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Pam Horan

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Congrats to former OPA Chairman @lkramer on his appointment as president/publisher of @USATODAY http://t.co/iiG1NQT2 (@paidContent/@sdkstl)
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GM Says Facebook Ads Don't Pay Off http://t.co/PXU0Xfji via @WSJ
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How to fully leverage email newsletters to bolster revenue http://t.co/Vypbf0og (via @ClickZ/@jeajen)
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Social plug-in buttons on publisher web sites present opportunity for large scale ad targeting http://t.co/VnXd60DF (via @Forbes/@robhof)
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New ad campaign from @nytimes sells online experience of subscription model http://t.co/vellYrYo (via @Poynter/@mallarytenore)
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Marketers Still Baffled, Suspicious of Agency Trading Desks http://t.co/MCTOs9SG via @adage
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.@FoxNews to begin live streaming on mobile platforms with accompanying video ads http://t.co/hn0TgTmO (via @AdWeek/@digitalshields)
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.@nytimes R&D, an "intersection of news information, consumer behavior and technology" http://t.co/LBvbzjNA (via @Digiday/@@joshsternberg)
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OPA Intelligence Reports

OPA Digital Q&A: CNN’s Louis Gump on Mobile Strategy, Part II

By Pam Horan on 03/21/2012 | Comments

OPA Digital Q&A: CNN’s Louis Gump on Mobile Strategy, Part II
The “OPA Digital Q&A” showcases perspectives on key trends in online publishing and media by industry leaders.

Today’s insights on mobile strategy come from Louis Gump, Vice President of CNN Mobile, responsible for managing CNN’s mobile business globally. In addition, Gump has served as global chairman for the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). This is Part II of his interview. (Click here to read Part I):

Where do you see the future of mobile and publishing industries in the next five years?
LG: Mobile has a very long runway. Wireless carriers are switching their emphasis from voice to data for a reason: Data is where much of the growth is. And data in many respects is related to content consumption, including news, sports, weather, social media, email and other categories. Publishers have no choice but to embrace mobile if they wish to remain relevant. I hope we’re past the discussion about cannibalization across platforms. We do have the question of monetization, which is being addressed with a combination of smart, strategic thinking with sound operational delivery. Concepts such as cross-platform ad buys that generate true incremental dollars, TV Everywhere and cross-platform subscriptions add to the mix.

What are your thoughts on how paid subscription models will play out in mobile?
LG: I don’t think we’re going to see too many models succeed where there is a subscription model on each platform; for example where you get your print subscription but have to pay more for digital. I do think unifying these experiences can bring more users and more engagement. If anything, the biggest challenge is not new platforms but rather fragmentation of attention: how many magazines, newspapers, blogs, social networks, video services, and aggregated products will most people use daily? Not that many for most of us. 

What additional piece of advice would you give to brands as they build out their mobile strategy?
LG: Each brand has to go back to the basics of marketing: know who you are, and engage your core audience, with brand extensions that guarantee a deeply loyal user base. And this in turn is most gained in a time-honored way: earning it through great products, sensible business models, and consistent delivery.  Customers do not owe loyalty to brands; brands owe great products, services and experiences to customers. The fundamentals are not any less relevant today than they ever were; in fact they are arguably more important.

What do you believe have been the critical factors enabling CNN to remain a leader in mobile news?
LG: While an early start in mobile has paid big dividends, really the story begins with the quality of the content and the meaning of the brand. CNN stands for integrity, respect, and courage in journalism. CNN is dedicated to the pursuit of first-rate, reliable, and compelling coverage of news events worldwide. We do our best to deliver this content in a way that is respectful of all and afraid of none. We go where other people will not, and take a stand where other people have not. Just witness CNN Heroes, the Freedom Project and our ongoing coverage of daily news from Wall Street to Tahrir Square. Courage goes beyond journalistic courage, however; it also goes to willingness to roll out great products, even when the use case is uncertain and the technology is not entirely proven. We launched a mobile web site in 1999, and have improved it since. In the last three years, we’ve completely overhauled and expanded our mobile product base. We’ve hired a team of dedicated mobile professionals, and put in place mechanisms so that they can work well with any other co-workers. We’ve built out an ad model to support the product rollout, and have seen triple digit year-over-year ad revenue increases in the last two years. 

