust.

    More voices, more perspectives.

    We’ve learned, as individual hosts bringing our authentic selves to the fore, we’re not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. That’s precisely the point: We want our audience to connect with whoever they vibe with most. And, when it comes to host-driven content, that means diversifying the personalities, voices, and perspectives on our channels.

    We put great care in our guest selection to fulfill that mission. In Christine vs. Work, we feature practitioners in addition to academics and thought leaders from around the world. In Career Crush, there’s no substitute for hearing first-person accounts of what it’s like working in a specific role or industry. 

    We also think carefully about the “faces” of Ascend. By design, our TikTok channel isn’t led by any single content creator. Although there are recurring familiar faces that deliver a regular dose of work advice and office humor, we encourage each presenting editor to lean into their distinct and authentic storytelling style. Plus, anyone in the company who wants to pitch, write, shoot, or star in a TikTok is welcome to join the party (a.k.a our weekly brainstorm). Who knows whose video will go viral next?

    Lastly, we recently launched a pilot called HBR Presents on our video platforms. In this initiative, we partner with and feature talented external creators to share their expertise on topics like personal finance, early career, and email etiquette. The vision is to thoughtfully grow this creator network, expanding our offerings for an audience hungry for helpful and engaging content delivered in a relatable way.

    To put it simply: You can’t have authenticity without hosts who are willing to be vulnerable. Expand your pool of hosts, make it diverse in every sense of the word, and never pair a host with a video or topic that doesn’t resonate with them. Audiences can spot an uniterested host from a mile away.

    We’re listening. You matter.

    What’s most exciting about our roles as hosts and producers is that we’re able to forge a connection, through our own voices, with our audience. Whatever platform or channel, we commit to reading the comments, replying as ourselves, and responding to questions and stories that others have shared with empathy and insight. We take viewer requests and incorporate them into future episodes. In addition to performance analytics and audience data, we’re able to synthesize viewer feedback to inform Ascend editorial projects across the board. With host-driven video, audiences keep coming back not just for the content, but for the hosts themselves. So creating that engagement — that direct connection — matters.

    Long story short, we’re listeners, not lecturers. This philosophy defines our commitment as editors. We also represent a piece of Harvard, for an audience that demands — and deserves — a brand they can trust.

    And if you find us on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, or Ascend, our goal is that you’ll feel like this content is delightfully “for you.”

    About the authors

    Kelsey Alpaio is an Associate Editor at Harvard Business Review.

    Christine Liu is the innovation editor at Harvard Business Publishing’s product incubator.

    Featured Post | Innovation

    Great lengths: Optimizing video across platforms

    Make it short. Show real stuff. This may seem obvious, but these are best practices in video length and content authenticity for Gen Z audiences.

    Gen Z, born between 1998 and 2016, spends a lot of time watching videos on social media. And last year, Gen Z’s video consumption increased: Snapchat reported that Gen Z watched over an hour each day of video content on social media apps alone. They value video more than any other media platform, by a margin of roughly 2-to-1 over social, gaming, music or Google search, according to a recent study by DCN. They prefer video, specifically user-generated content, due to its relatability and personability.  

    Understanding that Gen Z viewers and consumers have different behaviors, values, and attitudes when it comes to video is important because it can impact your audience of the future, your strategy, and your revenue. It will also help you withstand shifts in viewer tastes and larger shifts in the media landscape. Building relationships with this generation of viewers, readers, consumers, starts now.

    Video length on TikTok

    Video length varies by platform, and there are a lot of platforms to choose from. Gen Z favors Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok, according to a Pew survey in 2021.

    Video content on TikTok must be extremely short. In fact, 50 seconds is long, according to Erin Weaver, Group Nine Media’s Senior Director of Audience Development. For Gen Z-favored platforms Snapchat and TikTok, video length needs to be short and videos need to be fast-paced, according to Weaver. “On TikTok, I consider anything between 30 and 60 seconds to be almost the default. And then slightly longer is over one minute up to three minutes. We’ve seen some success with longer videos, as long as they’re really engaging and interesting.”

