Where and When You Monetize News Matters
Earlier today the NAA released the results of their Newspaper Multiplatform Usage study, conducted by Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc.
In analyzing this report, one item really stands out to me - Weekday Usage Patterns by Platform (The image above is slide 15 from the presentation).
When you look at this data it clearly highlights the importance of optimizing the experience of your best stories, by medium, at different times throughout the day.
While it isn’t clear exactly what is being used to view the news on Smartphones and Tablets (apps v. mobile web v. regular web), the fact that there are clearly defined periods in the day when people have an overwhelming propensity to use one particular interface over the other, publishing cycles that optimize this attention pattern with a clearly defined UX are going to experience success far above and beyond their competitors who do not.
Actions as simple as decreasing the friction of the paywall on particular devices at particular times in the day should have a measurable impact on customer satisfaction and engagement - critical success factors (KPI’s if you will) relative to monetization.
The Changing Face of News Apps
The descriptions for the Memphis Commercial Appeal iOS app and Android app aren’t much to write home about.
Enjoy local news and information from The Memphis Commercial Appeal on your iPhone. The newspaper named the best of its size in Tennessee by the Associated Press delivers breaking news along with daily coverage of government, education, business, entertainment, college and prep sports, religion, obituaries and more. The CA app for iPhone also includes daily classified ads.
Set your preferences for easy navigation of content from all sections of the daily editions, plus blogs such as Whining & Dining, University of Memphis sports, Memphis Grizzlies, the State of Q and Faith in Memphis.
Share articles, classified listings, events and more on facebook, twitter or email. Save items you are reading for later through our Saved articles area. We now provide you the ability to search for articles back 30 days within the app so you never have to miss a story that matters to you.
The apps, however, quietly represent the future of news.
Delivered by Scripps Media, Inc., a subsidiary of E.W. Scripps Company, The Memphis Commercial Appeal apps deliver a groundbreaking reading experience via a seamless integration to the paper’s publishing systems.
If the previous statement took you by surprise, you’re not alone. The Memphis Commercial Appeal apps are completely integrated with the paper’s publishing systems.
This unique architecture allows the paper to automatically transform and reflow any assets from the company’s systems into the app, all without recreating any of the work. Breaking news, top headlines, sports, business, local “daily deals”, classifieds, obituaries, weather and more, all flowing directly from the publisher’s systems (and existing operations) directly into one-of-a-kind mobile apps. This model lowers the total cost of ownership for the mobile apps while improving the publisher’s ability to reach its readers in whatever fashion they desire. Imagine that … a profitable digital strategy.
If you do a quick search of the “news” section in Apple’s App Store or Google’s Android Market, you’re going to find thousands upon thousands of apps … and the majority of them look, feel and work in an almost identical fashion.
The face of news apps is changing at the local level … and the regional and national players better watch out.
