Tag: buzzfeed

In 1926, a long-form print ad for the U.S. School of Music was written by John Caples, and the headline read, “They Laughed When I Sat Down At the Piano, But When I Started to Play!” It’s been noted as one of the most perfect headlines ever written.

Turn basic headlines into social media gold by experimenting with these proven copywriting formulas for clickable social media headlines
Everything I’ve read as an observer of the social media and publishing communities tells me that most marketers don’t get a click rate on a Tweet of more than one percent, and in fact most marketers get

Multiplatform publishers continue to reinvent and reenvision their organizations. Today we’re visiting stories from such publishers who are focusing on changes to usher in new opportunities.

Many changes come to publishing websites. Some of these changes include more diverse ways of generating revenue while others focus on new plans for building bigger audiences and driving more traffic. Today we’re looking at publishers who are evolving their websites for the future.

The technology behind digital video has come a long way. Now, the ability for publishers to use digital video as an audience development tool has reached new heights. Today we look at how publishers are using video more, and the changes coming to the medium.

Change is the only constant the digital publishing industry knows. Beyond the evolution of content online, we’re seeing a variety of changes coming to the digital advertising side of digital publishing. Today we’re looking at some digital media companies that are entering new territories.

Today we’re reporting on digital publishers bringing in new talent to strengthen their organizations.

We begin with New Yorker, which has brought in a superstar from BuzzFeed to be the director of newsletters. AdWeek reports, “The New Yorker has snagged BuzzFeed’s director of newsletters to lead its own newsletter efforts. Dan Oshinsky will join the publication from BuzzFeed on Aug. 7 to serve in the same role there. It’s a new position at the New Yorker, and one that will see Oshinsky working with a wide array of New Yorker staff, from editors to designers to product team members, as he takes charge of New Yorker’s current slate of newsletters, including its million-subscriber-strong the Daily, and works on creating new ones.”

Facebook’s mobile ad network reaches the top; Organic SEO news looks at 2016 data; The future of voice search
For the first time, Facebook’s mobile ad network has topped Google. MediaPost is reporting on this story, saying “Facebook’s mobile ad network emerged as the top-performing advertising network during the second part of 2016, giving marketers running campaigns

Multiplatform publishers Condé Nast and The Atlantic reorganize; Esquire names Buzzfeed editor to head website
The shuffling of talent among multiplatform publishers continues in places like Condé Nast, Esquire, and The Atlantic.

First, we begin by taking a look at Condé Nast’s reorganization, and WWD has the story. “The business side reorganization comes after the New York-based publisher

Ad sales are positive for WaPo’s Instant Articles and Facebook just added a new feature
Instant Articles is a feature from Facebook that allows publishers to create Facebook-native content that loads quickly and is given preference on their social network. It (surprise, surprise) also works seamlessly with their ad platform. Facebook has said that Instant Articles

Parse.ly releases report on friends and family algorithm that’s worth sharing to your favorite Facebook publisher; plus, metrics and Messenger
If you’re a Facebook publisher, you know as well as anyone what havoc the whims of Zuckerberg can wreak on your social media strategy.

That’s why some digital publishers – particularly those who had invested the most

Parsing publishing data has become de rigueur, but doing it well is still an elusive art.

The payoff is worth it, however, when it comes to audience development, analytics, and more for digital publishers.

PubExec.com, per usual, is on top of it. Let’s see what they have to say with recent coverage!

When it comes to content marketing, publishing executives know how valuable native advertising can be to their revenue stream. More and more, though, digital magazines are taking matters into their own hands and producing that branded content in house, adding staff and other resources to their operation in order grab a larger slice of the pie and future-proof their properties.

TIME magazine is seeing growth in print and digital due mostly to a strong pursuit of native ads in editorial and video, plus staffing updates and multiplatform publishing

Last year, TIME‘s print revenue went up by 4%, and digital climbed 36%. A few years ago, we wrote a little piece called Saving TIME Magazine: or, the Future of All

For the enterprising social media publisher, Facebook video and Snapchat represent a promising future
What does it mean to be a social media publisher these days? It means you’re willing to experiment. It means you’re willing to venture out of your comfort zone. It means you’re willing to invest in dedicated staff. It means you can

I don’t know about you, but the world’s a’changing when it comes to audience development. For a while, I felt like we were so ahead of the curve at Mequoda that we were pretty cool in our pants for a bit, but as we’ve been doing a lot of testing the past few months, it has become clear that user habits are picking up and moving with the wind.

Which is, of course, very exciting as a marketer, because tinkering is what we love to do best.

Online video publishing, especially when taken in tandem with mobile advertising, is arguably the most alluring revenue opportunity to come along for digital magazines in a long time.

But, like any other opportunity, it must be seized and maximized, not squandered with poor practices and a lack of strategy. Coincidentally, establishing best practices and tactical standards is exactly the sort of thing we do here at Mequoda, so if you have any questions about implementing a system and creating robust but flexible content, give us a call.

But in the meantime, check out MediaPost’s coverage of online video publishing and more. We’ll start there on this Monday!

