The changing media landscape
Digital media has radically altered the way we consume and interact with news. For more than 50 years, newspapers and TV have dominated news coverage almost everywhere until the internet created the low cost opportunity to go global.
Digital natives rushed to change the news, while publishers and broadcasters started to build online audiences producing video-rich news channels that are accessible across the world at the touch of a button. Let’s refer to this as “News 3.0” – the age in which companies as diverse as Bloomberg, ESPN, CNN, Daily Mail, Huffington Post , BuzzFeed and the like joined the worldwide fight for online viewers, readers and listeners.
Multi-channel, multi platform news that is distributed socially is a way of saying to the consumer “you are in control: you decide if our content is entertaining and relevant and we’ll supply it when and where you want it”. However this fusion of traditional and new media is a big challenge for many; most of all for the daily newspaper which faces the need to make a real strategic leap for survival. How can they compete in a socially enabled environment? Especially one where such a wealth of content is so readily available that we no longer have to go out of our way to access it? Where do they start?
Let’s refer to this as “News 3.0” – the age in which companies as diverse as Bloomberg, ESPN, CNN, Daily Mail, Huffington Post , BuzzFeed and the like joined the worldwide fight for online viewers, readers and listeners.
Start at the beginning. Content. Digital content is not about the traditional attention grabbing font-size and designs but reflecting the needs of online consumers. Mediocrity and repetition don’t pay anymore. Investigative, newspaper-centric journalism is what papers do best therefore they should seek to maximise the impact of genuinely exclusive coverage, while also providing links to alternative sources and ‘aggregated’ content. The value in creating the ‘best’ or ‘exclusive’ coverage is that competitors will end up linking back to you.
On the other hand, news sites should remember what so many readers have always liked about newspapers: the happy chance of coming across something they weren’t looking for and didn’t expect to find. Crowdtap research found individuals aged 18 to 36 spend an average of 17.8 hours a day with different types of media, with the notion of “multi-channel” (merging digital, print and broadcast channels) media consumption commonplace therefore audiences have to be cultivated and ‘trained’ to become habitual users and will seek out news. This also means that element of surprise has been removed; the joy of coming across something they did not expect to find is reduced by the fact that they are actively searching for it and that their news feeds are tailored to things they want.
Video will likely become an online battle ground as audiences become more and more accustomed to consuming news through TV and digital. A key shift of resources for newspapers will be building up substantial video content to compete with TV news. Take for example the deal made between the NY Times and the US broadcaster PBS to share video journalism.
Digital media is not restricted to news sites and video. News mediums cannot afford to forget about the possibilities that social media can bring. All news organisations have to have an imprint on social media due to it being where so many of their audience regularly engage. It is a key source of content, distribution and competition. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Snapchat increasingly see themselves as platforms for news and information. Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2014 found Facebook to be the most important network for news with some 42% of respondents saying they select the media they consume online from their Facebook news feed. Almost a quarter said they have friends or follow people who they regard as authorities for news and almost 1 in 5 said they trust their friends to source news. The pull of Facebook as an access point for news has been further strengthened by addition of their ‘read-in’ feature which allows people to read news without navigating away from their social feeds. The concept of contributing content to ‘public spaces’ over which they have no control represents a challenge for newspaper-centric companies. They must collaborate with social media but should consider reserving their exclusive “branded” content for their own platforms.
It is already clear that most news providers will simply not be able to depend on readership revenues. News is something that most readers now do not expect not to pay for. This is reflected by the recent decision from NME to become a free publication following their significant drop in paid over the past few years. The decision was made to hopefully push circulation from 15,000 to 300,000, a risk which seems to be paying off.
Crowdtap research found individuals aged 18 to 36 spend an average of 17.8 hours a day with different types of media, with the notion of “multi-channel” (merging digital, print and broadcast channels) media consumption commonplace...
Most news will be funded by a combination of advertising and e-commerce therefore newspapers will need to abandon their traditional sense of ‘control’ and seek partnerships, collaborations and alliances in order to compete in the digital marketplace. Alternatively, as BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti recently suggested, perhaps the natural answer is for the printed newspaper to charge a higher price so that (perhaps) it can be viable just with its most loyal and committed readers.
