Building Loyalty With Devoted Readers
Why news media publications need to be listening to actively involve audiences when creating digital news content
Building a strong bond between reader and publication is an essential element to success in the current digital news landscape.
“Hyperlocal publishers have identified the importance of forging authentic relationships with readers they serve as part of the secret sauce in building sustainable business models” writes journalist Tracie Powell.
Covering a journalism summit focused on the relationship between audience and revenue, Powell reported that smaller publishers are using existing connections to a given community to develop “highly specialized content.”
“These relationships pay-off in a myriad of ways” writes Powell, “including advertising sales, subscriptions and memberships.”
Richard Lachman, Director of Zone Learning and Associate Professor of Digital Media in the RTA School of Media at Ryerson University, echoed these sentiments.
“Far too often tech companies feel like they ‘get’ an issue, or notice something ripe for ‘disruption’,” said Lachman. But when it comes to digital journalism “there is more than simply market-share or numbers at play.”
Lachman recently had one-on-one discussions with each DNIC participating company to assess their ongoing progression through the program and offer some advice for future success.
Specific details couldn’t be divulged by Lachman but the digital media veteran did point out one overarching theme that was relevant to most participating DNIC companies: building loyalty with devoted readers.
Consistently engaged users are a major resource for news media companies. According to Lachman, loyal readers should be involved in decision-making processes as they are able to provide valuable insights essential when designing new features or editorial content.
Building a rapport with a dedicated fan-base, however, will look a little different for each participating DNIC company.
For The Gist, a sports-news website and newsletter catering to female audiences, energy needs to be spent on actively communicating with their readers across media platforms.
“Our biggest takeaway from meeting with Richard was the importance of building an honest community of GISTers and using our GISTers to do that” said Jacie de Hoop and Ellen Hyslop of The Gist in a joint statement.
“Whether that be through the newsletter, user surveys, videos on Instagram or blog posts, it is essential to ask our GISTers to be involved.”
Jeremy Kinsman, founder of The Sprawl, a “pop-up journalism” publication based in Calgary, meeting with Lachman reiterated a core concept tied to the craft of journalism.
“Journalism isn’t just about publishing articles” said Kinsman, “it’s being out in the community. It’s in-person conversations. It’s building relationships.”
“As Richard put it: the act of getting the story is part of the story itself.”
Article written by Michael D’Alimonte