    #DCYoungFly hitting the #CrankThat at the #HipHopAwards [https://www.tiktok.com/@bet]

    Brittiany Cierra Taylor, director of audience development at BET, says she sees similar results. “Our audience development team has been trying out shorts and they’ve seen that they were amazing in getting new views, new viewers and from an ad perspective, we see more ads, more earned views. That shortness really is the key because we noticed that the sweet spot on TikTok is seven seconds where you see that jump that engagement,” she said.  

    “Our TikTok partners always encourage us to create shorter and more succinct videos, as they do tend to perform well on the platform,” says Kelsey Alpaio, an editor and producer with Harvard Business Review’s Ascend brand for young professionals, “But, that doesn’t mean long videos are off limits. The majority of our top-viewed videos are more than 50 seconds long. If people are interested in the content, they will stick around.” 

    Video length on YouTube

    On YouTube, videos that are 2-4 minutes long work well for Harvard Business Review, but they also see success with videos that are longer, about 10-14 minutes each.

    Scott LaPierre, Harvard Business Review’s senior editor for multimedia, says that for YouTube, trends around length are similar. Length is less important than topic and storytelling. LaPierre says HBR’s more authentic and honest videos on YouTube, which are casual, host- and personality-driven, perform about as well in the long run as their more traditional content. “Both have about an even number of breakout successes, and comparable average performers,” he says. “The video’s topic, and how compellingly it delivers on that topic are still the primary factors in the number of views and how long people watch, whether traditional or authentic in style.”

    Short and medium-length videos at about two to nine minutes each work best on YouTube, for a broad reach. And longer (10-15 minutes) seems to work to deepen engagement with established fans, LaPierre said. “Shorter videos seem to have broader reach while longer videos seem to have deeper engagement. Long for us is around 10-15 minutes. Short is two to four. Most of our current video lineup is in the middle: six-to-nine-minute range. Anything over about 15 minutes does not perform great on our channel.” (Live video is a different conversation where lengths over 15 are more the norm.)

    Optimize for story

    “It really depends on the goal of the story and whatever length makes the storytelling complete,” says Zainab Khan, associate director of audience, video at The New York Times. “We might do a months-long investigation that merits a 12-minute video. What we see, because we edit our videos for pacing and storytelling, if a video is longer, we get more overall watch time. But we’re really rigorous about thinking about length so it fits the needs of the story. And in some cases, that means the best way to share a story means to do a quick 30-second snippet, showing viewers what’s happening on the ground.”

    All of the digital content companies we spoke to said that storytelling trumps minutes and seconds. Video content should be as long as it needs to be, to tell an engaging story. LaPierre says, “Topic and storytelling generally trump length or style. So, my rule of thumb is: make it as short as possible, but no shorter.”

    Content authenticity

    Best practices for user-generated content are that video content must be low lit, not super polished, and not have a high production quality.Often, it is a selfie-style cell phone footage. It’s casual, host- and personality-driven. It is concise, engaging, and easy to produce. It shows people talking about what they care passionately about.

    Harvard Business Review aims to make some of their videos in that user-generated style, LaPierre says. “For me, the best way to get authentic-feeling video is to have people talk about what they care passionately about,” he says.

    Production values

    Ascend Multimedia Producer Andy Robinson explains they try to find a sweet spot between having a polished feel and showing the real world. “My rule is, show the real stuff whenever possible. We’ve been leaning heavily on less-overly produced elements in our video content. Audiences can smell something that is highly produced, over scripted, over thought.”

    Group Nine makes a point of putting people as the focal point of their UGC content, explains Weaver. “For PopSugar, a tutorial on applying makeup does a lot better than a product review or something that’s mostly focused on beauty products or a workout. You should see people doing the workouts, not so much like a description of the movements.”