Times, Adobe, others making online magazine content news
Online magazine content doesn’t end with an article being posted online. Rather, that’s where it begins.

There are innumerable ways of repurposing content, and indeed, repurposing content in an age where massive amounts of content come pretty cheap is crucial in attracting, capturing, engaging, and monetizing readers.

Emails, white papers,

The push behind publishing video or perishing is reaching a fever pitch now, and we must admit – it is in your best interests to start doing it. But do not fear: It’s not nearly as daunting a task as it might seem, and there are many ways to accomplish it.

Are you going to start producing slick, NYT-style slices of life overnight? No, probably not. But you can repurpose content with quick-hitting films, make behind-the-scenes features about producing stories, and share videos from other sources to start ginning up views and conversions.

You can also see what other digital magazines are doing. Digiday helps us out in that department today. Let’s get started!

Taking a closer look at Instagram publishing; plus, magazines on Twitter, data-driven publishing, and other social media strategies
Regardless of whether you plan on participating in Facebook Instant Articles or other walled gardens, there’s no doubt that as a modern digital publisher, you must have a significant social media strategy in place to stay competitive and

Google publishers are embracing AMP, but some have questions; plus, niche publishing on Facebook and a glimpse at a top-tier social media strategy in action
When it comes to Google, publishers are always ready to devote resources to maximize its promise, as they should be. The search and digital services giant operates with greater transparency than

Surveying the latest magazine readership statistics and audience development from the top digital publishers; plus, latest personnel moves
Magazine readership statistics are by definition a key in audience development, but they also go hand-in-hand with generating digital advertising revenue. The best sets of stats – which include advanced data, personalization, preferences, and cross-device targeting – go

If successful social media publishers can count on one thing, it’s that they can count on nothing.

Magazines on social media must have a social media strategy in place, but they must also be flexible enough to experiment, pivot, and periodically rethink efforts. Mequoda Members know to diversify their social portfolios, as it were, and to not get discouraged when returns are sluggish.

After all, social media publishers are investors: of time, staff resources, content distribution strategy, and energy.

If you’re a publisher, tech considerations have emerged as a crucial component of your day-to-day decision-making. This likelihood increases exponentially if you’re creating mobile apps and dedicating resources to serious multiplatform publishing.

F0r some publishers, native digital advertising is the next big thing, while others have been perfecting it for years. Still, many have steered clear altogether, and there are more who aren’t sure how to best pull it off to begin with.

Regardless, the native digital advertising backlash has already begun after 2015 saw a huge spike in sponsored content and the early headlines in 2016 are pointing to possibly an even bigger year. But with the FTC’s recent update to native advertising rules and regulations and studies that show many consumers can be easily confused by branded content, some observers – Digiday among them – are saying the ad medium may have peaked.

But should native’s success be sustainable – and in some form or another, we believe it will be, since it’s just another phase in the evolution of advertorial – digital publishers will still have to clean up their acts when it comes to presentation. However, it’s the self-same Digiday that sings the praises of Time Out’s native strategy and successful monetization.

If you find the concept of blogging several times a day exhausting, join the club. However the one thing that publishers have over any other type of content-creators is an endless supply of content that can be re-mixed and re-purposed into new, evergreen blog posts. These 28 ideas for blog posts should get your motor running!

October has been a busy month for hires, promotions, dismissals, and more for publishing executives at the New York Times, Fusion, and Slate
Every once in a while, we like to take a peek at the comings and goings of publishing executives and share what we find with you, especially when hiring trends reflect the direction

Despite the proliferation of platforms, channels, and technology, ad engagement hasn’t exactly gotten easier for publishers and brands. Whether it’s the ad blocking craze that seems to be taking over the Web or cross-device targeting concerns, viewability issues or unreliable metrics, connecting consumers with meaningful ad experiences that can sustain digital magazines and satisfy marketers is becoming more complex even as access levels are as high as they’ve ever been.

But we’ve got some good news from you, via Digiday.

The future of digital magazines gets brighter with every passing fiscal quarter, but it’s a slow and steady progress as traditional revenue generators try to keep pace with advancing technologies, evolving device usage, and the gradual migration of ad dollars from print to the mobile web.

Prime Publishing shows what a good advertorial example is made of

Call it what you want, an advertorial, a native ad, sponsored content, or even an infomercial if you’re in broadcasting circles. An advertorial (aka all those other things) is an ad that walks, talks and acts like an editorial. When done well, advertorials are produced

Over the past few years, publishers have been wringing their hands over the failure of digital advertising to come to their rescue as print advertising revenues continued to evaporate. You had to look hard to find the occasional glimmer of hope.

If we had to pick two words to describe the Mequoda Method, the first would be “multi-platform,” which, as Don wrote recently, is the new normal for digital magazines years after we staked our brand on it. The second would be “niche.” Why? Because with tens of thousands of digital magazines available to consumers, you must focus on audience development to attract the right readers, earn their trust and attention, and then convert that trust and attention into subscriptions, one-off purchases, event attendance, social media shares, and other sources of revenue.

