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How Media Companies Around the World Are Succeeding

Over the past few months, media organizations have had to endure one challenge after another. Some companies are now struggling to compensate for declining print and ad revenues sparked by these challenges. Meanwhile, others have exceeded their revenue targets and continue to position themselves for growth by adapting to the evolving markets.

After surveying 25 industry executives, an advisory firm exposed how media professionals are persevering by embracing change and innovation.

“All [survey respondents] are innovating with new business lines and new served markets,” says Tony Silber, president of a content and marketing company. “From digital products to virtual events, from research and data to lead generation and subscription boxes, there’s a lot going on.”

Many players across the media landscape are succeeding. So why not learn from what others have already done right and apply those best practices to your business?

We’ve laid out some profitable strategies below that have helped organizations all over the world grow and succeed.

Spain — El Pais and Building Audience Relationships

For many industry professionals, the paywall is an art form that must be tested, tweaked and mastered over time. However, El Pais, a Spanish news media company, quickly earned over 90,000 digital subscribers not even a year after launching its paywall.

The organization was able to spark rapid subscriber growth by strengthening its relationship with each website visitor before sending out paywall messages.

By leveraging a metered paywall, El Pais gave users access to 10 articles each month so they could sample content and understand why it would be worth paying for.

Forming a relationship with digital visitors before asking them to pay helped El Pais prove the value of its subscription program to visitors.

The U.K. — Future PLC and First-Party Data

In 2020 alone, Future boosted its revenue by 65% compared to the previous year. One of the reasons the company has flourished to such an extent is because it has tailored its business strategies based on its audience’s behaviors and interests using first-party data.

According to the chief executive of Future, Zillah Byng-Thorne, “Future has continued to thrive by knowing what our audiences value most, enabling us to take advantage of the changing market landscape to continue to deliver incredible content to our communities in whatever way meets their needs.”

By personalizing user experiences around its brand and its advertisers, Future is at an advantage against competitors and is well-prepared for the loss of third-party cookies.

Bangladesh — The Daily Star and Audience Engagement

When COVID-19 initially forced people into isolation back in 2020, The Daily Star, a Bangladesh media company, launched a campaign that earned itself a medal for engaging its audience. The digital campaign aimed to thoroughly engage people and connect isolated individuals through a microsite, where they could share stories and interact together.

While this campaign was temporary, media companies that have integrated audience engagement into their sites have seen tremendous growth across user registrations and retention.

Viafoura data scientists have even found that engagement tools drive 30% to 50% of user registrations. They’ve also discovered how engaged users spend three times longer on-site than unengaged users.

In a world where in-person human interaction is limited, digital social tools help companies build meaningful connections to visitors and positive experiences worth sticking around for.

The U.S. — The New York Times and Diversifying Revenue Streams

The New York Times made headlines earlier this year after it announced that its digital revenue has finally surpassed its print revenue. The media company has thrived amid the pandemic by investing in several different revenue streams, producing over 7.5 million paying subscribers.

“Consumer revenue streams, including digital subscriptions and ticketed live events, are increasingly important to news organizations as reliance on traditional advertising revenues continues to decrease,” states Angelica Irizarry, who directs live events at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

For The New York Times, it was necessary to go beyond advertising to become self-sustaining. That meant pivoting to prioritize subscription-based revenue, powered by a variety of revenue-generating products, including its digital news content, online events as well as cooking and game apps.

New Zealand — Stuff and Audience Ownership

Stuff, a New Zealand-based news company, completely abandoned Facebook in 2020. You may be questioning why Stuff would leave Facebook when it could interact with followers and reach new audiences on the platform. But there was a method to Stuff’s madness.

From the ban on news in Australia and data leaks to hoards of trolls, misinformation and bots, social media doesn’t have the greatest track record with publishers or the public. Stuff’s mission became to build direct relationships with its audience, away from the negative and unpredictable influences on Facebook.

Not only did the New Zealand company maintain its traffic after abandoning Facebook, but it’s also established a reputation for itself as a resource for trusted content.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism highlights how Stuff has “benefited from huge public support, growth in trust, and happier newsroom staff who are no longer being trolled.”

Organizations around the world all have to deal with different policies, economies and events. However, surviving as a self-sustaining business and continuing to grow are universal goals that media companies have in common.