Personally, I enjoy having a paper under my arm. I love the act of turning a page and the satisfaction of finishing a worn and well-loved book, so I will continue to read the Metro, occasionally buy a paper and always pick a paperback over a kindle. Surely I cannot be alone in this! So maybe this means that print will always have a place. After all you cannot fold the corner of your kindle for later. Let's hope that the feeling i get from holding that newspaper under my arm will be shared by the generations of kids who have grown up with technology available to them since birth. It’s this generation that hold the future of print media in their hands.I'm sure their love of "retro" mediums can nurture the print industry back to full health.
A holistic approach to blogger outreach
What is ‘blogger outreach’ and how do I do it?
That was the prominent undertone from a series of creative workshop sessions we recently hosted in the trendy Ace Hotel in Shoreditch. The proliferation of alternative media platforms has rendered the PR industry perplexed, and the knee-jerk reaction has been to throw money at it. But a holistic approach to blogger outreach is possible, and it is a far more attractive proposition for both brands and bloggers alike.
Marketing Land defines blogger outreach, or influencer marketing, as the process of leveraging influencers with an established and substantial following in exchange for “free access to the product or service” or a fee for publishing content. But the notion that bloggers are simply ‘reviewers with reach’ is misguided, and PR professionals are missing a trick if they define them as such.
Successful bloggers are able to reach large networks of people because they produce great content that resonates with a target audience. Talya’s blog Motherhood: The Real Deal, is a good example. The hilarious account of the “general WTF-ness” that comes with being a mother embodies the spirit of being a blogger by connecting to her audience with good content that is relevant. We landed this release not because we paid, but because we have established a relationship centred around those principles.
As a PR firm working from inside the media – the so-called Trojan horse effect – we are able to land branded content across the board because we take a media-first approach to outreach. At a blogger level, that is about supplying good content, engaging with blogger communities and using our media-base to collaborate with bloggers to ensure the content cycle is rewarding for all parties involved.
Here’s a short guide to our blogger outreach programme.
Content generation
Bloggers, like any other publishing genre, are in the business of providing engaging content to readers. Where they differ is that they have free reign over how they produce that content. Unlike mainstream media outlets there is no protocol when it comes to blogging, which breaks the mould of the holistic model applied by PR companies when outreaching to the media. Press releases are outmoded, spokespeople are redundant and branded messages can be off-putting, but that doesn’t mean that content is unwanted.
At 72Point, we take a hands-off approach to content distribution. Our own digital media hub is tailored exclusively to online publications, providing all the necessary materials in a simple-to-use format. We encourage collaborators to get creative with the content we provide them, or even engage with it. Like this.
Building communities
Communities are a focal part of the blogger ecosystem. Social media communities exist across all genres, many of which are active with meetups and conferences regularly taking place across the country. In order to have a feel for the pulse of the community, it is really important to engage with these networks.
The digital hub has a large community of more than 500 bloggers which we endeavour to engage with on a regular basis. Our Ambassador Programme gives us access to key influencers who work within blogger communities, and we regular discuss topics such as content generation and co-creation in our forum, as well as outreaching over social media.
Co-creation
We strongly believe that bloggers should be a part of the creative process, and we endeavour to involve bloggers in the work we do wherever we can. Our ambassadors have worked with us on several releases which have subsequently given them great exposure in the national press. Here’s a couple of examples:
Plus Size Bloggers Speak Out About Body Shaming
Demand for Ethically Sourced Clothes Increasing
The blogging community has been somewhat neglected by the PR industry thus far, and it is to our detriment. Alternative media outlets offer a lot of promise and arguably as much or more ROI in terms of engagement and social interaction than national press. But involving them in the outreach process should be less about throwing freebies their way and more about involving them in the creative process. It’s undoubtedly a long-term endeavour, but ultimately for a very worthy cause.
Native Advertising: What is it and why should you be doing it?
