The main goal of our social media team is to bring people into The Wall Street Journal universe. And when we consider that 1 in 5 adults are now getting their news on TikTok according to a recent Pew Research survey, it’s a platform of significant importance.

For current subscribers, these videos reinforce the value of their subscription. For non-subscribers, we’re giving them a reason to build a relationship with us and, hopefully, a reason to subscribe.

By focusing on exclusivity, authenticity, and trust—principles that matter more than ever amid today’s ocean of AI-generated content—we sharpened and refined our editorial output. As a result, our audiences responded with sustained attention and deeper engagement. Here is the strategic playbook we used to achieve those results.

Each video has a purpose

Since 2022, we’ve experimented with a variety of styles, topics and formats. But the biggest lesson from our first 1,700 videos is that every piece of content must have a specific intent.

Some will be conversation starters, like our piece about how Italian pasta could be decimated by tariffs, or Billie Eilish’s message to billionaires at our WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards. 

Some will add to an existing conversation. This might be joining sports reporter Laine Higgins in a curling rink when the Winter Olympics made us all obsessed with curling, or explaining how Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl performance inspired fans to learn Spanish.

Others showcase our exclusive reporting or distinctive storytelling. This demonstrates our value by showing audiences something they can’t get anywhere else. For example, we asked why Americans traveling abroad love visiting Costco, and looked inside the Titan submersible with an interactive graphic. 

By laying out a purpose from the outset, we were able to focus our storytelling and publish each piece with a clear ‘why’, telling the viewer what’s in it for them.

Promote individuals, not just the brand

By launching the Talent Lab, a new team in our newsroom that trains and upskills journalists in audience-building, we’ve been able to expand our focus on the reporters themselves. On social media, audiences want to know the people behind the reporting, and we want our reporters’ expertise to help build the credibility and trust that people crave. 

In the ultimate example, Ryan Knutson, co-host of our daily podcast The Journal, went to a party for people named Ryan and took behind-the-scenes footage for our team to tell the story from the inside. It was a great case of lowering the barrier between the host and the audience, allowing us to connect them in a way that might be more difficult for a straightforward article.

We’ve seen similar success on LinkedIn. Ben Cohen’s video about the Ford engineer who created the dashboard arrow to show which side your gas tank is on was a simple idea expertly executed. We helped produce a piece for Ben that performed exceptionally well on his personal LinkedIn account, which we then amplified across our TikTok and Instagram pages.

The goal here is to move beyond relying solely on our institutional voice. By encouraging reporters to promote their journalism on their individual pages we bring the audience closer to the people who make the Journal what it is. In a media environment where audiences increasingly gravitate toward individual voices over institutional brands, investing in reporter-led audience development positions us to build trust and loyalty in ways that align with how people connect with journalism today.

Social video producers are key

Our social video producers act as strategic bridge-builders. Sometimes they are the faces on screen, such as Julia Munslow, and other times they are coaches, guiding reporters through the technical nitty-gritty of lighting, mic placement and self-filming. On complex pieces, their role shifts to translator—working one-on-one with reporters to turn their stories into a format that feels native to the platform.

While some reporters gravitate toward the camera naturally, some may prefer to keep their focus on reporting and writing. Our social producers are the “village” that ensures their expertise gets the visual treatment it deserves.

Looking toward the next million

Surpassing 1 million followers is a milestone, but the real work is maintaining momentum. We are currently honing our short-form video strategy on LinkedIn, X and Instagram Reels, as well as our own WSJ app. Design updates to our platforms allow us to showcase this format in a way that matches how audiences consume content in 2026.

The goal of our social team is to share our journalism with the widest possible audience by meeting people exactly where they are. We’ve proven that a legacy media organization can be authentic in its social presence: by showing the world the reporters behind our stories, we aren’t just gaining followers, we’re building the next generation of The Wall Street Journal’s audience.

The post How The Wall Street Journal is reaching the next generation on TikTok appeared first on Digital Content Next.

A new study examining X offers fresh insight into the question. The research finds that algorithmic feeds increase engagement compared with chronological feeds while also shifting certain political attitudes and altering the mix of political content users encounter. The findings help clarify how recommendation systems shape the information environment in which audiences consume news and commentary.

The study tracked nearly 5,000 active U.S. users of X over a seven-week period. Participants used either an algorithmic feed or a chronological feed, enabling researchers to compare how each format affected engagement, content exposure, and survey responses related to policy priorities.

Researchers randomly assigned participants to one of the two feed experiences. Throughout the study, they analyzed survey responses, the content appearing in each user’s feed, and behavioral signals such as likes, reposts, and comments.

Patterns emerge in engagement and content exposure

Posts surfaced by the algorithm generated substantially more interaction than those appearing in chronological feeds. On average, recommended posts received about five times more likes and several times more reposts and comments. The higher level of engagement reflects how algorithmic systems elevate posts that spark strong reactions or conversation.

Participants who moved from chronological feeds to algorithmic feeds were also more likely to maintain or increase their use of X. In practice, the recommendation system steered attention toward posts that generate ongoing engagement, reinforcing activity on the platform.

The algorithm also altered the composition of content appearing in users’ feeds. Recommendation-driven feeds contained more political posts overall and a greater share of content from political activists. At the same time, posts from traditional news organizations appeared less frequently.

Across users with different political affiliations, the algorithmic feed increased the share of conservative political content appearing in feeds. As exposure shifted, so did the issues users emphasized. Participants became more likely to prioritize policy topics commonly highlighted by Republicans, including immigration, crime, and inflation.