Understanding what other organizations have done successfully to achieve these goals can help to refine and perfect your own business’ growth strategies.

After Facebook’s News Ban in Australia, Media Organizations Must Start Owning Their Audiences

In what was perhaps one of Facebook’s most aggressive moves so far, the social media giant last week blocked all news content and links from its platform in Australia. All news pages, and even some government pages, were wiped clean and news organizations were unable to deliver critical information to millions of Facebook’s users.

Facebook’s decision to ban news came after Australia’s government proposed to make big tech giants legally obligated to pay news companies for the content they host.

And while there has been some reconciliation between Facebook and the Australian government resulting in the recent restoration of news content, there’s a greater issue at hand: Big tech giants could abandon countries at any time, without any notice.

In fact, a similar event happened back in 2014, when Google closed its news aggregation services in Spain.

If there’s one takeaway we can learn from this issue, it’s that news media companies need to stop relying on big tech platforms to engage their audience and start building thriving, digital communities of their own. If they don’t, they risk losing the bulk of their traffic overnight.

The Dangers of Not Owning Your Audience

By allowing a third-party platform, like Facebook, to act as a middleman between your brand and its followers, you have no direct ownership over your audience. This scenario creates several challenges for your company.

First off, if you don’t own your audience members, you have limited access to their data. Having access to this first-party data will be the single most important thing for media brands in the coming months and years. Not to mention you can’t prevent your content from showing up near misinformation or falling prey to trolls on other platforms — and that can significantly damage your brand’s reputation.

Meanwhile, you’re at the unpredictable whims and algorithms of a third party, which can disconnect you from your audience in the blink of an eye. That was certainly the case for Australian media companies when Facebook wiped news from its platform without hesitation.

“Web traffic to Australian news sites began to drop significantly just hours after the ban,” reports Business Insider.

Media companies that initially thrived on the platform and had most of their website traffic travel through Facebook can no longer tap into that audience.

With news making up only 4% of Facebook’s content, it doesn’t make sense for media business leaders to put their trust in a platform that has no loyalty to news companies.

Where Media Organizations Need To Go From Here

There’s no question that news companies need to stop relying on Facebook for growth and revenue. So what can shell-shocked publishers that depended on Facebook for traffic, or other big tech platforms for that matter, do to become self-sufficient?

The answer is surprisingly simple: They need to start rebuilding their communities on their own digital properties, where they have complete ownership over their visitors, their data and their revenue. Organizations that take control of their audiences can also encourage visitors to depend on their digital properties instead of social media for trusted content.

“The long-term task for news [organizations] and journalists is to convince the public – especially young people – that it’s worthwhile to actively seek out professional news and journalism as part of their daily online lives, rather than simply reading whatever comes across their feed,” states Diana Bossio, a lecturer for media and communications at the Swinburne University of Technology.

If media companies can form strong, direct relationships with their digital community members on their own properties, they’ll be well on their way toward generating sustainable revenue.

Why On-Site Engagement Tools Can Help Media Companies Reclaim Their Independence

Between 2019 and 2020, consumers worldwide spent an average of 145 minutes on social media each day being, well, social.

And this isn’t surprising: Engaging social experiences encourage people to connect and participate in ongoing digital conversations. But that doesn’t mean you need to rely on social media to engage your audiences socially.

To encourage loyal audiences to form a direct path to your website or app, you can adopt moderated social engagement tools right on your digital properties. From built-in conversation and live chat widgets to live blog tools and personalized social feeds, there are several ways media organizations can embed social experiences into their websites or apps.

Viafoura data reveals how social engagement tools help media companies activate and retain their audiences. Not only do engagement tools drive between 30% and 50% of all user registrations on Viafoura’s customer sites, but engaged users spend three times longer on media websites compared to unengaged users as well.

With the help of Viafoura’s audience engagement solution, media organizations even saw up to a 50% retention rate for engaged users after two months of visiting a site.

Conversation-based tools give users the addictive experiences of social platforms without sacrificing any of your company’s data, revenue or reputation to a third party.

Facebook’s ban on news in Australia had countless media organizations feeling betrayed and abandoned by the tech giant. And just as this wasn’t the first time a big tech company trampled over media organizations, it certainly won’t be the last.

By investing in building communities on your owned and operated digital properties, you can help your media company rise above the whims of tech giants and take control of your most valuable asset — your audience.