Of all the ‘Zucker’ web pioneers in the World, Ethan Zuckerman is surely the most loathed. Working for Tripod.com in the 1990s he invented the odious pop-up advertising format which has enjoyed a lucrative career assaulting the eyeballs of innocent web browsers with sponsored messages and swindling clickbait. Last year he issued a public apology for “creating one of the most hated tools in the advertiser’s toolkit” in a paper questioning whether advertising – the “default business model on the web” – could be replaced by other possible revenue models such as subscriptions, micro-payments and crowdfunding. His argument, predicated on the notion that advertising was the internet’s “original sin”, somewhat complicates the solution in search of a face-saving digital utopia. In reality, we just need ads that are better at engaging with online audiences.
In the 72Point report on the state of the digital media industry we coined the term “Citizen Editorship” to demonstrate how we have evolved to cope with the deluge of content online. Rather than acting as spectators, we have become agents in the media cycle and more powerful as a result, which is why disruptive ad formats such as pop-ups have largely fallen into disrepute. Today, browsers demand ads that complement their journey rather than detract from it, and smart marketers, publishers and agencies are moving aggressively to adjust their core strategies to reflect this.
What is It?
Native advertising is a form of online advertising that matches the form and function of the platform on which it appears, or, in the words of Peter Minnium, Head of Brand Initiatives at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), ads that are “so cohesive with the page content, assimilated into the design, and consistent with the user experience that the viewer simply feels that it belongs.”
Sponsored search results on Google, sponsored posts on Facebook and sponsored tweets on Twitter are all examples of content that is ‘native’ to its platform, and the publishing industry is quickly following suit. Companies such as Time Inc, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today have introduced new advertising integrations that match the form and function of their editorial feeds.
Why Should You Be Doing It?
Native advertising represents a significant shift in the evolution of digital advertising. Not only does it offer a non-disruptive means of communicating brand messages, it also works seamlessly across platforms and is ideal fodder for social media channels.
Well Liked
Research shows that native ads widen the purchase funnel by 29%. Compared to traditional display advertising, there is a considerable uplift in regards to discovery (+33%), trust (+32%) and purchase (+29%). The click-through rate for native ads is 31% higher than regular ads, and in stark contrast to pop-ups and display advertising, the majority (59%) of consumers actually like native ads.
A Good Fit
Brands are spending big marketing bucks online. Digital ad spend has increased from £825 million in 2004 to £7.2 billion in 2014, an increase of 800% in the midst of a severe economic downturn. This extensive increase is thanks to new ad formats that fit around the natural browsing habits of consumers. Share through/IPG Media labs research found 25% more consumers were measured to look at in-feed, native ad placements than standard banners in a recent study that used eye-tracking technology to assess the attention of consumers. Most notably, consumers looked at native ads 2% more than editorial content and spent the same number of seconds viewing.
Changing Consumption Behaviour
One of the other big findings from our Generation Editor report was the extent to which consumers are using multiple devices as part of their browsing experience. A massive 95 per cent of the 7,500 respondents surveyed said they consume media on multiple devices, with mobile and tablet overwhelmingly popular. Content marketing and native advertising already makes up over one fifth of digital display and half of mobile display because it seamlessly fits with this change, or evolution, of consumption behaviour.
72Point Native Advertising Packages
As specialists in writing and landing branded stories within the news pages of national news sites and specialist press outlets we have always been focused on organic coverage. However the native advertising package is a great way of bolstering a campaign with guaranteed regional exposure that complements the coverage we achieve through our traditional methods.
In conjunction with Johnston Press, 72Point can offer an unrivalled native advertising package which guarantees coverage across 185 digital sites in the UK. In comparison to an industry average 0.18% CTR, our ads have been running at an average of 0.37% CTR and are as high as 1.2% thanks to its prominent position on all homepages in the Johnston Press digital portfolio.
If you would like further information on our native advertising packages, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
The power of free text
“We want a holiday idea to go out in August!”, “We’d like to be considered as ownership contenders of Valentine’s Day!” “We want to send a home improvements idea out this Bank Holiday!” Sound familiar? News tends to be on a loop. There are always new angles to take but there isn’t always the opportunity to explore them. This is something that every PR professional will know.
Clients can sometimes be hell-bent on a specific angle and timings but it’s your job to make it new and interesting.
