Online News Video Strategies That Worked
November 8, 2018

The past two years, and more specifically 2016-2017, witnessed the rise and “fall” of the “pivot to video” strategy for online news publishers.

It goes without saying that videos:

  1. are more attractive than text => Higher CTR/PageViews
  2. engage visitors longer => Longer Time spent on Site
  3. definitely get more shares/likes on social media
  4. excellent asset for native and sponsorships
  5. yield much higher returns in terms of CPM value
  6. are THE preferred format for news consumption

However, production costs and expertise for such video strategies when it comes to traditional news publishers have been challenging.

To understand how non-broadcast publishers can harness the benefits of video strategies, we look at some that have worked for others.

Daily Herald Media Group

A fixture of Chicago life, the Daily Herald, as with so many print publications all over the world, realized early on that the digital space needed to be part of their business strategy. However, also understanding that simply putting the print paper online would not attract the audience, and that the digital version of the publication needed to reflect the platform it existed on.

The Daily Herald Media Group first introduced video to the main Daily Herald site in 2006 following a redesign from an early web presence. The popularity of those early videos encouraged the organization to incorporate more video into their online content. Video content now accompanies many written pieces on the main site, and then is further disseminated through social media platforms.

Recognizing the value of video, through the activities of the wider group, the Daily Herald has gone from pioneer of online video use for newspaper publications to video creator for others. The media group itself is now a media creator for clients looking totake full advantage of the marketing effectiveness of video, offering production services for short, easily sharable and cost-effective video to their many clients.

As both user and creator of video today, the Daily Herald Media group have been able to grow their video strategy as the functionality of online video has matured, being fortunate enough to be there early in online video history in 2006, less than a year after YouTube launched. By becoming a video content provider, they have embraced video as a strategy for customers as well as their own publications, maximizing their position and profitability with the technology.

The Guardian

 With a long history as a newspaper publication stretching back to 1821, the Guardian was quick to see the potential of the digital space, setting up its online presence in 1999. The Guardian incorporated video into its content early on, and that contributed to its success, becoming the 5th most popular news site in the world.

However, seeking to broaden its reach in an environment where audience attention is hard to maintain, the Guardian has continued to evolve its content, with the result launching in early 2017, known as Dabs.

Designed to provide an easily digestible, dynamic way to tell stories, they feature video, text and graphics, and are created to stand out in Facebook feeds. These shorter video creations have been a significant success, with an average of 1.5 million views per ‘Dab’, with some now well over the 200 million views mark.

An innovative use of video that adapts to both the platform, Facebook, and the changing requirements of the target audience to extend reach and ultimately draw more views to the core site.

Golf Digest – Condé Nast

Condé Nast are responsible for a large range of publications, but few have embraced digital as well as Golf Digest. While the idea of video additions to content is one thing, forming an entire new revenue stream through video is often an end goal for any strategy. Through the Condé Nast Entertainment Channel, the publication has created just that, building on its audience’s appetite for information to create a Golf Digest premium video channel.

Content is well produced, engaging and informative, and with the nature of the sport, technique and other educational videos remain relevant long after initial publication. Today, the channel generates 20 million views per month, with content tailored to audience expectations. This doesn’t always mean expensive production.Premium content features high production values, but content shared freely across social media may reflect the immediacy of the story, with some recorded using iPhones out of necessity to get the content, but still maintaining value through the information within.

Content shared via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram drives engagement with both the publication itself and the premium content found on Condé Nast’s platform, using short clips taken from the premium content to attract interest and extend reach.

Three very different successful video strategies. The common thing between them, though, is the sound long-term vision, adaptive planning, and surely perfect execution.

Can Magnet help your video strategy? Ask our team about the embedded Personalized Recommendations and other services that you can use to enrich your videos and engage your visitors better.

Klangoo NLP
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