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The top 8 trends for publishers in 2018
We live in interesting times. And they will only get more interesting if the past year is any guide to what’s ahead. With Donald Trump in office and “fake news” becoming the new “f-word,” there’s a lot to mull in the coming year for publishers. Beyond politics, 2017 was a tough year for those who pivoted to video without a solid strategy. And the “duopoly” of Facebook and Google gobbled up more digital advertising, even as they helped publishers on other fronts. Newer technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain are going from “good to know” to “need to know.” Now that the year is coming to an end, let’s look ahead at how the past year’s biggest trends will influence the digital media business in the year ahead.
Trust is an opportunity. Don’t miss it.
The problem is simple. The solution is hard.
A migration to automated channels for both the delivery of advertising and the discovery of content has represented a significant opportunity. However, as we have warned time and again, the industry needs to make consumer, advertiser, and publisher trust a priority in order to fully realize this opportunity. Now we have to ask ourselves: Has the industry failed in doing this?
DCN’s must reads: week of October 26, 2017
Here are some of the best media stories our team has read so far this week: The Wall Street Journal | In Race to Win Subscribers, Some Publishers Have a…
Why Slate picked engaged time as their north star metric
On their 20th birthday last September, the digital magazine Slate reported 17,000 paying subscribers for their membership program, Slate Plus. Today, that number is at 35,000. The surge in subscribers owes in part to the Trump bump—Slate Plus membership jumped by 46% after the election. But the underlying catalyst is that Slate has gone all-in on loyalty to lower their dependence on platforms like Facebook and monetize their incredibly loyal audience.
The 5 big trends media execs must understand to succeed
How has both consumer consumption of news and traffic patterns changed year-over-year? What about the role of platforms? Every October, media analytics platform Chartbeat identifies macro trends in audience behavior…
If you’re pivoting to video, do it right
The phrase “pivot to video” has become something of a cliché in the media industry. Lately, the mere mention of this phrase triggers a slew of mean-spirited tweets, resentment, and existential mourning for the written word among those who wonder what publishers are thinking — and where their strategy lies.
Three lessons the Pacific Northwest can teach local media everywhere
The transformation of the media business shows no signs of slowing. While all areas have been disrupted, local news has been among the hardest hit. These neighborhood news providers have seen steady cuts and closures. This has left “news deserts” in which wide swaths of America have a troubling shortage of local news coverage. Undoubtedly, local news remains important to the communities it serves and its survival essential.
A great local news story: the growth of Spirited Media
When Spirited Media launched Billy Penn in 2014, the online publication had a broader mission than simply covering local news in the City of Brotherly Love. Co-founders Jim and Joan Brady wanted to do no less than rejuvenate local journalism itself by building a new business model that made local news coverage relevant to a younger audience, who saw traditional print media as old and stodgy. It was a tall order by any measure.
Strategies used by digital-native news publishers to drive user engagement
Getting ones’ news digitally is not just for millennials—it’s the norm these days. In fact, most U.S adults get their news digitally. Strong digital native brands, those originally founded on the web like Vox Media or Huffington Post, have emerged as leaders in the news marketplace. A recent report from Pew Research Center looks at 36 digital native news outlets that averaged at least 10 million monthly unique visitors in Q4 2016. The analysis provides an excellent snapshot of the digital native news industry’s audience strategies to increase outreach and engagement.
The subscription discussion we should be having
While the industry rightfully focuses on growing new subscribers and experimenting with business models, the discussion should not end there. What we’re not talking enough about is that subscribers are a distinct audience. They engage with your content in a different way and are loyalists in a different way. Understanding these differences is where publishers will build their revenue strategies to take their businesses to the next level.
Facebook’s support for subscriptions is a double-edged sword
Campbell Brown, the former NBC and CNN broadcaster who is now Facebook’s head of news partnerships, confirmed in a speech at a digital publishing conference that the social network plans to roll out support for subscriptions as part of its mobile Instant Articles platform. This plan is likely to cause some cheering in media land. As with most things involving Facebook, however, this deal sounds like a classic Faustian bargain.
Engagement and the evolution of audience to advocates
Digital media is waking up to the hard truth that more is not always better. As a result, the strong belief that a high volume of content attracts a high number of page views is being replaced by the stark realization that quality trumps everything – even traffic.