This is where the power of ‘free text’ comes in and steals the show for you and your client. A free text question, in case you're reading this feeling somewhat perplexed, is simply a question that doesn’t have any options. It’s a blank box that gives respondents the chance to tell their own story or give their own opinion rather than choose one we have given to them.
In the past we’ve asked respondents to tell us about the strangest interview questions they’ve faced – the result was a page lead in the Daily Mail and a whole host of further media coverage.
Asking the panel to give you their own personal experiences can be a daunting thought to those who haven’t tried it. When we suggest it to clients we often get asked if “the story will stand up if there isn’t a percentage?” The answer is ‘absolutely’.
While we base our stories on the results of research it’s not always essential to include the stats. You’re telling a story not writing a report.
We love stats. We'd be lost without them, so we’re not saying the free text questions are the best and only option – but they are there to make sure you’ve got something personal to add to your version of the tale. Something that nobody else will have.
Free text works for both serious and light stories. They can bring humour or they can add a more humbling point of view. You can really add a little extra ‘something’ with a free text answer. It could take up the majority of the copy or it can just give you an edge that backs up one of the stats you’ve already mentioned.
The truth is, if you’re willing to sift through hundreds of stories from respondents, you’re certain to be paid off with a few gems. You only really need three or four to really give you a good start.
Of course you’ll get several ‘don’t know’ answers and the odd questionable response but you just need to persist and look out for that one story that will give you your top line.
We’ve asked for embarrassing stories, disastrous car journeys, dangerous experiences and everything in between. Our panel never disappoints. And If worst comes to the worst and you don’t get anything you can use, at least you get to sit at your desk chuckling away at the situations people get themselves in.
Banksy blunder - The benefit of hindsight
It’s not quite as bad as being the man who failed to sign the Beatles but sometimes, as I crawl to work through Bristol traffic on a dismal Monday morning, it feels that way.
In the late 90s, I began to notice funny and subversive graffiti emerging around the city. A rat here, a clown there, a thought-provoking stencilled slogan amid a scrabble of tags.
One particularly striking image appeared overnight on the side of a pub next to our old office on Hotwells Road opposite the SS Great Britain. It was of a screaming clown with Kiss-style eye make-up, toting two pistols. For some unaccountable reason it cheered me up every time I saw it.
While talking one day with a pal who owned a skateboard store off Park Street, I learned that the artist responsible was known as Banksy. I filed the information away and continued to enjoy his work as it cropped up throughout Bristol, experiencing a kind of old school ‘I Spy’ thrill every time I found one.
Fast forward to 2000, and the announcement that Banksy was making the move towards the more traditional medium of canvas, and marking this with an exhibition at the Severnshed restaurant. I went along. Although many of the paintings bore red ‘sold’ stickers (prices were in the high hundreds, rather than today’s astronomical figures) the event itself, it seemed to me, was sparsely attended.
I met and chatted with Banksy’s then manager Robert Birse, in the course of which I was invited to visit the man’s studio, which I jumped at.
If memory serves, the near-derelict space was tucked away in Bedminster. I’d persuaded my news editor that there was something very interesting going on here, although the Banksy phenomenon was still a long way off.
During the course of the visit, I enthused as was shown various canvasses, including one particularly strong image – an elephant with a missile strapped to its back, against a vivid pink background.
“The frame on that one is slightly off,” said Robert. “If you hold it up you’ll see it’s a bit skew-iff.”
It was. It meant it wouldn’t hang completely flat. “Still amazing though,” I replied.
Robert thought for a moment and then said: “Well, you could have that one for a reduced rate, if you like.”
“So … how much?”
“Say £300?”
Now, at the time I was a pretty hard-up reporter with three children to support and another on the way. Three hundred quid bought a lot of nappies and Wet Wipes. But still …
“Yes,” I said. “But is it OK if I give you a cheque for £100 now and pay the rest over the next couple of months?”
He agreed, and I loaded the piece into the back of my battered Peugeot 205.
Back at the office, I phoned my wife and – having spent the journey back planning the best way of pitching the purchase (investment/it’s beautiful/it’ll cover that dodgy bit of plastering in the front room) – recounted the tale.