Do You Have What It Takes To Build a Thriving Digital Community?

Every digital audience is flowing with revenue-generating power. Whether that power remains untapped or is harnessed to grow your company depends on how well you can transform your audience into a thriving digital community.

Future plc, for example, grew its online audience by 56% in one year by nurturing its digital communities with worthwhile content and experiences.

But building and sustaining a profitable community online isn’t a simple walk in the park — it requires attention, effort and a carefully-crafted engagement strategy.

If you’re interested in securing loyal brand supporters and additional revenue-generation opportunities, we’ve created a checklist below that outlines everything you need to build a thriving digital community.

1. Social Tools for Your Owned and Operated Properties

2. Re-Engagement and Retention Techniques

3. A Process for Understanding Your Audience

4. Personalized User Experiences Based on First-Party Data

5. Comment Moderation

1. Social Tools for Your Owned and Operated Properties

You can’t form an active digital community if people don’t feel connected to your brand. For this reason, media companies must encourage their audience members to forge strong relationships with one another right on their websites or apps.

Adopting conversation-based engagement tools — like commenting widgets, live chat tools, and live blogs — will allow your company to establish meaningful social connections between your audience members and brand.

A recent analysis of Viafoura data even revealed that people who interact with social tools online have a 20-40% higher retention rate after six months of visiting a site compared to those who do not.

2. Re-Engagement and Retention Techniques

With an abundance of media companies and services competing for your subscriber’s dollar, preventing churn is a constant struggle.

Take video streamers, for example.

According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, consumers paid for around five streaming services in 2020. And yet, nearly half of the consumers surveyed canceled at least one of them that same year.

It’s important to have a strategy in place to re-engage your community members when their engagement levels begin to drop. That way, you can keep people away from your competitors by gently nudging their focus back toward your brand.

Consider working with your engagement tool provider to find out when a user becomes unengaged. Once you identify your inactive subscribers or registrants, you can send out targeted offers and content to re-engage them.

3. A Process for Understanding Your Audience

As is true with any connection in the physical world, the relationship between your company and its community members shouldn’t be one-sided. After all, you can’t expect your audience to give you their loyalty, data or money without getting something valuable in return.

And how could you possibly know what your audience wants if you don’t collect their first-party data, monitor their comments and speak with them to discover their interests?

To fully understand your community members and meet their needs, you’ll also need to turn anonymous visitors into known, registered visitors.

In fact, Piano, a subscription service provider, reports that, on average, registered users are 10x more likely to convert than an anonymous visitor.

Organizations that use a proper identity management system will have a clear, 360-degree view of audience members and their interests.

4. Personalized User Experiences Based on First-Party Data

Once you have a steady stream of first-party audience data coming in, you can draw actionable insights to personalize the on-site experience for your community members.

“This way, audience fragments become super-served niches and loyal viewers become VIP members — who will stick around and pay off in the long term,” explains Rande Price, research director at the Digital Context Next trade organization.

It’s also worth noting that people are hungry for personalized experiences.

According to a research expert on Statista, 90% of U.S. consumers perceive content personalization in marketing to be appealing.

Producing customized experiences around your audience’s behavior will, therefore, keep them coming back to your digital properties for relevant content time and time again.

5. Comment Moderation

Your social tools are critical for forming strong connections between your community members; however, not every internet user will leave positive and productive comments. And unfortunately, toxic comments can damage your digital community.

The Pew Research Center states that one in every ten people will abandon an online service if they see nearby offensive behavior.

Safeguard your brand’s integrity and keep your social spaces inviting by enforcing your community guidelines through an effective moderation system.

We would recommend selecting a moderation system that can immediately detect all 6.5 million variations of each word. It should also be able to evolve alongside your community and understand sentence context for maximum protection.

Whether your end goal is to achieve sustainable revenue growth or simply to serve your audience members better, your success depends on the state of your digital community. The more engaged and connected your community members are, the more valuable they’ll find your membership program or subscription package to be.

The truth is that anyone can create a thriving digital community. All it takes is connecting our business to the right engagement, data-collection and personalization strategies.

The Greatest Challenges in Media From 2020, Unpacked

For many, 2020 was a low point — especially with the pandemic, political turmoil and social injustices raging across the globe. These recent events have also sparked a set of ongoing business challenges within the media industry.