A few months back, we wondered whether Google digital advertising is unstoppable. Now, the question becomes whether the Google publishing juggernaut is poised to ultimately make the company even more money with the News Lab. Like other platforms, the service bills itself as a way for the company to work with publishers – not against them. Digiday covered this story recently, along with articles on mobile advertising, native content, and more.

If you’re a publisher, video must at least be on the periphery of your strategy, inching closer and closer to a prime position in your business approach. While you might not have the resources to partner with a major brand or produce full-fledged digital series as part of a channel, you can use platforms to diversify content and assemble serviceable video that will attract, retain, and convert audiences. In recent articles, Capital New York covers some industry trends in publisher video. In addition, there’s some big executive news and some not-so-big executive news.

Content that doesn’t deeply consider audience is a waste of time and money. It’s no coincidence that the majority of Mequoda Members are niche publishers: The model allows you to focus on segments of consumption, build up loyalty, strongly define social media strategy, and design revenue-generating events. Digiday delves into niche publishers with recent articles, while examining Apple News and Facebook Instant Articles, both potential partners for niche publishers. Let’s take a look.

Time Inc. digital tries a paywall with Entertainment Weekly, while time spent with media seems to grow everywhere except in print
As time spent with media continues to rise, publishers don’t want to miss their opportunity to capitalize on the gravy train. The question is how. With social media like Snapchat? With sponsored content to lure

Digital platform publishing is credited with having ushered in an ongoing golden age for media, and the latest industry developments are doing nothing to dispel this notion. Four recent articles from Advertising Age reveal how the current social media and mobile content push is shaping companies’ plans for the future.

Quality content built for repurposing: check. Multiplatform tactics like free downloadables, a blog, and live events: check. A relentless social regimen: check. You’ve crossed off all of these items as you grow into a formidable media company, but there’s always another milestone on the horizon. These days, the task at hand is online video distribution. We came across five recent articles in Adweek that take a snapshot – or “screen capture,” if you will – of the current business environment for publishers and other industry players when it comes to monetizing video content.

This week’s roundup of the latest publishing industry trends includes the continued focus on monetizing ed tech, plus one media company’s melding of events and e-commerce. We’ll also get a quick glance at the latest magazine personnel moves, as well as an interesting take on the phenomenon of BuzzFeeding B2B content. Folio: covers the magazine business beat better than anybody. A handful of recent articles capture these publishing industry trends and more.

Digital magazine advertising is by no means the only way to generate revenue in publishing – subscription strategy, events, and membership benefits drive performance, as well – but it remains a strong model that can reap benefits when done right.

But publishers have other arrows in their quiver, including video and social, that can improve viewability and business outcomes for marketers. Let’s take a look at some recent stories from Digiday that cover these topics and others.

Another week, another new social platform! Plus more video models and one of our favorite topics: niche publishing.

Let’s take a look at three articles tackling these trends from the always timely Digiday.

The late, great David Carr might have said it best in October of 2014: “For publishers, Facebook is a bit like that big dog galloping toward you in the park. More often than not, it’s hard to tell whether he wants to play with you or eat you.” But does this week’s news of The New York Times, National Geographic, and BuzzFeed potentially signing on as Facebook publishers mean they’re puppy chow or smart players with friends in high places?

Programmatic ads, which give brands the option for automated buys in place of more traditional human interaction and negotiation, occupy a growing segment when it comes to publishing revenue. But as popular as they are, some publishers are seeking to better capitalize on them in an effort to protect their share of the market.

We know, we know: It’s a stiff challenge to keep up with all of the emerging social and sharing opportunities for publishers. But one new publisher app is gaining immediate traction, and its rise dovetails nicely with a big need for any multiplatform endeavor: a push for better video operations.

Google digital advertising generated more than $61 billion in revenue last year, more than Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, The New York Times, the Guardian, and BuzzFeed combined. This isn’t the only metric Google is winning, either.

Native ads have been around for a while, although they have gone by many other names in the history of media over the centuries. The legal concerns that come with them have been around just as long, too.

During the Federal Trade Commission’s workshop “Blurred Lines: Advertising or Content?,” attorney Lesley Fair stepped to the podium and announced “an FTC law enforcement action … a settlement in the area of native advertising,” as she called it, to a crowd of representatives from the largest publishers and agencies in the country.

FADER, the music and lifestyle magazine, has hired a vice president of content and an editor-in-chief, reports Folio.

Traditional publishers are still attracting younger generations, reports Digiday. With the data from ComScore, Digiday performed a comparison between brands popular with millennials and major legacy publishers.

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Publishers are more and more hiring audience development specialists to put their search and social efforts over the top, Digiday reports. The latest to dedicate a position to audience development, months after its own Innovation Report recommended it, is The New York Times, which has hired Alex MacCallum as assistant managing editor.

Time Inc.’s People StyleWatch hit it big with an eight-question quiz matching readers with their “celeb style twin,” as it was instrumental in generating 203 ad pages for the magazine’s September print issue – its largest ever for that month.