An ominous silence. A reaaaalllllllly long, ominous silence. Then: “You know we can’t afford it, so I don’t even know why you’d consider this. It’ll have to go back. And you need to get the bloke to tear up the cheque before he banks it.”
The channel for negotiation had clanged shut. I muttered something about a loan, or perhaps borrowing some money from a parent or a mate, but we were already overdrawn to the hilt, and this was met with a dangerous snort.
So back it went.
I’ve tried to “take a positive” from this over the years, but I can’t. I experience a pang – actually it’s more of a stab – every time I read about a Banksy selling at auction, or something like the wonderful Dismaland opening its rusty doors to the public.
If there’s anything I learned from my own very personal Banksygate it’s this. If you love a piece of art for what you believe it to be – something you love – then buy it, if you reasonably can. Absurd as it sounds now, I genuinely didn’t have the spending power at the time, but I guess I could have rustled up the cash somehow.
The other thing I take comfort and joy from is that I can still see and enjoy Banksys every day, in the streets here in Bristol. He even painted a commemorative flower over the trigger-happy clown on Hotwells Road, which always raises a smile. I see them every day, and they’re free.
How mentoring can further your PR career
With the A level results and intern opportunities on the rise in the PR industry I wanted to take the opportunity to write about a topic which is very close to my heart, mentoring.
We all start with some form of dream, goal or expectation of how life should be.
In the school of life all experiences either move you towards or away from your goal.
I believe the difference lies in the people you have around you.
Yes, you will ultimately have to put in the ground work but it is invaluable to have people around you who can give you advice and support along the way.
I was very lucky to have a mentor early in my career, which meant I accelerated quickly through my early twenties. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to work close with someone who understood what I wanted to achieve in my career and understood where I was in my learning curve.
Another useful tip I was given was to surround myself and reach out to people inside and outside my industry. People who either have the same job as you, have done the job you currently have or are doing the job you aspire to do. Which I did and still do.
Little did I know I would have the biggest mentors right in front of me – my mum and my grandmother. Even though we all work in different industries and span three generations, business is still business, and I have not come across a single situation that they haven’t experienced themselves.
Mentors and role models are everywhere, you just have to look for them.
The PRCA and PRWeek recently launched their own mentoring scheme. The ‘Fast Track in PR’ scheme is ‘aimed at inspiring the next generation of PR leaders’ and sees 9 fellows of the PRCA offer a 6 month period of mentoring to those looking to achieve their goals and further their careers.
If you are lucky enough to have a mentor at work, embrace this opportunity! If not, don’t fear, take what you can get from people around you, go to networking events, read books, articles, use linked in and social media, talk to people and ask questions! We are all people, most of us are very friendly and helpful. If not, then you probably don’t want them as your mentor in the first place!
Successfully managed to find someone you believe can help? The key to get the most out of your mentor relationship is to be clear on what you want to get out of it. That will help steer the questions you ask, help you know advice you are looking for and will ultimately shape what you talk about when you speak with them.
Not sure about how to reach your goal? Here are 10 questions that helped me through process.
- What do you want to achieve in the future?
- If you achieve this goal what value will it bring to your life?
- How will you know when you have achieved this goal?
- Is achieving this goal within your control?
- What are the positive consequences of achieving this goal?
- Do you have all the resources you need to achieve this goal?
- What time frame do you need to achieve this goal by?
- What are the consequences of not achieving this goal on time?
- What steps need to happen to achieve this goal?
- If you could take those steps now, are you ready to do it?
Although these questions look a little formal, answering them made it very clear to me what I needed to do.
Yes, I am very goal driven, and I leave very little down to chance. But there is one thing I wish I could have done differently and it is something that I’m still learning to master, and that is to enjoy the journey and to trust the process. Know what you want to achieve, do things every day that will get you closer to your goal, surround yourself with the right people but remember to enjoy the ride.
Social Media Content: It's a dog's life
Working at a press agency means I’m constantly surrounded by creative, passionate people in an office buzzing with ideas. Every morning my colleagues scour the news pages and sites to see if their stories made. Hours are spent every week brainstorming ideas for clients and writing witty, compelling copy. They deliberate headlines, by-lines and always push themselves creatively. In a competitive market, they are constantly asking themselves the age old advertising question: What sells?