Thankfully, organizations are determined to stand strong and be a trusted resource for community members no matter what’s thrown their way.

“After a year where everything was confusing, and the goalposts were always moving, the best we can do as [media] organizations is to be useful and supportive to our communities,” states Mandy Jenkins, general manager of The Compass Experiment at McClatchy.

So to help media companies become more resilient and build better relationships with their audiences and staff, we unpacked crucial takeaways from some of the greatest industry challenges of 2020. Organizations that keep these takeaways in mind will set themselves up for long-term growth and success.

Limitations on In-Person Experiences Reinforces the Need for Digital Social Experiences

The pandemic forced a large number of print media products, including newspapers and magazines, as well as in-person events to shut down practically overnight.

While media companies are now unable to build relationships with audiences in person due to safety restrictions, brand relationships are thriving virtually.

“This year, the sense of isolation caused by lockdown has pushed a lot of people toward online communities to fill the void left by the lack of social interactions,” states Francesco Zaffarano, the editor-in-chief of Will Media. “Although that isolation will eventually end, engaging with communities will still be the key to success in the post-pandemic world.”

By delighting audiences with online social experiences, media companies can encourage connections to form around their brands. These brand relationships will then lead to greater reader loyalty and digital revenue.

The Explosion of Misinformation Calls for Moderation

Misinformation and fake news have been circulating online for as long as the internet has existed. However, the monumental events from 2020 have amplified the reach and impact of misinformation, destroying trust and endangering safety.

A recent study of 200 million pandemic-specific social media posts even revealed that 40% of them were unreliable.

In a world where people no longer know what information to trust, providing reliable news and building close relationships with audiences must be a priority.

That’s why it has become vital for media organizations to invest in making their owned and operated properties safe, trusted spaces for news and related conversation.

Consider producing a trusted environment by tightening moderation on your website’s (or app’s) social spaces to prevent offensive behavior and misinformation.

As Anna Nirmala, VP of the American Journalism Project, stresses, “having a relevant and trusted brand is linked to building relationships and engaging with the community.”

The Loss of Third-Party Cookies Means a Shift to First-Party Data

Despite shrinking company budgets and the global pandemic, 2020 threw another curveball to media companies: the end to third-party cookies.

Most media leaders quickly realized that they would have to reconsider their audience data-collection strategies to survive beyond 2022, when Chrome phases out third-party cookies entirely.

Little by little, organizations are shifting focus from third-party to first-party data strategies to future-proof their businesses. After all, first-party data offers insight into what audiences find interesting and how companies can better meet their needs.

“You have to triple down on data – not in the crude sense of chasing page views, but in the sense of infusing the [organization] with a visceral sense of who audiences are, why you matter and how you can matter more,” explains Lucy Kueng, a professor and senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute.

In other words, first-party audience data is essential for creating highly relevant content and experiences to boost the appeal of your company’s services.

Changing Work Environments Put Greater Emphasis on Improving Mental Health in the Newsroom

In recent years, the state of employee mental health at media companies has been under scrutiny. 2020 then unleashed a mass migration to remote workspaces along with an alarming number of job cuts across the media industry, adding new pressure on newsroom workers.

“We are at an interesting point where newsroom cultures are changing very quickly and the pandemic has accelerated that,” states Reuters Global Managing Editor Simon Robinson. “The challenge now is to keep that momentum going as new remote workers are joining news [organizations] and relationship-building is getting harder.”

Business leaders must now take steps to improve mental health in the newsroom to maintain a positive, productive work environment with satisfied employees.

All throughout 2020, media companies were forced to tackle one challenge after another. Fortunately, we’ve finally entered the beginning of a healing period, where businesses can learn from the past to become more resilient and profitable moving forward.

Here’s How Successful Media Companies Listen to Their Community Members

Every media company is on a journey to win over and retain audience members. Whether companies are aware of it or not, each piece of content developed, employee hired and partnership made is centered around improving their ability to serve their audiences.

That’s why it’s essential to develop a thorough understanding of your company’s community, including their likes and dislikes and the value they see in your company.

Logan Jaffe, an engagement reporter at Pro Publica, puts it simply: “If we can’t listen to people who are already engaging with us on a basic level, how will we listen to people who aren’t yet — to the communities we’re pursuing new engagement with?”

