How Media Companies Can Drive Audience Growth in a Changing Digital Landscape

• Updated on: 2017-09-03
• Read original article here

Digital media companies and publishers rely on content as a key way to establish their brands. They strive to get the right eyes to their content and grow both their audience and their brand.

People are less likely than ever to start at the homepage of a site when consuming content. They’re much more likely to engage with media on Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat — places they’re already hanging out.

But that’s tricky for digital media companies and publishers. When social media platforms change their algorithms, offerings, or prices, things can get tough. It’s like trying to build a house on rented land. That’s why media companies are focusing on growing an owned audience through channels like email marketing, native apps, and podcasts.

Today, we’re sharing how digital media companies and publishers can drive audience growth in today’s changing digital landscape.

There’s no doubt that Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and other social media platforms provide ample opportunities for publishers. According to the Pew Research Center and the Knight Foundation, 40 percent of American adults get their news on Facebook.

Although major digital media companies have seen substantial gains in traffic from social media sites, they’ve also suffered when theseplatforms have changed their offerings. For example:

As long as digital media companies and publishers depend on social media platforms for traffic, they’ll continue to fall prey to changing products, services, and algorithms.

Although social media will remain a pillar in the digital marketing landscape, companies are increasingly considering how they can own their audience instead.

Digital media companies and publishers care deeply about their audience’s experience. They want to grow an audience, but they also want to grow the right audience.

But when algorithms shift and traffic disappears, teams can panic.

How can media companies and publishers drive audience growth while serving their readership?

Media companies and publishers have been focusing on video for the last few years, but the recent trend has been live video. Snapchat and Periscope showed people that live content was compelling to audiences, and Facebook Live takes that to the next level.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is getting more advanced, and chatbots are leading the charge. Many companies are using chatbots to deliver content to the right place at the right time. For example, if someone expresses interest in certain areas in a chat window, a chatbot can promote signing up for a newsletter.

Media companies and publishers who want to drive audience growth should figure out what’s already working– then dive in. For example, if you realize that a large percentage of your traffic comes from email newsletters, then it’s worth figuring out how to get more people to subscribe.

Marketers are becoming better at delivering the right content to the right people at exactly the right time. It’s become easier to personalize and automate based on interest, gender, location, and much more.

For example, if a someone visits BuzzFeed Food to get recipes or tips on healthy eating, they’ll be asked to sign up for a Food newsletter with recipes.

Email marketing gives digital media companies and publishers the opportunity to own their audience, so many are doubling down on email efforts. They’re no longer seeing it as an extension of what they offer. They’re focusing on it as its own viable channel.

But to get people to subscribe, you have to provide incentives for signing up. Here are some tactics digital media companies and publishers are using:

In a changing digital landscape, media companies and publishers are finding clever ways to grow their audience, specifically by focusing on channels they can own. Email marketing, native apps, and podcasts have become particularly attractive.

These teams care about growing the subscribers on their lists, but they’re also paying close attention to open rates, repeat visitors, and how many people open emails on a daily basis. By carefully considering how to drive audience growth, media companies and publishers will thrive in a changing world.

Check out our infographic, How Digital Media Publishers Are Boosting Web Traffic with Email Marketing to learn even more.