Algorithms shape information networks

Public discussion about social media algorithms often focuses on how platforms rank individual posts. Earlier research examining Facebook and Instagram during the 2020 election suggested that ranking alone may not significantly alter political attitudes. In those experiments, removing algorithmic feeds did not produce measurable changes in users’ views.

The new research on X suggests that the political effects of algorithms may emerge through a different mechanism. Recommendation systems influence which accounts users discover and choose to follow, gradually shaping the networks that define their information environment.

The study finds that the most noticeable changes occur when users first move from a chronological feed to an algorithmic one. Exposure to recommendations encourages users to follow new accounts, particularly those run by political activists. Once those accounts become part of a user’s network, their content continues appearing in the feed even if the ranking system changes.

As a result, turning an algorithm off does not necessarily reverse the earlier effects. The recommendation system has already reshaped the user’s information network, influencing which voices appear regularly in the feed. In that sense, algorithms operate not only as ranking systems but also as engines of network formation.

The study also indicates that algorithmic exposure may influence politics indirectly. Rather than shifting party identification, recommendation systems appear to affect how users interpret events and which policy issues they view as most important.

The authors note that the findings apply specifically to X and to the time period examined in the experiment. Algorithms evolve frequently, and different platforms may produce different outcomes. Even so, the research provides rare experimental evidence showing how recommendation systems shape political information flows online.

For publishers and policymakers alike, the implications extend beyond a single platform. As algorithmic feeds increasingly mediate access to news and public debate, understanding how those systems influence engagement, exposure, and information networks remains essential.

The post Algorithms alter political information flow on X feeds appeared first on Digital Content Next.

Google’s turning into a closed loop. Over half of all searches now end with zero clicks, and when AI-generated summaries appear, organic links lose a third of their clicks on the spot. If your site traffic is down, it’s not your SEO team’s fault — it’s because search as we’ve known it is dead.

“Your headline is your homepage.” In other words, your content has to earn attention without the click. You can’t rely on users landing on your site anymore, because most of them never will.

So where does that leave media brands? Smack in the middle of a reset. Here’s what the smartest operators are doing now to adapt and why the rest risk falling further behind.

1. Stop chasing traffic. Start earning intent.

Sure, you can still try to play the volume game. Crank out more articles. Cast a wider net. Cross your fingers. But the volume game won’t work like it used to.

The collapse of passive search traffic is shrinking your top of funnel. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Much of that traffic was never your real audience. It was noise. Window shoppers. Bots. AI-generated detours.

Now’s the time to trade quantity for quality. Every impression, every email capture, every form fill has to work harder. That means media professionals need to focus on:

• Sharper conversion paths
• Smarter segmentation
• Personalized nurture tracks that actually lead somewhere

When the funnel’s narrower, your optimization game has to be stronger. Period.

2. Clean up your data because the bots are winning

Let’s talk email. You may think your open and click rates look solid. But there’s a good chance those numbers are lying to you.

According to our research, up to 80% of email clicks across the industry are generated by security bots, not people.¹ That’s not just a rounding error. That’s full-on performance distortion at scale.

And it’s getting worse. These new “data center” bots mimic human behavior well enough to slip through basic detection. If you’re not using advanced bot filtering, you’re likely reporting inflated engagement, overvaluing underperforming content, and misleading your advertisers.

The takeaway: If you’re not scrubbing your metrics, you’re not measuring engagement. You’re measuring noise.

3. Your first-party data is your only real moat

Let’s stop romanticizing platform reach. You don’t own your audience on LinkedIn, Facebook, or YouTube. You rent it. And the rent keeps going up.

The only data that can’t be taken away, throttled, or repriced is the data you collect yourself. That means:

• Known user identities
• Email addresses
• Preference data
• Behavioral signals
• Demographics tied to intent

This isn’t just marketing hygiene — it’s strategic infrastructure. Without it, you’re building on sand.

4. If you can’t see the growth, you’re looking in the wrong place

Here’s the part most brands miss: the best audience growth isn’t visible in your dashboard. It’s happening in dark social such as Slack groups, Discord threads, iMessage chains, and private communities.

You won’t see referral traffic from these places. You can’t boost a post into them. The only way in is to be so useful someone decides to share your content voluntarily.

And no, that doesn’t mean slapping another CTA at the end of your article. It means surfacing real insights. Speak human. Create content that solves a problem or starts a conversation.

In dark social, trust is the algorithm. If your brand doesn’t have it, you won’t grow.

5. The economics matter more than the volume.

Executives who can’t answer two questions are flying blind:

• “What does it cost to acquire a user?”
• “What’s that user worth over time?”

User acquisition costs vary wildly by channel. So does LTV. The most sophisticated operators treat audience like a supply chain:

• Tracking acquisition by source
• Measuring velocity and retention
• Monitoring value creation over time

It’s not just a marketing metric. It’s a P&L strategy. And this strategy should shape every audience investment you make.

6. Audience operations is your most strategic hire

It’s not campaign management. It’s orchestration.

The best audience teams sit at the intersection of data, content, marketing, tech, and revenue. They’re translators. Strategists. Connectors.

And yes — they’re expensive. But they’re also your best shot at future-proofing your business.

If you don’t understand the role, you’ll under-resource it. If you undervalue it, you’ll fall behind.

Final Thought

The audience playbook has been rewritten. Again.

Search is evaporating. Bots are faking engagement. Social algorithms are tightening their grip. And the platforms aren’t coming to save you.

But if you know your audience — truly know them — you’re not just surviving this shift. You’re building something no algorithm can take away.

