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People still want news: on demand, tailored & interactive
Despite all the moaning about dying print publications, people are still eager to absorb daily news. What they expect out of the experience has changed, though, according to a new Pew Research Center report. Now people want multi-platform news on demand, customized, and spreadable.
As part of your marketing efforts, you may be pushing news out to customers, using Facebook or Twitter to reach them. Your own site’s blog is also a key source of news (you have to link to something, unless you’ve mastered the 140-character press release). How can you make sure you’re accomodating the inclinations of today’s newsumer?
Portable: Consider an iPhone app. Creating branded mobile content, on your own or with local partners, can get you in front of your customers when you have something interesting to say. Throwing in a little location-awareness and well-timed news on the go might even turn to sales conversions.
Personalized: Opt-ins allow people to select only the type of news they need, so allow RSS & email updates on specifics (sales, new products, events). Allow gravatars, Twitter & Facebook login so user’s cute little faces can accompany their experience.
Participatory: Remove barriers to interactivity. Let people comment, and for god’s sake don’t make them log in to do so. Integrate Facebook Connect, Tweetmeme, and whatever other social software makes sense for your audience. Quickly sharing and commenting is appreciated (nay, expected) by today’s consumers, and the viral possibilities when you release really nifty news are huge.