Media companies that hope to grow must, therefore, go above and beyond to please consumers. And that often involves listening to both the individual and collective needs, opinions and interests of their community members.

To paint a picture of what listening to the public could look like for you, read on to discover how successful media companies are listening to their communities. Once you know how to appeal to their interests and habits, you can build new and better relationships between consumers and your brand.

Seek Out Direct Feedback From Community Members

Give your company the information it needs to grow by allowing consumers to share their opinions and preferences related to your brand.

To prompt actionable feedback around your company’s digital content and user experience, all you have to do is ask visitors how your brand can improve.

News publisher Santa Cruz Local, for instance, conducts interviews with community members to learn more about them and the issues that matter. As a result, the publisher has produced a business model that earns 80% of its revenue from readers.

Poynter Editor Kristen Hare explains how the content at Santa Cruz Local is based on “listening to the community to understand what kind of news it wants, what questions it has and offering different paths to getting it.”

But listening to your community members doesn’t need to be time-consuming or require much effort. Companies can successfully collect information from users through relevant Q&As, live chats and even conversations online.

“We are better journalists when we listen to the community that we serve and really make sure that those viewers and that audience have a seat at the table,” states Erica Hill-Rodriguez, KTTV’s news director.

In other words, you can get clarity on how to entertain and support consumers simply by listening to what they have to say.

Monitor Engagement Data

Your user data is a precious resource that can help you make sense of your community’s behavior and preferences. While many publishers tend to fixate on drawing insights from metrics like page views and unique visitors, media companies are beginning to focus more on engagement data.

“We don’t chase eyeballs, we focus on engagement,” states The Nation’s president, Erin O’Mara. “And an engaged community is really meaningful, not just the way they interact with us but also how they can be ambassadors for The Nation.”

As a 155-year old publication that continues to thrive amid the pandemic, The Nation has secured a highly interested community by understanding how to best engage its community.

Follow in The Nation’s footsteps by listening to your user’s engagement data to know what topics and tools successfully spark engagement across your audience.

Extract Insights to Personalize Online Experiences

You can show consumers that you listen to and understand their interests by creating a digital experience based on their behavior.

Dig into your user data to pull useful insights that can help personalize the way they’re served content. That way, you’ll increase the likelihood that your digital visitors will engage with your content and messages.

“When we know who our users are, we’re able to communicate in a more personalized and targeted way with different kinds of subscription messaging,” says Ben Cotton, VP of product at the New York Times.

In an ideal world, your online user experience should be magnetic — every movement from your community members should trigger an adjustment on your digital property. As a result, you’ll serve up content and messages they’re interested in and ready to respond to.

With consumers controlling a significant portion of company revenue, business decisions must hang on every action, word and pattern made by your community. And taking the time to understand and support your readers will show them that your company is worthy of their time.

Four Things Companies Are Doing to Take Their Subscription Strategies to the Next Level

Earning reader revenue isn’t a simple task in the media industry. Even with a paywall in place, those precious subscriptions won’t start pouring in on their own. Not unless your company has a strong subscription strategy.

So what kinds of subscription-driving tactics can delight visitors and convince them to become dedicated community members?

“We see subscribers weighing up personal benefits, such as distinctive content, convenience, and value, with perceived benefits for society,” state the authors of Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020.

This means that companies must cater to the needs and interests of consumers while serving their entire communities to create loyal subscribers.

For those of you who are hoping to strengthen your existing subscription strategy, there are several tactics worth trying out. Let’s look at some of the effective subscription strategies that publishers have recently implemented for some inspiration.

Personalizing the Visitor Experience With Audience Data

Audience data is a powerful tool that media companies can use to enrich their subscription strategies, satisfying the needs and desires of consumers.

ARA, a Spanish publisher in Barcelona, credits its 3,200 new subscribers largely to its use of first-party audience data. The media company closely assessed its community members to tailor their experiences to their behaviors and content interests.

“We want to know where our audiences are, how they consume, how they read our news and we started to produce more according to these audiences,” says Georgina Ferri Todera, the chief revenue and innovation officer at ARA. “But the first step was knowing more about our audiences.”

The Wall Street Journal has also recognized the need to start collecting audience data to personalize its subscribers’ experience. As a result, subscribers are more likely to have a positive digital experience and remain loyal to the brand.