So ask yourself: Are you still chasing traffic? Or are you building something that lasts?

About the author

Tony Napoleone is VP of Client Experience at Omeda, where he helps media brands turn audience data into revenue. With deep expertise in audience development, marketing tech, and lifecycle strategy, he leads high-touch client partnerships that drive growth, engagement, and innovation.

1 Omeda Email Engagement Report Q1 2025.

The post What smart media leaders are doing now that search is broken appeared first on Digital Content Next.

With the launch of PBS Film Club, this trusted public broadcasting service known for its high-quality educational, cultural, and informative programming is doubling-down on the potential of social media to build constructive communities around shared interests. As PBS VP of Marketing Amy Wigler points out, “edutainment is one of the most popular types of content on social media, and we do edutainment better than anyone.”

A new social video series – and partner

Produced by the PBS Social Media team, the PBS Film Club – a new social video series – publishes every week on PBS’s TikTok and Instagram channels. Notably, however, PBS has also partnered with Fable, a community-powered platform for discovering, tracking, and discussing books and TV shows. Given PBS’ strong presence across established social channels (200K on TikTok and over 1 million Instagram followers), the decision to partner with Fable was as much around ethos as the ability to reach a new audience.

Founded in 2019 by Padmasree Warrior, Fable’s mission is to foster a love of stories of all kinds and build meaningful communities through curated experiences. Fable’s philosophy centers on promoting literacy, encouraging thoughtful conversations, and creating a supportive environment for readers of all backgrounds. Fable bills itself as a community for bookworms and binge-watchers—both of which titles Wigler and Pina personally and professionally embrace. “Social media should be about community and connection,” says Wigler. “And that’s what Fable is to me.”

Community-centric audience approach

In addition to the launch of its Fable club, the initial PBS Film Club video series roll-out includes 10 episodes hosted by Marissa Pina and Lucky Nguyen. Pina, who is PBS’ Senior Manager, Social Engagement and Multiplatform Marketing says the social team came up with the idea when they were thinking about how to serialize content across TikTok in a way that made sense to showcase PBS’ vast library.

“We were looking for ways to kind of extend our engagement and our community reach especially for younger and more diverse audiences, particularly Gen Z… In the past, I would have done something like this maybe by creating a Facebook group. But Fable already had the audience.” That audience, says Pina, is over a million strong, comprised mostly of those ages 18-35.

To be sure, reaching a young audience is critical to the longevity of any media brand. However, as Wigler points out, “I can no longer run a promo and expect that people will talk about it. I was intrigued about the idea of using content marketing to build audience in a new way.”

“I’ll speak for myself in particular, since I’m in that demo,” says Pina. “I’m probably not going to watch a promo. But when my friend calls me on the phone and tells me, ‘Hey, I’ve been watching this crazy documentary,’ or ‘I’ve been watching this amazing show,’ nine times out of 10, going to watch it.” With PBS Film club, Pina believes they’ve landed on an approach that will “tie in our library with the cultural zeitgeist and things that are going on in the world” in an authentic way.

Authentic audience connections

Throughout the series, Pina and Nguyen will highlight the cultural relevance of past and present PBS programming through short clips. The idea is to bridge today’s trends with some of the historical and nostalgic content from PBS programs. And, in a market crowded with content and faced by younger demographics that lean into individual creators over institutions, landing on a strategy that doesn’t just reach the audience, but truly engages them is the recipe every media company is trying to perfect.

For its strategy to work, “people are essential,” says Pina. “We talk a lot about authenticity, connection and communication. To do that you need to be able to connect with a person.”

Wigler is quick to point to the strength of PBS social team and the hosts of Film Club as winning components of this initiative. But both see the value in allowing audiences to “see the people behind the brand, that maybe looks like them,” as Pina put it. And they plan to include more of the people behind the scenes at PBS in Film Club.

So, while social media has become a complex ecosystem that brands must carefully navigate, Wigler is among those who believes it is critical to have a presence in order to engage with younger audiences, who rely on social for content discovery. However, in keeping with the company’s goal to empower individuals to achieve their potential and strengthen the social, democratic, and cultural health of the U.S., PBS approaches this social-first initiative, and particularly its new Fable fan community, “as a way to explore creative partnerships in the social space that allow our content to shine and community to form,” says Wigler. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if PBS were known as the friendliest place on the Internet and social media? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people like our mission is to educate, inspire, and entertain,” Wigler suggests. “And wouldn’t it be amazing if PBS on social media was synonymous for the ability to do all of that?”

The post PBS Film Club launches, featuring a film community Fable appeared first on Digital Content Next.

While the major drop for Facebook was anticipated (given Meta’s strategy to deprioritize news), we found ourselves asking: has the news hit its high-water mark on social media, and if so, how do we adapt?

Since 2018, algorithm changes on social media have prioritized user content over public content, including news. This shift has reduced the benefits for news organizations on these platforms. We asked the report’s author Nic Newman for his reflections. He explained that the decline in the “post and refer” model is due to platforms favoring formats like video that keep users engaged within the platform. In this blog, we’ll explore how publishers can navigate and maximize their presence on social media in this changing landscape.

Leveraging video

Posting videos on social media has grown to be a strong means of developing brand awareness and engagement with audiences. However, production costs (financially and operationally) have historically been much higher than text-based content. Monetizing video on social media also proves to be a challenge with video requirements being strict and unrewarding unless scale is achieved:

Aside from these requirements, social media platforms require videos to fall within their community guidelines and be “ad-friendly”. TikTok has a much more controversial requirement that videos must not contain sensitive or controversial topics (which are rather loosely defined). Videos that have been deemed controversial are either faced with being demonetized or being placed with limited visibility on user feeds. In other words, unless a user is actively looking for news publisher content, it will only rarely appear on their feed. Nieman Lab conducted a study which found that TikTok’s algorithm made it unlikely and difficult for news organizations to reach users.