    At The New York Times, best practice for finding authenticity in a creator’s work is to have a deep understanding of the company’s values and to find common ground with their audience, Khan says.  “It’s really important for us, when we want to build trust with our audience, we show our authentic selves. We literally put our reporters on screen in a way that helps the audience understand who is doing the reporting,” Khan says.

    Gen Z has a bullshit detector

    Gen Z’s desire for authenticity has been well documented. They want brands to be transparent, authentic and trustworthy. Gen Z audiences have spent their lives surrounded by digital technology. They’re incredibly discerning and know how to filter content that lacks the right tone, language, relevance or value. “What I love about Gen Z is that they hold companies more accountable,” Taylor says. “They’re doing the fact-checking, they’re doing the homework, they’re seeing if your staff resembles the world, if your content resembles the world year round. Is your message consistent and congruent in the content that you showed me? That’s actually one thing I love about them because it forces brands to be authentic.”

    Authenticity is the way to grow audiences, Taylor explains. “I think that if you want to stay around, that is the basic component that audiences are resonating with. So, if you’re not going to be authentic, you’re not going to meet the KPIs you want, you’re not going to grow your audience, you’re not going to hit your revenue… So, from an audience perspective, a revenue perspective, authenticity is just the way to move forward.”

    Be real, not trendy

    “In the long term, if your identity and authenticity are dependent on a trend, you only last as long as that trend,” Khan says. “On the other hand, if your company has a handle on its core values, and what sets you apart from your peers and competitors, you can choose which trends to follow. And it means you can withstand shifts in the media and shifts in viewer taste.”

    LaPierre says content authenticity connotes honesty, vulnerability, transparency, and relatability, which may not always have been top priorities for publishers. “And, we’ve seen some of the distrust in media that can result,” he says. “Show your flaws, show that your content is made by real people with real concerns that overlap with your audience’s, and show your work–it’s about building a trusting relationship over time.”

    For their audience of the future, digital content companies need to put real intention behind the content they create and innovate constantly. As one expert put it, you need to think about who you’re talking to, and create content that is meaningful to them. It’s a lot of effort trying to please Gen Z, but if you’re not putting in the effort, you’re not going to get the results. This is your future audience, after all.

    gen z young people standing against wall using mobile devices
    DCN-Research | Research

    2021 DCN Research: Gen Z Digital Media Attitudes, Values & Behavior

    Digital Content Next (DCN) commissioned Seidmon Associates to research Gen Z’s attitudes, values, and behavior regarding digital content. The goal of this research is to help DCN members better understand the way that Gen Z experiences content to build audience reach and engagement.

    A 20-minute online survey was conducted among 1,556 respondents aged 16-40 between May 14 and June 5, 2021. Approximately half (792) of respondents fell into the Gen Z demographic, ages 16-24, and the remainder (764) into the Gen Y demographic, ages 25-40. Note that the research included a Gen Y sample to offer a contrasting perspective and a better understanding of Gen Z.

    Research highlights include:

    • High quality is the most important attribute that influences digital media brand loyalty among both generations. Trust is the next most significant attribute among Gen Z and Gen Y. And privacy and authenticity also matter a great deal to both generations.
    • Gen Z values video more than any other media platform – by a margin of roughly 2-to-1 – over social, gaming, music, or Google search. Both generations have more paid subscriptions for video than any other content type (a little over three each).
    • In terms of devices and hardware, the mobile phone is most valued, followed by gaming consoles and devices. However, videogame consoles are second in importance among Gen Z, while laptops are second among Gen Y.
    • Both generations prefer shorter-form content. Gen Z attributes this to their “short attention span” while Gen Y value short form as a time filler.

    Full research report for DCN members only. Log in or Register to download. The link will appear immediately below.

    Featured Post | Industry-Research

    Gen Z has a misinformation problem

    “I have some great news about the coronavirus,” says TikTok user Khalilslife, speaking with the confidence of a newscaster, while wearing a backwards baseball cap. It’s May 5 when he uploads this video, and Americans are growing restless. By now, many have followed Covid-19 social distancing rules for six weeks or more. At this point, any “great news,” is undoubtedly welcome. 