How has CNN aligned mobile with other platforms?
LG: We use mobile as a channel to advance CNN’s strategy, aside from the products themselves. For example, we decided to be audacious in the design, content, and scope of CNN’s iPad app instead of simply copying our desktop or mobile phone products. CNN’s iPad launch in December 2010 was the first truly global product launch in the history of CNN; before that, we had very successful products but they had been rolled out regionally. And now, CNN’s iPad app has been named one of the top ten most downloaded iPad apps of all time. As pleased as we are by the success to date, we’re also looking forward to a new stage of positive mobile impact in the near future, building on the existing foundation.

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OPA Digital Q&A: CNN’s Louis Gump on Mobile Strategy, Part I

By Pam Horan on 03/19/2012 | Comments

The “OPA Digital Q&A” showcases perspectives on key trends in online publishing and media by industry leaders.

Today’s insights on mobile strategy come from Louis Gump, Vice President of CNN Mobile, responsible for managing CNN’s mobile business globally. In addition, Gump has served as global chairman for the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA). This is Part I of a II part series with Louis. I welcome your comments and ask you to come back for Part II.

Do you anticipate a surge in mobile ad spending this year?
LG: We’ll unquestionably, I see a strong increase in mobile ad spending this year.  Content consumption is growing rapidly, and so are ad dollars. While many observe that mobile inventory is in some cases growing faster than related ad dollars, that’s to be expected in an emerging medium. However that gap will close over time as understanding increases and friction decreases.

How do you anticipate theses strategies will manifest on the agency, publisher and technology fronts?
LG: On the brand and agency sides, more executives are mandating that a higher portion of their spend goes to mobile, and more line managers are looking for ways to innovate on the platforms. On the publisher side, their teams have more inventory and expertise, including in advertising products, sales and delivery. On the technology side, we have more robust tools and creative units. In order to decrease friction however, we need to improve a number of things including performance metrics and ease of deploying a mobile campaign.

What are you doing at CNN to take advantage of the excitement in the space?
LG: At CNN, we’re seeing most of our mobile campaigns as cross-platform in nature, including TV and desktop web. Last but far from least, there’s an emerging trend around cross-mobile buys, where an advertiser wants to be present on all of our mobile platforms, including mobile web, phone apps and tablet apps at the same time.

What advice would you give publishers to optimize their mobile strategy?
LG:The list is long however, for starters, I’d advise all publishers to do the following: 1) Regardless of what other products you launch, make sure to have a first-rate mobile web site. 2) Complement the core mobile web site with a portfolio of apps if and as appropriate. 3) Hire dedicated mobile professionals and align them with other platforms. 4) Assume first that mobile is different from desktop web, TV, and print, and then work backwards into the similarities.

What would you tell publishers to avoid?
LG: The biggest mistake I’ve seen is when companies try to simply have the same old experience as they had on other platforms. Publishers should align (but not copy) experiences across mobile phone, tablet, desktop, TV and print platforms with the consumer experience and brand attributes in mind.
Check back on the blog for Part II of Louis’ answers to find out his thoughts on the future of the mobile and publishing industries and advice about the importance of focusing on the fundamentals.

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OPA Digital Q&A: Ad Perception’s Randy Cohen on Advertiser Optimism

By Pam Horan on 03/16/2012 | Comments

The “OPA Digital Q&A” showcases perspectives on key trends in online publishing and media by industry leaders.

On the heels of his presentation to the OPA membership, co-founder of Advertiser Perceptions, Randy Cohen answered our questions about the latest wave of advertiser research from the Advertiser Intelligence Reports (AIR), the largest syndicated survey of media decision makers in the world.

Can you describe some of the insights that you found when conducting research for your most
recent Advertiser Intelligence Reports (AIR)? 