Engaging your audience

While social media no longer drives the same traffic as it did, it still serves as a powerful avenue to connect and engage with your core audiences away from your website which has become increasingly important as platforms promote posts which users engage with more. While a more tailored engagement varies per platform and your audience.

Videos are currently the strongest way to engage an audience on social. While they are difficult to monetize, they are effective in capturing the audience’s attention and driving curiosity to read more. The challenge is capturing your audience within the initial five seconds before they scroll along in the ether of social media. You can do this by showing preview clips of the video or providing a quick summary at the beginning to engage your audience right away.

Another effective practice is featuring your journalists. This provides a face for your audience to interact with and helps them develop a deeper relationship with your publication. Putting them on explainer videos showcasing their expertise, retweeting their tweets to provide them a platform or having them directly communicate with interested audiences through Whatsapp or Instagram broadcast channels can help develop deeper levels of engagement.

Lastly, developing interactive content such as polls or gamification features is a strong opportunity to get your audience to interact with your social media page and open themselves to conversations and discussions.

These practices may change as time passes and algorithms evolve. But traditional news publishers have lots to learn from social media first publications who have already navigated social media through experience such as Brut (French), Will Media (Italian), and dw_berlinfresh (Germany).

Each platform plays a different role

The social media landscape continues to evolve and constantly presents itself with new challenges. However, we cannot deny the importance of the platform in reaching audiences who may not otherwise engage with the news. With Facebook still boasting over 3 billion active users and Instagram, YouTube and TikTok around 1.5-2 billion active users, social media is still an invaluable tool in connecting and engaging with your core audience while reaching new audiences as well.

However, given recent changes, now is the time to reimagine the role of each platform in the context of news:

• Facebook – given its large reach – is still helpful in slowly converting new audiences into regular readers through peer-to-peer exposure of your content by focusing on virality, as Facebook itself has stated.
• YouTube, on the other hand, offers a strong opportunity for monetization. Publishing long-form video content on the platform can help diversify revenue streams for your publication with the right audience. 
• Instagram and X may still hold opportunities for traffic even though a much stricter link placement policy has taken hold (though lenient in comparison to Facebook’s policy). However, it is important to recognize that both platforms serve distinct needs:
  • X focuses on real-time updates and discussions around current events, politics, and social issues.
  • Instagram focuses more on visually appealing content to drive engagement. This is evidenced by the International Journal of Research in Marketing which finds that posts with a certain combination of characteristics are likely to receive 19% more engagement.
• TikTok remains an unknown quantity. However it is a platform worth exploring, especially for those trying to reach younger audiences. 55% of TikTok’s user base in the United States are those aged 18-34 and the global average watch time of short-form video is 95 minutes a day. 
• WhatsApp has seen growth as a popular platform for news distribution particularly in countries where mobile usage is high and access to traditional media is low such as Brazil, India, and South Africa. WhatsApp can potentially be used to directly connect and engage with audiences given its nature as a message platform, allowing journalists to develop a more personalized connection with your audience.

These are only a few strategies you can employ in each platform, but understanding their strengths and leveraging them towards your publication may help bring added value.

The post Reimagining the place of news in social media appeared first on Digital Content Next.

Media companies have been impacted by multiple developments over the past year, as platforms have progressively deprioritized news, canceled or reduced their news-related programs and products, or made the presence of news content on their platforms much less user-friendly.

These moves are the latest in a long line of changes that have pulled the rug out from underneath the feet of content creators. And while the tech tide may again turn in the favor of media companies, history tends to repeat itself. Publishers, therefore, should be wary about how warmly they embrace any future overtures from our tech overlords, as well as rushing headlong into the next new thing. Too often some publishers have dived into new initiatives like Mastodon or WhatsApp Channels, without a clear strategy or goals (content, engagement, monetization) in mind. 

As a result, the current situation is an opportunity to pause, take stock, and reset these dynamics. 

What this means for you: 7 key principles for 2024 (and beyond)

With that in mind, here are seven recommendations for publishers as they reassess what their relationships with platform providers should look like.  

1. Platform diversification is essential

Over-dependence on individual platforms for revenue – or referral traffic – is risky. Sudden switches in platform priorities can quickly leave creative partners in the lurch. Outlets like LittleThings, Mic and BuzzFeed (to name but three) have all paid the price for putting too many eggs in a single platform basket. Avoiding this fate means that diversification is crucial.

So, where should publishers place their bets? The answer will vary. However, all publishers should consider reducing their reliance on the trusted trifecta of Facebook, Twitter/X and even Google Search.

The past year has reinforced this need, following precipitous drops in traffic from Google, Facebook and X. And as more audiences turn to Generative AI tools like Chat GPT for answers to their questions, attribution and referral traffic look set to take a further beating. 

As Adrienne LaFrance, the executive editor of The Atlantic, recently told The New York Times, “the disruption to an already difficult business model is real.” 

2. Spot and tap into shifts in audience behavior

In response to the current wave of disruption, media companies should reconsider platforms that they’ve previously perhaps overlooked or underinvested in. 

When it comes to scale, YouTube is the 300lb gorilla in the room. With 2.5 billion users it’s the second most active social network in the world. In the USA 26% of adults regularly get news on YouTube, just behind Facebook (30%). Yet, arguably, many media companies (not just news providers) undervalue the platform.