Communicating Directly With Audiences

If you’re not sure what could make your company’s content and on-site experience more appealing to consumers, you can always turn to your audience for answers.

TIME, for instance, asked consumers directly about what resources it could provide to help people during the early stages of the pandemic.

“People told us what they want and we fulfilled it for them,” explains Maya Draisin, SVP of progress marketing at TIME. “And they responded with 1.5 million views.”

In general, your audience is your compass. By following their directions and fulfilling their needs, you can reinforce the value of your company’s content and subscription program.

Opting Out of Big Tech Platforms

For professionals in the digital world, the instinct to promote content across multiple social media and news aggregation channels is only natural. Many people expect to attract greater audiences and more subscribers by promoting content on third-party websites.

However, this approach can actually be counterproductive to your subscription program. Not only do consumers lack trust in the content on big tech platforms, but your company also loses revenue as well as precious audience data to the host platform.

The New York Times is one of the latest media companies to recognize the value of creating direct relationships with readers on its own properties.

After opting out of Apple’s news aggregation platform, the Time’s COO, Meredith Kopit Levien, stated that the company can form a “direct path for sending those readers back into our environments, where we control the presentation of our report, the relationships with our readers, and the nature of our business rules.”

Build a direct relationship with readers to, therefore, earn their trust and forge daily habits that lead to long-term subscription growth.

Working Audience Engagement Into the Subscription Plan

While there’s no single right way to use a paywall, some publishers see merit in engaging audiences before revealing a subscription message.

This process helps consumers feel connected to media companies, and then when they’re active enough online, guides them to become loyal subscribers.

Slate is one of many publishers that have implemented this strategy.

“If you want people to join or subscribe, asking them to do it voluntarily is not quite enough,” explains Dan Check, CEO of Slate.

You can encourage on-site audience engagement through interactive tools and exceptional journalism before and after visitors subscribe to your services.

Go beyond your paywall by strengthening your company’s connection to its audience.

Whether you choose to replicate these strategies on your digital properties or not, your ability to increase your loyal subscribers all comes down to engaging and understanding consumers. Tie these core actions into your subscription strategy to create and retain a strong community of brand advocates.

Four Growth Strategies Media Companies Are Prioritizing Right Now

Third-party cookies are slowly disappearing from the internet. As a result, media companies are in a race against time to find and execute new strategies to collect user data.

Gathering first-party data, user information that’s collected directly on a website consensually, has become essential for businesses everywhere.

“First-party data is going to be very effective — it already is — in helping marketers target in different ways,” states New York Times’ CEO, Meredith Kopit Levien.

Media companies can use this data to peer into their visitors’ habits and preferences, which is valuable knowledge that can enhance their platforms and content.

This information is key to securing new revenue streams and long-term loyalty from digital community members.

In pursuit of company growth and first-party user data, here’s what media companies across all industries have been focusing on recently.

Enabling Conversation Within Online Communities

Social tools that allow website visitors to participate in discussions carry a series of benefits for businesses. Not only do they encourage human connections to form around a brand, but they also persuade consumers to develop loyal habits.

Together, these qualities can transform ordinary consumers into dedicated brand advocates, who rely on your media brand for entertainment or news.

PinkNews, a publisher focused on producing LGBT+ content, is one of many media companies planning to implement commenting on their platform. The digital publication will be reserving commenting for its members to elevate premium experiences.

Media companies like the Daily Hive and Reach plc have also recently implemented new social tools to enhance user experiences and attract subscribers.

But commenting widgets also have another benefit: they collect precious first-party user data.

By logging in to use a conversation widget, visitors offer up information on their identity and visibility into what they’re engaging with online. These insights can improve your website’s appeal to advertisers and help you better understand and retain community members.

Producing Virtual Events

While the pandemic has accelerated the push to digital, virtual events are proving to be profitable alternatives to in-person ones.

Business Insider, for instance, has already increased the number of events it’s run in 2020 compared to 2019. Plus, the media company has multiplied its events revenue by eight over the past year.

Business Insider credits its growth to the less demanding nature of virtual events — in terms of planning and execution — and the multiple ways in which they can be monetized.

The Financial Times is also prioritizing virtual events as a way to extract information on new audiences.

