Data Analytics and a Pizza Party: Inside a Rendezvous with Parse.ly
Ben & Jerry’s — the ice cream company known for its mastery of flavor combinations and zeitgeist-skewing puns — relies on data.
The cold confectioners track online readership of their branded output and deepen their customer engagement through dashboard analytics, which shows them how their content is performing in real-time and enables examination of long-term trends.
By tagging each of their online articles, quizzes and listicles with specific flavors, they keep a finger on the pulse of which varieties are bringing the largest audience to their brand.
So whether you’re in the Cherry Garcia camp or align yourself with the Chunky Monkey supporters, Ben & Jerry’s is paying attention.
This is where Parse.ly comes in.
For the company, which provides web analytics and content optimization tactics to online publishers, Ben & Jerry’s is just the tip of the iceberg. With additional clients like Slate, the Wall Street Journal and Condé Nast, it’s a service that’s already deeply embedded in the media industry.
As the number of content creators in publishing grows, properly engaging with audiences can no longer be a leap of faith. Parse.ly provides reports to publishers that display information and statistics about their readership. This helps clients unlock vital reader information, allowing them to target their audience through more than an educated guess.
Earlier this month, I had the chance to see Parse.ly’s New York City headquarters for myself, along with a crew of my University of Oregon journalism contemporaries. Courtesy of Kelsey Arendt, Senior Success Manager at Parse.ly, we received a firsthand glimpse into the inner workings of their service.
Our visit to Parse.ly was the final stop in a week-long tour of 16 disparate outlets throughout the Big Apple, and was christened by a generous and replenishing serving of New York-style pizza that we all desperately needed. Parse.ly gave us an opportunity not only to dive into data analytics, but to reflect on the overall takeaways of our trip as well.
Digging Deeper
Parse.ly stresses the importance of framing the conversation about your audience around specific areas. As Arendt put it:
“It’s not about having more data; it’s about having more relevant data.”
Translated, it takes more in-depth inspection to find out what makes one story click versus what makes another flop. When deeper indications of “why” are ignored, publishers have a tendency to latch onto a shallow reason for why a piece works. This practice can wind up putting them in a rut.
We go through this cycle of iterations. We overdo it, it gets out of control, we abandon it, and then we revisit it and say, “We can fix this.” — Kelsey Arendt
Parse.ly works around this cycle by offering tools that get to know the audience more deeply. By paying attention to readership data over time, trends are identified and engagement methods are pinpointed. As an aspiring journalist coming to terms with the industry’s reality in the 21st century, it’s encouraging to see that this kind of insight is possible.
Your Attention, Please
Another of our major talking points was audience engagement. At many of the outlets we sat in with during the trip, this was a recurring theme.
It’s a major concern to publishers in this age of dwindling attention spans, media proliferation and a the doubling-down on subscription-led content models.
We discussed with Arendt the need to shake things up and how the borders between advertising and journalism are becoming ever-blurred. The type of content that readers respond to is changing accordingly.
Some takeaways:
- Branded content can work, but it won’t resonate if it’s not executed well.
- Social media has greatly influenced media consumption, which has generated new user habits that publishers need to adapt to constantly.
- Brand-sponsored writing needs a relevant angle to write through, or else it comes off as hollow and pointless.
If there’s one clear takeaway from the conversation, it’s that journalists will need to tackle these issues head-on as we head further into a branded world. Call it the war for attention.
My Take
Prior to the NYC experience, I felt well-prepared. As we oriented ourselves with each outlet we planned to visit, a snapshot of the media industry came into view. They would all present a unique angle of the industry to chew on, and chew I would.
However, the sheer breadth journalistic issues seen at Parse.ly and others — in addition to the passion on display — was something I couldn’t have fully predicted.
As a result of this trip, I better comprehend the industry’s possibilities, challenges and future. It was an invaluable experience that provided a greater confidence in solidifying the path I want to take going forward.