TikTok’s popularity – especially with younger audiences – makes it a platform few media companies can afford to ignore. Since launching in the U.S. in August 2018, TikTok has grown to 80 million monthly active users. Globally 1.1 billion use the platform each month. 

Subsequently, in the past year, The New York Times and the BBC launched news accounts on TikTok, having previously resisted pressure to do so. Part of the rationale for this, per the Pew Research Center, is that “the share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has more than quadrupled, from 3% in 2020 to 14% in 2023.” That increases to nearly a third (32%) of those aged 18-29 years old, a figure that excludes non-news use. 

TikTok and YouTube are also part of wider shifts in search habits, as users head directly to different platforms to look for answers to specific questions. 

The migration from conventional search engines (especially among younger consumers) is being further accelerated by the adoption of  Generative AI. That has implications for media companies’ AI strategies, as well as ensuring that they are producing content, and optimizing for search, on the platforms that their target audiences are using. 

3. Understand that audiences are also diversified 

Diversification is also seen in our wider media habits. On average, the world’s 4.89 billion social media users engage with seven different social networks every month. 

However, audiences do not use platforms in the same way or for the same purposes, and publisher strategies need to reflect this. 

The rise of TikTok, for example, has led to an investment in more vertical video content. After pioneering short videos, its algorithms – and users – increasingly embrace longer material, opening up fresh opportunities for publishers.  

In contrast, other vertical-led channels, like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat, continue to favor shorter video content. Reels account for 20% of the time spent on Instagram. YouTube Shorts has 1.5 billion monthly active users. These findings cannot be ignored.

Meanwhile, the rise of Smart TVs has led to more than 700 million hours of YouTube videos being consumed on TV screens every day. That’s encouraging more horizontal content, as publishers and creators focus on this trend. 

Collectively, this means that publishers will need to deploy different strategies and content propositions to tap into these audiences. There is no one-size-fits-all solution.

4. You can’t, and shouldn’t be, everywhere

Just because you can be on a platform doesn’t mean that you should be. Resources are finite, so determining the best fit requires careful analysis of demographics and usage habits.

The BBC argued TikTok wasn’t initially the right platform for them. They were also worried about spreading themselves too thin. At a time of continued layoffs – with more than 20,000 media jobs lost this year alone – that concern will resonate with many companies.  

The recent boycott of Twitter by major advertisers including Warner Bros. and Disney should also give media execs pause for thought. Brand safety is a consideration for all companies. 

As Platformer’s Casey Newton recently told CNN. “Every day, more brands are waking up to the reality that Twitter is dead and X is a cesspool… The global town square is now dispersed across many different platforms, and increasingly the most relevant conversations are taking place elsewhere.”

5. Go niche, or go home 

Many of these conversations take place in smaller online communities and some publishers may see the value in exploring these more niche networks. 

Platforms like Twitch or Reddit are not for everyone, but their users are loyal and spend a lot of time on site. Recognizing this, last year The Washington Post appointed angel mendoza as their redditor in chief. 

It’s worth noting that more Americans claim to obtain their news from Twitch than Snapchat, and Twitch’s reach for news is on a par with LinkedIn. And with over a quarter of Americans saying they regularly get their news on Nextdoor, this presents interesting questions for local news outlets and specialist information providers about how they can – and should – be engaging with the platforms. 

These types of networks may go under the radar of many publishers, yet their reach – and the engagement of the communities on them – may mean they’re worth another look.

6. Recalibrate what “success” looks like 

As money and traffic from tech platforms dry up, metrics beyond clicks and views become more salient. 

Historically, some publishers have financially benefited from page views on different social networks. Facebook reported in 2017 that it was paying out more than $1 million per day to publishers as a result of Instant Articles. However, that stream dried up as the company shifted focus to the creator economy.

Off-site referrals have also been important. A Deloitte study from 2019 found that across several major European markets, platforms drove 61% of visits to publishers’ websites and an estimated 6.2% of publishers’ total revenues.

But with money and traffic drying up, brand awareness and engagement may be better indicators. 

Although TikTok has partnered with marquee publishers like Condé Nast, DotDash Meredith and NBCU, many companies find it a difficult platform to monetize. It is also a platform that many users don’t swipe away from, meaning that traditional clickthrough models just aren’t applicable.  

7. Focus on building direct relationships with audiences 

With third-party referrals and revenues declining, audience relationship-building is paramount. 

That can take many forms. Many publishers are focused on their own products – like newsletters and podcasts – as well as capturing first-party data. They’re also looking to reduce churn, upsell existing subscribers and attract others through bundling. 

It also means leveraging specific external platforms to foster community and loyalty.

GQ’s launch on Discord is part of this trend. The move enables them to engage with micro communities, often existing subscribers, around topics like fashion and everything Web3. “The way that we are thinking about it is we are throwing a party, GQ is the host, Discord is the venue and you are invited,” explained Joel Pavelski, GQ’s executive director of global audience development and social media.

We can expect more media companies to embrace these engagement strategies, leveraging specific (not necessarily mainstream) platforms to create greater loyalty.

Moving forward

Media companies find themselves at a crossroads in 2024. Traffic referrals from tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter/X have dwindled, underscoring the need for publishers to pivot their platform strategies. To do this, they must diversify and reimagine relationships with their audiences and tech partners. 

Publishers can no longer rely on traffic and revenues from many of the platforms they have partnered heavily with in the past. A fresh approach means moving into new spaces, adapting their content and SEO strategies around evolving consumer behaviors, and thinking carefully about where to allocate their resources. 