    “If (coronavirus vaccine) trials are successful, that means that it could be in emergency use by September,” Khalilslife says to his 2.8 million TikTok followers. “In other news, Madagascar president said they already have the cure, and it’s made from herbal natural remedies. It’s already ready to begin production. What would you rather do, a vaccine or an herbal drink?” 

    It’s easy to hear “information” akin to “an herbal tonic can cure Covid-19” while idly scrolling through TikTok. In fact, Khalilslife’s video has been viewed 1.7 million times. It takes more effort to go to a news website and find explanatory articles about medically- and scientifically- researched efforts around coronavirus vaccines and treatment.

    If Khalilslife viewers were to double check his facts, they’d find his video lacks context. it’s true that Madagascar’s president claims that an herbal concoction can work as a coronavirus cure. The veracity of that claim is highly questionable. Some stories do mention a vaccine appearing in autumn. However, most experts find that projection highly doubtful. In fact, in May, scientists and medical experts predicted that widespread use of a vaccine would be 12-18 months away. 

    For zoomers, the medium is the message

    TikTok, a social platform where users create and consume 15- to 60-second videos, was the fourth-most downloaded app of 2019. It is especially popular with Gen Z, those born from 1997 to 2012. Colloquially called zoomers, Gen Z members post dance challenges, lip syncing, comedy sketches, slang-filled history lessons, and political punditry. Along with YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat, these apps concentrate much of Gen Z’s time.

    However, social media platforms are also where most members of Generation Z get their news. A 2019 report from the Reuters Institute at Oxford University found that young people largely consume news passively or as a time filler as they scroll through social media. People under 35 also tend to think of the news as a source of entertainment, the research showed.

    Unfortunately, though, misinformation is rampant on these platforms. They disseminate political conspiracies and false information about climate change, flat earth beliefs, and anti-vaccination propaganda. Unsurprisingly, coronavirus conspiracy theories have found a home on social media apps. 

    Perhaps what is surprising is the fact that Gen Z-ers have just as difficult time sniffing out false or out-of-context statements as their elders. News organizations may need to rethink their strategies when it comes to tackling misinformation directed at Gen Z. It is critical to support this generation’s media literacy skills and help them learn to identify quality information from trustworthy sources.

    Digitally native, but digitally naive

    The problem is not just the misinformation itself. Because as it turns out, although they use social media fluidly, Gen Z has trouble distinguishing fact from fiction. 

    Despite their familiarity with online media, 82% of middle schoolers who responded to a Stanford University survey could not tell the difference between an advertisement and a news story. The 2015-16 survey also found that over 30% of middle schoolers surveyed considered a fake news story more credible than a real one.

    A Stanford study from 2019 echoed these claims. Researchers showed more than 3,000 American high school students a Facebook video of Russian election workers secretively loading ballots into bins. The caption incorrectly identified these workers as Democrats during the 2016 election. Over half of respondents believed the caption. They agreed that the photos were “strong evidence of voter fraud” during the 2016 Democratic primaries. 

    Zoomers are not alone. A Pew study found that nearly 90% of U.S. adults thought fake news either caused some or a great deal of confusion during the 2016 election. Nearly a quarter of American adults admitted to sharing fake news during the election, whether they realized it at the time or not.

    “The problem of digital media literacy is truly multi-generational,” said Katy Byron, editor and program manager of MediaWise, a fact-checking initiative from the Poynter Institute. “Teenagers spend a ton of time online, upwards of 4+ hours every day by some estimates and anecdotally … But just because they are online a ton doesn’t mean they know how to navigate digital information.”

    Given their ease with social media, the internet and digital devices, it’s a conundrum. Why do zoomers struggle to identify misinformation online just as much as older adults who remember floppy disks and prefer Facebook to TikTok?