According to Orson Francescone, managing director of FT Live, “of the 52,000 people we had attending [one of our events], about 75% were completely new to us.”

New audiences like this can be assessed based on their interests and engagements during events and targeted with subscription offers using their behavior data.

Building Stronger Relationships With Consumers

Now that subscription revenue is a primary revenue stream for most media companies, forging resilient relationships with consumers has become central to growth strategies.

Just look at Spanish publisher Eldiario.es.

Eldiario.es continues to strengthen its relationship with readers by taking the time to listen to and serve community members. That’s why the company saw hundreds of consumers volunteer to pay more than they had to for a membership fee to offer support during the pandemic.

María Ramírez, the media company’s head of strategy, explains that “listening to your audience, answering the phone, owning your mistakes, responding to complaints pays in the long run for any newspaper with a reader revenue model.”

One way to listen to your audience is simply to dig into your data to find out what types of content are earning the most amount of engagement. That way, you can refine your company’s editorial plan to better suit your audience’s interests.

Personalizing Consumer Experiences

Many companies that already have effective processes in place to collect user data are now focused on extracting valuable insights on audience interests and habits. After all, insights on user behavior can help personalize consumer experiences to keep digital visitors coming back.

Personalization has particularly become a major focus for media companies covering political election cycles. For instance, NBC News is targeting consumers with content and alerts specific to their location for the U.S. election.

Whether you choose to personalize a visitor’s mobile alerts or their content feed, customization can improve how much consumers care about media brands.

“If you focus on the customer [enough], you find ways of developing something that means something to them,” explains Claire MacLellon, the COO of Future plc.

Ultimately, using first-party data to create meaningful experiences and connections is necessary to grow subscription numbers and retain existing community members.

Publishers Have Power to Amplify Voices in the Black Lives Matter Movement

Racism has existed for centuries, and it’ll take the combined forces of thousands to scrub society of its ignorance and prejudices. But change won’t happen unless we all make an effort to take action.

For media companies, this means paying attention to minority community members and helping to educate audiences on social justice and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

It’s also in your company’s best interest to lend your support to black people. After all, there’s a clear connection between satisfying your digital community and long-term success.

“At the core of a successful news business is listening and serving your community of readers — especially those whose voices are often underrepresented in the mainstream conversation,” says Anika Anand, programming director at the Local Independent Online News Publishers association.

Media companies can better serve black community members by helping to amplify their voices. To get started, here are a few creative ways that will help you turn your brand into a supportive resource for black people in the battle against racism.

Invite Your Community Into the Conversation

You can prompt meaningful discussions from your company’s audience around fighting racism through organized live chats. Not only can these live conversations help media companies educate fellow community members on racism, but they also encourage those who have experienced racism to cut through their silence and speak up.

“The system of this [racist] web that surrounds all of us is reinforced by silence,” Beverly Tatum, a psychologist, tells CTV News. “So you have to speak up against it in the places where you are.”

Incorporating live chat into your company’s website or app will give visitors the ability to have a voice as users encourage each other to share their views.

In some cases, you may wish to leverage the help of role models in the black community and even your journalists to drive discussions within your community.

Feature Content Written By Black People

Just because objectivity is valued in the media doesn’t mean your company can’t showcase the experiences of marginalized communities and encourage social change.

Some media companies are taking steps to present personal experience articles, written by black individuals.

People, for example, ran a series of personal essays from black perspectives on racism right on its website.

Since these pieces were written by people who have experienced racism directly, they’re all the more powerful in promoting equality.

Showcase Powerful Communications Between Visitors

As reliable content sources with hundreds and thousands of followers, there’s value in offering visibility into the raw, unedited voices of black people.

One simple way to achieve this is by offering up your digital properties to comments from your audience members. That way, any content you produce relevant to the BLM movement will allow consumers to share their own opinions and experiences with racism right on your properties.

You can then collect groups of user-generated comments that address similar issues, and showcase them in an article.

In a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 74% of respondents suggest that “bringing people of different racial backgrounds together to talk about race… [is an] effective [tactic] for groups and organizations that work to help black people achieve equality.”

Be cautious of trolls, though. Keep offensive and racist commenters off of your platform to encourage a constant stream of civil conversation in your community. You can ward off trolls by ensuring your community guidelines are up to date and that you have a proper moderation solution running.