Larger and niche platforms offer distinct opportunities, but success in this new era will likely look different from the past. Subscriptions, memberships, native advertising, and exclusive content access, might play a greater role in these settings. And in some cases, building brand awareness and loyalty may be the primary goal. 

Whatever the approach, the strategic challenge is the same: to reduce dependence on a small core group of third-party platforms and to approach new platform relationships with the benefit of hard-won wisdom. Referrals and third-party-derived revenues may not be as viable as they once were. As a result, publishers must diversify their reach and build direct connections with their audiences in a plethora of different spaces and places. In doing so, publishers need to blend scale and niche to establish a more resilient and adaptable presence across the digital ecosystem. 

The time to begin implementing this model is now.

The post In 2024, media companies must hit the platform reset button appeared first on Digital Content Next.

However, many media brands are holding off due to concerns with the platform’s Chinese ownership, as well as reservations about the platform’s environment for news. Reuters Institute’s new report, How Publishers are Learning to Create and Distribute News on TikTok, examines news media concerns and identifies how they can deliver professional content with influencer-type authenticity.

Methodology

Reuters Institute interviewed 20 news organizations and individuals from companies among the top news brands in 44 countries. Interviews included large, digital-only, socially native brands and some individual creators and activists. Reuters also tracked publisher usage activity across more than 40 countries.

Embracing TikTok

Many news brands are using TikTok to engage younger cohorts. Reuters’ Digital News Report 2022 shows that half of all global news organizations (49%) produce content for TikTok. Indonesian (90%), Australian (89%), Spanish (86%), French (86%), U.K. (81%), and U.S. (77%) publishers have the highest TikTok adoption. Overall, 40% of 18-24s and 28% of 25-34s use TikTok for any purpose, and 15% of 18-24s and 10% of 25-34s use it for news.

Regardless of concerns, news publishers use TikTok to build relationships with younger audiences and experiment with new vertical video formats. Others, like the Czech website HlídacíPes.org, use TikTok to help improve news literacy by identifying disinformation and explaining how to use open sources of information. Further, the Washington Post sees fact-checking and verification as their social strategy. They encourage users on TikTok to tag them to help to verify false footage.

Approaches to news content on TikTok

Reuters identifies two main approaches to news content on TikTok: a creator-first strategy and a newsroom-led approach.

The creator approach looks to a core team for content coverage. At the Washington Post, Dave Jorgenson leads the creative team trying to create light and fun videos that match the brand values of their news organization. While they try to keep a light and comedic tone in their videos, part of the TikTok DNA, they also create more serious stories. The French, Le Monde, also uses a creator approach on TikTok. Their mission is to explain the news by deploying different creative techniques using metaphors, drawings, fake video games, and acting.

The newsroom-led approach uses the whole newsroom and looks at TikTok as another distribution channel. For example, The Economist uses high-quality video to tell the story. Their mission, to explain geopolitics and economics, appeals to younger audiences. Liv Moloney, Head of Social Media, describes their strategy, “We’ll never be the first to tell you something’s happened, but we might be the first to explain it to you or explain it the best.”

Vice World News also uses a newsroom approach and focuses its TikTok content on short explanatory videos about international news. Vice’s content strategy blends news explainers, on-the-ground reporting, and listicle formats – adapting the content to the shorter attention span of TikTok users.

TikTok presents its problems with content distribution:

• Transparency about the removal or blocking of news content especially given Chinese ownership and the potential for censorship.
• Better monetization of content and compensation for the content value. While short videos are not the best advertising vehicle, publishers would like the ability to put links to their websites or apps, which currently is limited.
• More detailed and timely demographic information is needed about who has viewed posts, with more data about how particular posts perform.

News organizations use TikTok to engage and build relationships with younger audiences. While many are concerned with its ownership and that short-form videos can marginalize important news stories, they are testing the waters. Importantly, news brands need to look to new technologies and platforms to reach new audiences, and while challenging, experimentation is key for growth.

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TikTokification includes:

• Focus on quick video clips: In 2020, Facebook added “Reels” to user feeds. Reels are 60 second video clips – the same length as the current TikTok limit on video length.
• Less social, more media:  Social media platforms are tweaking their algorithms to de-emphasize social connections, as TikTok has proven the “friends” angle isn’t necessary to engage users. Instagram recently rolled out changes giving less priority to content by users’ friends and family in favor of automatically “recommended” short video reels like those of TikTok.
• Focus on fun: As TikTok’s stated mission is to “inspire creativity and bring joy,” other platforms are shifting to emphasize lighter content.
• De-prioritizing news: News article links constitute only about 4% of what users now see in their Facebook feeds, a spokesperson from Meta told Today, adding: “We have learned from the data that news and links to news content are not the reason the vast majority of people come to Facebook, and as a business we can’t over-invest in areas that don’t align most with user preferences.” Facebook changed the term “News Feed” to “Feed” in February.

Misinformation concerns grow

A related concern is the number of Gen Z adults using TikTok as a search engine. A recent study by Newsguard analyzed 540 TikTok search results on prominent news topics – including school shootings, elections, and vaccines – and found that 19.4% turned up misinformation. The study also found TikTok results to be more polarizing than similar searches on Google. (However, TikTok did detect and remove several false or misleading videos planted by Newsguard as part of the study.) TikTok’s website states its content is vetted by technology, with a “safety team” to evaluate some flagged content.

Social media features problematic for news providers

As entertaining content captures more engagement from users, platforms are incentivized to deprioritize serious news, wrote Navene Elangovan for Today. Her interviews with experts in academia and journalism highlighted social media issues problematic for news providers: emphasis on engagement over content, emotion as a driver of engagement, and the opacity of social media algorithms.