In my role as OnePoll’s online community manager, it is my job to interact with our OnePoll panelists. Whether it’s competitions, answering member queries or just posting an image that I think they might like – the latter of which I like to do on a Friday to cheer everyone up for the weekend. A while back, I posted a picture of a dog. A picture of a wet dog if you want to be specific. Why I hear you ask. Well it had been a long week so work so I decided to Google ‘frazzled dog’, as one does. I saw the picture and loved it. I decided to add a few words to it, to really drive home my message. It turns out that this dog was no ordinary dog. It was internet gold. The image has so far reached 22 million people, been shared by more than 350,000 and has over 50,000 likes.
Who knew those words and that image would resonate with so many people! People have shared stories about their stresses at work, their lives in general and have told me about their beloved pets. They tagged people and those people tagged other people. At first we had a few likes and shares, then those likes and shares doubled, then tripled.
After a week we reached nearly 500,000 people (the most likes a post had got before was 819, and the post was boosted, so beating that was my original goal). I kept refreshing the page until it crashed and refused to update. I left work on Friday feeling super successful….just like Dave from Money Supermarket.
It was pretty surreal seeing my post pop up on my newsfeed because someone I know has shared it, without knowing who I work for, and colleagues (yes you Rick Maughan), telling me their friends are also sharing it. It was just plain odd.
I post on the OnePoll members Facebook page every day, it’s my job, and never before has anything taken off in such a way. So what is so special about this post?
Obviously we need to make something clear. The OnePoll Facebook page is a B2C. This gives it the freedom to feature light hearted, jovial content whether it be memes, YouTube videos, dogs, cats, goats …anything really. It’s the go to page for our panel; it’s the home of OnePoll’s online community. Being a Facebook page for our OnePoll community means therefore that follower numbers are considerably more substantial that other B2B accounts, which means the impression rate is automatically more impressive.
These things don’t automatically mean that content will go viral – an overused buzzword for the 21st century – but they do obviously lend a hand in making them popular.
In the serious world of journalism and B2B marketing there were mixed feelings about the success of the image, or ‘cognitive dissonance’ if you want to be smart (Jay Williams, our Content Director!). On one hand, as Jay puts it, there is a sense of frustration that a picture of a soapy dog has done so well. But, on the other hand, and I’m quoting Jay directly here for maximum embarrassment, ‘Look! It’s a soapy dog! That’s soooooo cute!’ (Yes, he did over extend ‘so’. That really happened).
So why has the image done so well? Obviously no-one can predict what’s going to go viral (there’s that word again, sorry), but in an article for the Guardian in 2014 Buzzfeed’s editorial director, Jack Shepherd, gave the world some insight in to what makes it more likely.
His first piece of advice was to avoid the term ‘viral content’ like the plague, hence my overly apologetic use of the phrase earlier on. Shepherd described the term as sounding ‘like a vomit bag’. Lovely.
His second piece of advice was to share things that people can relate to, or in other words ‘things people share the most are things about themselves’. Shepherd commented that in the modern online world ‘your readers are your publishers’ – sentiments that relate strongly to our own findings from our Generation Editor report. ‘They are more likely to do that if the act of sharing helps them to make a strong statement about who they are.’ That doesn’t mean that the thousands of people who shared our dog image think of themselves as wet dogs, although some of them might and who are we to judge? What it means is that something about this image related to them on a personal level. Maybe it was the sentiments of the text. Maybe all 381, 839 shares were from people who had had the week from hell.
Shepherd’s third piece of advice was that people are more likely to engage with a something if they have ‘a strong, positive emotional response to it’. The guardian article refers to findings of a 2010 study into the New York Times’ “Most emailed” list (an early form of viral content, before social shares) which found that items on the list fell into one of four categories:
- Awe-inspiring
- Emotional
- Positive
- Surprising
Ok, so the soapy dog isn’t awe-inspiring, emotional or surprising but it is positive. The dog has had a rough week and come out fighting! (I know I sound crazy, but please suspend your disbelief for a bit longer).