Share Protest Updates in Real Time

It’s been several weeks since George Floyd was killed by a police officer, and protests advocating for equality continue to take place.

With 83% of young adults following this news, there’s a clear appetite for information about the ongoing protests against racism. However, so much of this news gets twisted on social media by trolls, public figures and individuals who are simply misinformed.

Now, publishers have the chance to host live blogs on their websites to create trusted hubs of information around the protests. These pages can be used to feature accurate updates, interviews with protesters, and related thoughts from black role models.

Black lives matter — so highlight the black voices that you have access to right on your digital properties. That way, your media company can become a center for anti-racism that supports and is supported by the many voices of its community.

Four New Types of Subscribers That Media Companies Can Target

The pandemic has completely changed life as we know it over the past few months. As consumers continue to social distance and limit their exposure to public places, their interests and habits are evolving. And some media companies are noticing that these behavioral changes will be long-lasting.

“The pandemic has disrupted every industry, sector, and sense of normalcy we’ve ever known,” states Jamie Rudick, the head of research and insights at Condé Nast Britain. “Though as we look to the next chapter, we see new values and virtues emerge – ones that will welcomingly carry on post pandemic.”

Publishers can use these emerging interests and values as a focal point to target consumers with engaging experiences online and drive subscriptions. To do so, media companies must first understand what new groups of consumers are willing to pay for.

Get a complete rundown of the new types of potential subscribers, and how your company can add them to its network of loyal community members:

People Looking for Social Outlets

Consumers have been deprived of in-person events and human connections since the pandemic’s start — but social interaction is essential to the public’s well-being. As a result, many consumers have become eager to move their social lives online.

Even sports fans are relying on publishers for virtual opportunities to connect over industry milestones and updates.

“Facing the reality that packed theatres and auditoriums likely won’t be returning this year, would-be spectators are coming to terms with the prospect of paying for virtual cultural stimulation,” Condé Nast Britain explains in a report.

While some consumers are going online to maintain existing friendships, others are simply searching for a way to share their feelings about topics they care about with strangers.

Media companies can use this to their advantage by providing consumers who are looking for social outlets with opportunities to participate in live conversations.

Hobbyists

Consumers that previously filled their schedules with commuting and social excursions suddenly have an abundance of time on their hands at home. As a result, they’re testing out old and new hobbies to keep themselves occupied as well as for therapeutic purposes.

“In this time of uncertainty and instability, and a world and existence we no longer recognize, people need an anchor to familiarity and what [brings] them comfort, stability, safety, and happiness,” Dr. Jeff Gardere, a clinical psychologist, explains to CNN.

Poynter notes that hobby-specific publications have seen a particularly large surge in readers and engagement since the beginning of the pandemic. This new type of consumer is highly interested in building up home-based skills, like cooking, baking, gardening and home improvement.

To capture and hold the attention of these hobbyists, media companies may want to consider creating regular tip-style content and events related to popular hobbies.

Virtual Escapism Seekers

With countless vacations canceled and ex-globetrotters now stuck at home, the pandemic has pressed the pause button on travel. Those itching for a getaway are now craving other, safer ways to escape the grind of their daily lives.

“Cornell University research has shown that there is a very close correlation between planning trips and mental health,” says Travel + Leisure India and South Asia’s editor-in-chief, Aindrila Mitra. “So there is no quarantine on dreaming, and it is our job to focus on armchair travel and provide virtual trips, which offer an escapism of sorts.”

Media companies can target this group of travel-hungry consumers through virtual experiences centered around nature, wellness, tourism and planning trips.

Need some inspiration? Culture Trip is offering a series of interactive online experiences that focus on at-home international experiences, including meditation classes with a Buddhist teacher and Israeli or Morocco-based cooking classes.

Information Hunters

Between the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests, consumers have never been more hungry for information. These news-obsessed individuals are constantly on the hunt for new and relevant information they can trust.

In a survey with 2,500 consumers, 62% of respondents stated that they’re currently craving informative content.

These individuals can be engaged through information hubs, like live blogs, where any ongoing updates related to a topic can be posted in a reliable space.

This is the time for media companies to make use of these budding consumer interests to build stronger connections with audiences and drive subscriptions. At the end of the day, publishers that can spark a balance between entertainment, social engagement, escapism and reliable information will position themselves for growth.