Social media platforms are geared to maximize engagement by having as many users as possible. The goal is to have users spend as much time on the platform as possible, engaging in as many ways as possible. Because strong emotions trigger engagement, social media algorithms reward upsetting content- the opposite of the objectivity valued in traditional news journalism. “Outrage fatigue” can then lead to news avoidance.

Another problem is the opacity of social media algorithms. Changes made to reduce emphasis on quality news should be communicated to audiences. If users are aware of social media platforms downplaying news, they may be more likely to seek reputable news sources elsewhere.

Tips for news providers

Experts interviewed by Elangovan suggested steps newsrooms might take in response to social media TikTokification:

• Separate marketing from journalism so that journalists can focus on content, not views.
• Create incentives for viewers to return daily to news sites to build a habit.
• Diversify channels of news distribution. 
• Find ways to draw viewers from “lighter” platforms to more serious content, accepting social media sites as conduits rather than main sources of delivering news.
• Newsrooms may consider setting up their own social media platforms as a means of diversifying how content is communicated.

Will outrage fatigue turn to fluff fatigue?

When Instagram changed its algorithm and content to align more with that of TikTok, a flood of user complaints forced Instagram head Adam Mosseri to defend the decisions at length on Twitter. In the wake of this pushback, Instagram rolled back some of the changes.

When it comes to news content on social media, some experts surmise that outrage fatigue may give way to fluff fatigue. As users are increasingly bombarded with frivolity in their social media feeds, they may turn to more traditional news outlets for deeper and more reliable coverage of major events.

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You probably have a presence on YouTube, but do you have a specific strategy for the platform? If you don’t, then it’s time to address that.

With close to 2.5 billion monthly active users, YouTube is the second most popular social network in the world. Only Facebook, with 2.9 billion users each month, enjoys greater reach. 

Despite this, many publishers’ presence on YouTube can often feel like an afterthought. The popular video-sharing network sometimes seems like an also-ran when compared with the content strategies (and resources!) being deployed across newer, shiner, networks like Instagram or TikTok. 

It’s time for that to change. Here are three key reasons why.

1. YouTube is too big to ignore

Originally created way back in 2005, YouTube is not exactly a new kid on the digital block. Yet it’s also far from being an internet dinosaur. 

According to Semrush, a software-as-service (SaaS) platform used for keyword research and online ranking data, last month YouTube was the second most visited website in the world with 60.9 billion visits. The average session visit was a whopping 29 mins 42 seconds.

“YouTube is a seriously undervalued part of most publishers’ audience development plans,” Nic Newman, the lead author of the annual Digital News Report, recently told me during an email conversation about their 2022 study. 

The latest findings, which were published in June by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, found that across the 46 countries covered by the report, YouTube “is the second most important network for news after Facebook,” Newman says.

Because this is a global study, there’s considerable variance on a country-by-country basis. 

Nonetheless, in the United States, YouTube is the second most popular social channel for news in a typical week (19% of the sample). That puts it behind Facebook (28%) but some way ahead of Twitter (11%). 

It enjoys similar popularity when figures are aggregated across 12 major markets. This reflects the universality of its appeal and begs the question of whether publishers are giving the platform the attention it deserves.

2. YouTube is a versatile platform

User habits for news and other content on YouTube might also surprise you. As Micaeli Rourke explained in a feature for Digital Content Next last December, YouTube is something of an audio powerhouse. (Disclaimer: She interviewed me for the article.) 

YouTube was the leading platform for podcast consumption in the Ulast year, the 2021 Digital News Report found. They don’t provide comparative data for 2022. However, the latest study does note that YouTube is the second biggest platform for podcast consumption in Germany (19% of listeners) and the top source in Spain (30%).

Video-led podcasts are part of the reason for this popularity, as well as the opportunity to access content on multiple devices. This includes desktop and Smart TV consumption, which allows YouTube to play in the background, as well as more active “lean in” viewing. 

The rise of YouTube viewing on TV sets is one reason why mobile increasingly makes up a smaller percentage of overall views in many developed markets. This presents opportunities for content creators to reach audiences in new places and spaces.  

Meanwhile, the ease of publication (and lack of a requirement for a broadcast licence) has resulted in the emergence of YouTube TV-style shows and commentary alongside popular formats such as WIRED’s Autocomplete Interview (where celebrities answer the internet’s most searched questions about themselves) and Vogue’s 73 Questions video series. It also creates opportunities for historically text-centric outlets, such as Portland-based newspaper The Oregonian to go deep with long-form investigative stories. And it enables the Guardian (and others) to produce highly effective short explainer videos on issues du jour.

Looking ahead, Podnews revealed in March that YouTube is working to improve promotion, discoverability, and monetization opportunities for podcasters, including audio ads and “new metrics for audio-first creators.” Similarly, YouTube Shorts, its “TikTok clone,” is also a growing priority for the platform and another space that publishers may look to capitalize on. 

Collectively, these formats, along with more traditional video content found on the site, present a variety of means for publishers’ to harness YouTube as part of their engagement and revenue strategies. 

YouTube generated around $20 million in advertising revenue in 2020, CNBC reports. Arguably, that puts it in competition with publishers for ad dollars. However, creators can join the YouTube Partner Program (YPP) to earn income through mechanisms such as advertising, sponsored content, channel subscriptions and online shopping. YouTube’s revenue share model means that publishers typically take home 55% of the revenue from ads shown against their videos, Digiday stated back in 2020. 