    “The ability to operate a device fluently and fluidly does not mean that you understand the information that that device produces,” said Dr. Sam Wineburg, professor of education at Stanford. In carrying out the two Stanford above, Wineburg aimed to investigative civic online reasoning in young people.

    Wineburg likens online media literacy to driving a car. For anyone who drives with a stick shift, switching gears doesn’t require any thought; it’s an automatic response. But not everyone who can change gears can also fix a broken transmission. In short, somebody’s ability to use a tool or technology doesn’t mean that they understand how it works.

    Misinformation in the age of Covid-19

    Here’s a Sparknotes version of social media’s transmission, so to speak: Algorithms reward posts with high engagement. More eyes see content with shares, retweets, comments, and likes. This alone may seem obvious enough. But these high-engagement posts and videos sometimes promote extremist or conspiracy theories, born on anonymous sites like Reddit and 4Chan before spreading on more mainstream platforms. 

    YouTube in particular has come under fire for its algorithm, which, if left to its own devices, seems to play more and more incendiary content. And in 2016 and 2017, Russian bots took advantage of spreading misinformation through fake Instagram accounts. 

    On top of that, it’s not always easy to pinpoint false claims if they aren’t immediately outrageous or obviously extremist. Khalilslife’s video about coronavirus cures, for instance, is rooted in news reports. However, it lacks critical context. 

    Thea Barrett, a recent graduate and zoomer who works as a Mediawise intern, sees this often enough. Misinformation “presents itself in subtle ways, where it isn’t completely right or completely wrong. So, one can share something not thinking too deeply about the post but actually be spreading misinformation,” Barrett said.

    When it comes to coronavirus, much of the misinformation spread by social media follows this pattern. In April the Reuters Institute found that about 38% of misinformation regarding Covid-19 was completely fabricated. In comparison, the majority (59%) was real information that had been taken out of context or twisted in some way. 

    Social media at a boiling point

    Historically, social media platforms have been criticized for their failures in identifying and taking down false information. Recently, the debate about social media’s role intensified. The Wall Street Journal reported that top Facebook execs knew the platform’s algorithms were divisive and polarizing, but ignored this information. And Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he didn’t think “Facebook or internet platforms in general should be arbiters of truth.” In other words, according to Zuckerberg, social platforms shouldn’t be responsible for fact checking.

    But the misinformation debate has really flared up on Twitter, when the social platform labeled two tweets from the president as “potentially misleading.” Twitter also took the unprecedented step of hiding a tweet from the president that seemed to call for violence against protestors in Minnesota. Twitter’s public interest note claimed that Trump’s tweet “violated the Twitter rules about glorifying violence.” In response, the president issued an executive order that threatens to make websites and social platforms vulnerable to lawsuits. 

    Covid-19 has also been an impetus for platforms to take more action. Instagram added a note to its community guidelines about not permitting false information. YouTube announced it would take down unsubstantiated medical information about the virus. TikTok revealed a $50,000 research grant meant to “better understand the misinformation ecosystem on social media.”

    Even so, plenty of out-of-context or wrong information remains online and is widely disseminated via social media. And experts don’t believe these platforms are doing enough: “They need to be less reactive and abandon this game of whack-a-mole unless they plan to significantly increase content moderation efforts which is clearly not happening in an effective way,” Byron said.

    What about news organizations? 

    Gen Z consumes much of its news on social media. However, it is clear that some of that news is wrongly contextualized (or just plain wrong). So, how can credible news organizations engage this audience and deliver the facts?

    It’s not always easy to compete for the attention of a generation that views reading the news as a chore, as reported by the 2019 Reuters Institute study. But the study also found young people are, at least, aware that “fake news” is a problem. They tend to trust what they consider reputable organizations, like the New York Times, Bloomberg, or the Washington Post. 