Last and by no-means least, and this isn’t Shepherds insight, it’s a cute dog. Animal posts do well. It’s an unexplained phenomenon. You just have to look at the rise to fame of the host of internet cat celebrities….wow, there’s a phrase we never thought we’d hear. Since the early days of the internet cat posts have always done well, starting with email and chatroom images, then to the rise of LOLCats (which now has over 100 million views a month), right through to Keyboard cat, grumpy cat and Nyan (who isn’t even a real cat). One of our panelists even commented on a later post featuring a dog, that it’s nice to have a break from cat pictures.
Truth be told, we will never know for certain why this image was so popular. In my own personal opinion, as OnePoll’s online community manager I have come to realise that people take an interest in your post when it’s either humorous or potentially offensive. Also it was a Thursday and people were feeling tired and stressed out. The dog in the picture also reminds them of their own pet, which invokes a multitude of emotions. It’s relatable, both on a personal and professional level and who doesn’t love a photogenic dog! Turns out, from further investigation that it’s a famous dog, called Tusk. You can visit his Instagram and Twitter accounts. Bottom line though…everyone loves pictures of cute animals. It’s human nature and sometimes that’s all it takes.
Written by Jade Easton and Ruth Davison
Breakfast News: How Media Consumption Has Become Routine
Most mornings I’ve looked at my phone before I’ve even had a chance to open both eyes.
Swiping off my alarm, I’ll immediately raise the handset above my hideously scrunched face and, with one gunky eye half-open, allow the glare to bring me round to full consciousness.
First, I’ll deal with push notifications. Not thirty seconds awake and I’ve been pushed by my own technology. My bastard phone has the audacity to wake me up and then it bosses me around.
That’s how it is now, to get read, heard, noticed it takes a good old-fashioned holler in your face. Not a nice ‘here we are, how about a little read of this, in your own time of course’ but a loud, playground-style shove.
Following the alerts, usually BBC or Sky news updates, I’ll deal with emails. A scan of the work inbox is followed by the familiar barrage of living social deals, Metro’s news stories of the day, the Buzzfeed newsletter and, would you know it, Amazon have more stuff for me - I love stuff! Also Zizzi are still cooking food, Spotify have music and ASOS have a clothes sale.
Next, the mandatory Facebook check. First, it tells me I have memories (Facebook tells me what to remember now). Then I’ll browse the timeline because I may have missed a vital update in someone’s life in the seven hours since I last checked.
It’s only at this point that I’ll get out of bed and address the basic issues of hygiene (shower), nudity (clothes) and sustenance (cereal). But while shovelling heaps of Coco Pops (When ‘grown up’ cereals turn the milk chocolatey I’ll consider switching) I’ll be reading BuzzFeed. I’ll jump onto Vice and then back to Facebook probably ending up lost in an article a mate’s liked, posted or commented on.
The commute sees more consuming:
Road crossing. Red man. Loads of time, I’ll just look at my phone a bit quick.
Train platform - sure as hell won’t be making eye contact with anyone, phone out.
Carriage – I’ll grab a hard copy of the Metro- cover-to-cover scan.
Even when finally at the desk, I’ll still do a whistle-stop tour of the basic sites, a few news aggregators, a few football sites, another look at Facebook because I may have missed a vital update in someone’s life in the 46 minutes since I last checked.
Then I’ll try and do the work I’m paid to do in between my non-stop news consumption. But, as we all know, when we’re sat with access to the big everything machine that is the internet at our fingertips, we’re never far from a quick scan of a few sites, a sneaky minimized window behind the work, a few more push notifications from our attention-seeking smart-arsed phones.
The way we take in stories is changing and, as research shows, we read more, we read mobile and we’re pickier because of the volume available. Whether it’s at the desk, on the commute or in the toilet even, we’re editing our own constant stream of news and consuming in spaces we didn’t before. We’re watching more videos and curating our own news from what friends are posting, liking, moaning about.
As ever though, story is king and no matter how much something is pushed to a publication or an audience, knowing your content will set tongues wagging or have the strength to cut through the noise remains more crucial than ever.