That said, some of these returns might be less than publishers hoped for. Digiday notes that “news publishers, in particular, have a harder time attracting ad dollars because advertisers remain wary of their ads appearing next to controversial topics.”

Nevertheless, when it comes to both content and opportunities for revenue, the platform’s versatility means you don’t have to deploy a cookie-cutter model to be successful on it. There’s scope for variety, experimentation and avoiding the “one size fits all” approach, which you sometimes encounter on other platforms.  

3. YouTube effectively reaches younger audiences

Reaching a youth audience has long been the Holy Grail for many brands and media companies. For publishers interested in reaching Millennials, Gen Z, and even Generation Alpha (a cohort born in the past decade), YouTube should feature prominently in their plans. 

New data from the Pew Research Center demonstrates how YouTube usage is virtually ubiquitous among American teenagers. Teenage boys are more likely to say they use YouTube than teenage girls. However, in terms of those who have tried the service, there’s actually surprisingly little variance across a wide range of different indices. 

Moreover, when looking at teens overall, Pew’s “Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022” report discovered that nearly one in five (19%) say they use YouTube almost constantly. That puts it ahead of both TikTok (16%) and Snapchat (15%). Collectively, around three-quarters of U.S. teens (77%) visit YouTube on a daily basis, some way in front of its rivals. 

Roll credits

This isn’t a piece extolling another “pivot to video.” We’ve been there. We know how that worked out. Instead, it is a recommendation to take a look at YouTube and whether you are using it as effectively, and comprehensively, as you could. 

Of course, the platform is not without its challenges. Its recommendation engine can drive viewers away from your channel to other creators. Publishers might prefer to keep traffic (and its associated ad revenue) on their own properties. And last year The Information argued that programmatic ad sales were also hurting midsize publishers. Companies like BuzzFeed and Vice receive less money via YouTube’s revenue share arrangements than if they sold the spots directly, they said. Nonetheless, despite these real considerations, YouTube’s size, versatility, and reach with younger audiences are all major plus points.

Press Gazette has outlined how the biggest publishers on YouTube—in terms of subscribers and all-time views—are typically broadcasters. Many of these providers will post copies of reports, bulletins and shows, or offer a livestream, on the platform. But that doesn’t mean non-broadcasters can’t punch through. Press Gazette’s research also shows how Vox has broken the paradigm with a distinctive approach to high-quality (and often quite evergreen) video. 

Vox, along with Vice News and Insider, have also achieved success on the platform despite publishing considerably fewer videos than many of their more broadcast-led peers. This makes it clear that this isn’t just about volume of content.

In a separate discussion with video leads at UK newspapers, The Sun and The Guardian, they also posited how a clear voice, a willingness to experiment and “building trust with the casual audience,” are all potential ingredients for YouTube success. 

Thus far, tapping into YouTube’s potential isn’t something that many non-broadcast publishers have done well. Yet. 

But, if publishers are able to look beyond platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok (channels that either fall into the media’s longstanding issue with “shiny object syndrome” or spaces that might also seem more natural hubs for their content), then that might change in the not-too-distant future. 

Certainly based on its audience, reach and breadth of content you can post, there’s an argument to be made that YouTube merits more of many publishers’ time and resources than it currently enjoys. If you want to ride the next digital wave, this trusty steed may not be a bad one to back. 

The post 3 reasons publishers need a dedicated YouTube strategy  appeared first on Digital Content Next.

A vehicle to reach a younger audience

Influencers create original content with a distinct and authentic voice. Building creditability among a younger audience is an effective tool for marketing, branded content, and endorsements. Effective influencers attract a lot of attention on social channels like TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. Leinonen suggests that journalists who want to reach a younger audience implement influencer practices on social media.

Notably, a new study from UK communications regulator Ofcam shows that for the first time, Instagram is the most popular news source among younger people (22%) of teens, with TikTok and YouTube close behind. Further, TikTok users participating in the study said they get more of their news from “other people they follow” (47%) than from news organizations’ accounts (24%). Another study, Reuters Digital News Report, also shows that 40% of young adults, 18- 24, report using social media as their main news source. Therefore, social media provides a critical point of connection for younger news consumers.

As part of her research, Leinonen interviewed Olivia Le Poidevin, a BBC reporter, to discuss the similarities between the journalists and influences. Poidevin noted that journalists use the news as a vehicle to connect to the audience, while influencers use their content. However, Poidevin concludes that there is a convergence between news and content. She states, “Up to now; there has been a clear division between ‘content’ and ‘news,’ in many media organizations as if they were two separate worlds. From the audience’s point of view, they are not separate; they are the same.”

Benefits of being an influential journalist                                         

The report defines the role of an “influential journalist” as someone who gains awareness or fame through more traditional modes of journalism but also uses social media to build their following. Only pieces of their content like article excerpts, snippets, and clips are usually available on social media. They use social media to market, share, and showcase their work with new audiences who are not spending their time on traditional media platforms.

Leinonen cites Sandra Banjac and Folker Hanusch’s research on audiences’ expectations of content creators on Instagram, YouTube, and blogs, compared to journalists. The research finds that both content creators and journalists share many of the same values. These include likeability, the feeling of being directly spoken to, sharing valuable information, and expertise, which all drive followers to seek more information.

Importantly, “journo-influencers” can learn to leverage new storytelling formats without sacrificing the skills and integrity of journalism. They can also connect their journalistic style to their personality to build trust with their followers. This report suggests that journalists rethink their news reporting process as content creation to generate an authentic voice to connect to younger audiences.

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