    For reputable news sites, this means adapting to the content that Gen Z-ers prefer. They gravitate toward short-form stories, videos, and illustrated formats. It also means delivering the news in a way that fits with the platform, not simply a 800-word traditional news story lazily reformatted to fit a TikTok video or Instagram story. 

    Some independent initiatives are not only targeting their content at young people, but also getting zoomers involved. The Poynter Institute, for instance, runs the MediaWise Project and Teen Fact-Checking Network. Teen fact checkers show their work at the Mediawise Instagram account, talking viewers step-by-step in how they evaluate “sus” information on social media. 

    Barrett, who started as a Mediawise teen fact checker and became an intern, says this approach works. “Once you even get one person started talking about it, that has a ripple effect,” Barrett said. “I’ve seen that in my own life. Friends have started sending me claims and asking me if things are legit just because they know I do this work.”

    That was, perhaps, one of Washington Post executive editor Marty Baron’s aims In his Harvard commencement speech last week. Baron addressed the college’s seniors, the oldest members of Gen Z. He reminded them that false information can directly impact issues of public health like coronavirus, leading to more hospitalizations and deaths.

    “I would have settled for emphasizing that our democracy depends on facts and truth. And it surely does. But now, as we can plainly see, it is more elemental than that,” Baron said. “Facts and truth are matters of life and death. Misinformation, disinformation, delusions and deceit can kill.”

    Industry-Research

    Gen Z not only loves content, they pay for it

    Media is embedded into the lives of Generation Z. This group, ages 14 to 22, are digital natives and socially driven. According to a new report from VICE Media in partnership with Ontario Creates, Gen Z: The culture of content consumption, media and pop culture have a significant impact on their identity. This study focuses on how Gen Z discovers, consumes and shares cultural content. This is defined as film and TV, art, lifestyle, gaming, music, and literature. (It excludes politics and hard news).

    Three quarters of the Gen Z respondents (75%) report that original content is important to them. They like to hear about different topics and are open to storytelling in new and creative ways. Gen Z also likes to explore and engage in a variety of different voices and viewpoints. Their number one content preference is music followed by humor, memes/internet culture, gaming and food, dining and drinks.

    Content discovery

    Gen Z discovers content most often from personal recommendations from family and friends, music streaming services like Spotify and Pandora and from publisher websites.

    There were born to social platforms and it plays an important part in their content discovery. YouTube is their number one content source with Instagram as a close second followed by Facebook and Snapchat. TikTok is also gaining popularity. Gen Z tends to like content on social platforms, that is transparent, with few barriers between the creator and the audience. In order to successfully engage with Gen Z, publishers should experiment with different storytelling techniques on social platforms.

    Multitasking

    True multitaskers, Gen Z often has a second device in hand (60%) while watching shows and movies for entertainment. The second device is used to socialize, engage in another entertainment mode (e.g. gaming), or find complementary information on the content being viewed.  

    Subscriptions

    Nearly all of Gen Z consumers (90%) pay for their content with, on average, four different content subscriptions. Music and video streaming are the top paid services followed by console games, PC games and mobile games. Gen Z reports that they are willing to pay for content if it offers better quality (61%), better experience (56%), and is more convenience (50%). Only four in 10 noted the need for an ad-free environment. Gen Z is looking for a frictionless and personalized experience with their subscriptions. They like the idea of platforms curating high quality content for them.

    Pop culture and media play an important role for Gen Z. To attract this generation, publisher’s content should strive to:

    • Embody diversity
    • Entertain as well as inform
    • Attract global representation
    • Empower and support unique voices
    • Ensure quality (advertising platforms are fine)
    • Promote discovery and engagement across platforms

    Importantly, the content needs to connect with Gen Z on an emotional level and showcase authenticity. Gen Z is conscious of content brands and publishers should think about ways to establish their credentials with this generation.

    Featured Post | Industry-Research

    Viacom dispels stereotypes and reveals actionable insights with its “Generations” study

    As data and becomes more important for advertisers and other players in the ecosystem, media companies strive to provide more insights that illustrate their understanding of their audiences. One such company is Viacom, whose global insights team launched a research project this year called Generations.