Now, a quick look at Facebook, because I may have missed a vital update in someone’s life in the 22 minutes since I last checked.
Periscope and the Citizen Journalist
When future historians look into their time tablets, gazing back to the 21st century in a desperate act of escapism from their damp, Kevin Costner’s Waterworld existence, they will see an age of voyeurism.
Technological advancements coupled with the rise of social media have fostered a time where we are more connected than ever before. The internet has become a window through which we view the lives of others in a weird dance of hyperbole, humblebrags, envious trolling and outright lies.
It’s a rabbit hole that we tumble deeper into every day. First you could tap out a status update and a couple of tweets. Now you can supplement that with photography on Instagram and a video snippet (snappet?) on Snapchat. Spotify and Apple Music even have social elements so we can see exactly what you were listening to while you were hunting for the best angle for your bi-daily selfie. The escalation from simple text update to multimedia running commentary has been rapid.
The next step is live video. It’s likely that you first became aware of Twitter’s live-stream app Periscope in March, about the time they were battering their competition, Meerkat, into a fine, pink mist. The app allows you to record and stream video live and direct to your followers. Followers who subscribe to your updates are notified when you start a broadcast, while those who miss out have 24 hours from the end of the stream to view your recorded content. After that it’s gone for good.
Ignoring some of the broader activities that Periscope will find itself used for – boring life updates, social shaming, pranks – it could be an interesting tool from the perspective of the citizen journalist. Smartphones and other devices made high-quality video accessible to the masses years ago, but with Periscope the delay from shoot to broadcast is completely removed. No edit, no upload bar, just raw, live footage direct to your audience.
Basically, the chances of an unsolicited live video of your bum-crack ending up broadcast to a load of strangers on Twitter just went right up.
It’s yet another tool in the growing pool of resources open to the citizen reporter. Periscope has already been used to break the news before traditional channels get a look-in, and with more people turning to social media for their news the implementation of live video seems a logical step. For the opportunist with a big following on Twitter and a knack for being in the right place at the right time, Periscope could provide a platform to make a real impact.
Watch this space: the meteoric rise of video content
“Got video with that?”
It’s a question that’s put “at least once an hour, every day” to the picture desk at SWNS, the UK’s biggest independent press agency.
It comes from decision-makers at some of the country’s busiest web sites.
If we do, and it’s media that’s been produced in conjunction with our PR clients – punchy, around 90 seconds and not over-branded – there’s a fair chance it will appear online in support of their story.
If not, well then the publisher will simply go away and find something else that fits – generic material at best, or at worst, media supplied previously from a rival in the same industry.
Message muddled. Control gone.
It seems absurd to commit time and resources to a PR project – let’s say a survey – build a story around it and prepare to distribute it on a given day only to sit back and watch in dismay as the message become diluted as busy news gatekeepers add off-brand pictures and videos to fill the void you left.
Content editors don’t care about keeping things on-message for you. They’ve got ever-increasing reams of space to fill, and their aim is to keep visitors engaged on their site for as long as possible. If you haven’t supplied a video to complement your story, they’ll simply assign someone else to find material that fits.
Data from TNS Global last year showed that 79% of UK consumers who go online at least once a week watch digital videos. The figure is 78% in the US and even higher elsewhere – 84% in Canada and 89% in China.
Syndacast’s Video Marketing Statistics & Trends 2015 report predicts that by 2017, 74% of ALL internet traffic will be video.
It doesn’t need to be a magnum opus with Hollywood-style production values. A simple vox pop will suffice, so long as it’s relevant, entertaining and not overly branded. Below are a few recent examples which have kept everyone happy – you (the client) and, just as importantly, the content editors. You’ll notice that the branding is kept to a minimum, as a logo burst at the end of the vid.
How patient are you? Our video for Interparcel was part of a larger integrated campaign, and can be seen here on the news section of the MailOnline.
What is your morning routine? Our vox pop video for Simon Jersey seen here featured on the MailOnline.
ASDA’s ‘pocket tap’ story and video as published on the Mirror and Yahoo. View further media coverage here.
Like to know more about our own video, content and media distribution services? Email the team at hello@72point.com