    The project includes videos that aim to dispel some stereotypes of Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Gen Z. “We’ve all heard the terms Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers,” begins a video introducing the research. “But what do you really know about these groups? A lot of what we think we know is based on opinions, assumptions or stereotypes, instead of real data.”

    Insights for everyone

    Research spanning generations is a broad topic. However, Colleen Fahey Rush, chief research officer at Viacom, said that the Generations project “helps our company and our partners to better understand how people of all age ranges and demographic groups see the world. Plus, they allow our brands and businesses to stay ahead of the trends to make sure the stories we tell are resonating with our audiences.”

    The videos can be seen on Viacom’s website, though the company said it shares much more detailed research with advertisers, agencies, distribution companies, and other partners. “We see it as our mission to understand how our audiences see the world and how that affects their attitudes. This allows us to stay ahead of the curve and ensure that the content we create continues to resonate with our viewers,” said Rush.

    Research that informs the business

    Viacom, which owns Comedy Central, MTC, BET, CMT, and Nickelodeon, has done a number of large-scale studies, which have found emerging trends among its audiences around the world. “Viacom differentiates itself from other media and content companies with its longstanding legacy of data and insights, giving us a competitive advantage in the industry,” said Rush.

    She added that Viacom also sees Generations as “one of the added benefits of collaborating with Viacom. We are committed to knowing our audiences and sharing that knowledge with partners.” This allows them to “craft messages, products and propositions together that best speak to consumers.”

    A spokeswoman for Viacom said that Generations was conducted by Viacom’s Global Consumer Insights group, which is not exclusively tied to advertising sales. Therefore, the research is not solely focused on the needs of marketers, nor can the company quanity how it directly impacts ad sales. Viacom Velocity, which sits within Ad Solutions, is primarily responsible for driving the company’s Madison-Avenue related research.

    This week, Viacom reported that ad sales rose 6% to $976 million in its most recent quarter, marking “the first growth in ad revenue for the home of MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central since the third quarter of 2014,” according to Ad Age.

    Lessons to be learned

    Viacom said that last year alone its research “connected with over 1.8 million kids, teens, young adults and adults through consumer insights, covering 79 countries globally, from Sweden to South Africa and Argentina to Australia.” 

    Key takeaways from the Generations study include:

    • The stereotype in media and marketing is that Boomers are feeble grey-haired people living in retirement homes. “We know people are living much more active lives for longer than ever before,” according to a Generations video. Viacom also noted that the boomer stereotype that they’re all technically inept is false. In fact, many are much more tech-savvy than people realize.
    • As Gen Xers were growing up, new technology, communications, and cable TV channels like Viacom-owned MTV were spreading American culture around the world. The result is that Gen X a single global generation, with more cultural interests in common than previous generations.
    • According to Generations, the biggest misconception about Millennials is that they’re “lazy, no good for anything and that they’re spoiled,” according to Christian Kurz, SVP of Viacom’s Global Consumer Insights. Instead, he said, many don’t have much money, they’re very entrepreneurial, open-minded, and prospering in the face of adversity.
    • Born after 1997, Gen Z account for 25% of the U.S. population and 33% of the global population. By 2020, they will account for 40% of U.S. consumers. Since they are still growing up, Viacom said not much is known about them. However, they predict that events like climate change, Brexit, and the elections of Barack Obama and Donald Trump will surely impact their lives, the extent to which we don’t yet know. The Gen Z Generations video noted that growing up in an increasingly fractured world can lead to stress and anxiety. And, Viacom reports that Gen Z is the most diverse U.S. generation we’ve had yet.
    About the author

    Maureen Morrison is a writer and consultant, working with agencies, startups, publishers and brands on editorial strategies. She previously was a reporter and editor at Ad Age for 12 years, covering agencies, digital media, technology and marketers.

    ©2024 Digital Content Next. All Rights Reserved.