Randy Cohen: In the latest installment of our flagship AIR study, digital media advertisers are very optimistic, with many more increasing their spending over the next twelve months. Brand-focused advertising, digital video and social media are the areas showing the most growth and optimism. This change in the digital ad buyer’s mindset has created some rethinking and, in some cases, confusion as to how to best execute campaigns against these new objectives. That said, buying intentions for the leading digital media brands are steadily increasing. The buying criteria utilized by digital buyers is similar to what it has been historically, that is, a focus on reaching the right audience, having enough scale to deliver on the campaign’s objectives and most importantly providing measurable results. Currently, publishers are seen as best at delivering on brand-focused campaigns.

How do you go about deciphering advertiser sentiment? Who are you polling to figure this out?
RC: AIR is the largest multi-client tracking study of media decision makers in the world. It provides media executives with the plans and opinions of more than 1,200 marketers and agencies every six months. Insight from AIR is provided by media decision-makers representing the largest advertisers across 16 major advertising categories and more than 500 leading digital, television, magazine, national newspaper, and mobile media brands. Clients use the intelligence from AIR to strengthen their media brands and improve advertiser satisfaction.
The advertiser intelligence report, wave 16, represents the media plans and perceptions of more than 1,200 U.S. Media decision makers surveyed in October through November of 2011. They have an average of nearly seven years of involvement in media decisions. The sample represents a cross-section of leading U.S. Advertisers by ad category and media type.

Does advertiser optimism vary by medium? What did your results show when comparing mobile, digital, print and broadcast?
RC: Advertiser optimism does indeed vary by medium. The most optimistic continue to be the most targetable and accountable; digital mobile and cable television. However, all media have shown some improvement from the spring, having moderate optimism for broadcast and improvements for magazines and national newspapers, although sentiment for those print-media vehicles remains less than optimistic.

Which advertising categories do you anticipate having the greatest growth based on your findings?
RC: Based on this wave of AIR, the most optimistic advertising categories are beauty, alcoholic beverages, financial products/services, consumer electronics, and automotive categories. With regard to all digital advertising, the auto, financial services, pharmaceuticals, and travel segments are the most likely to increase spending.

This AIR study is the 5th consecutive “optimistic” finding since the most recent recession affected the marketplace in 2007-2008; Have you seen any correlation between this sustained increase in optimism to ad spending?
RC: The advertiser intelligence reports are a leading indicator of what will happen next. By focusing on the opinions, preferences and plans of the agencies and marketers who spend the most, we continually see a strong correlation between what they say and what actually occurs.

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OPA Social Media Day: Social Readers, New Platforms, Advertiser Relationships and Brand Partnerships

By Pam Horan on 03/14/2012 | Comments

The theme for the second portion of the sessions at OPA’s Social Media Day was all about building key partnerships.

The Washington Post’s Chief Digital Officer Vijay Ravindran explained that a key to the overwhelming growth of their social reader has been the inclusion of 35 content partners, whose stories are integral in rounding out the user experience. They are finding that the social reader is attracting a new audience to Washington Post content—one that reflects the Facebook demographic.  Vijay anecdotally shared that the children of their writers and editors, who historically haven’t read The Washington Post in print or digital, are actually reading articles and content created by their parents because of the social reader.

Google+’s Deitra Mara highlighted the social challenges that the new platform was designed to solve, primarily the ability to bring people together in the way in which they want to be grouped.

Curtis Houghland, founder of AttentionUSA, lead a panel of senior advertising agency executives from Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, PhD, kbs+p and Initiative .  Kbs+p’s Chief Innovation Officer, Faris Yakob pointed out that publishers have deep connections with their audiences which brands can’t easily replicate and therefore places publishers in a unique position.

Andrea Wolinetz, Director Social Media, PhD, shared her concern about Facebook’s controlling of her brand’s fans. Andrea noted that when partnering with publishers, there is a halo marketers can take advantage of due to the first party relationship those publishers enjoy with their users.

Dave Rosner, SVP, Director Digital Innovation at Initiative, explained that their focus is on changing business outcomes, not impressions, encouraging publishers to consider thinking similarly when developing programs and partnering with agencies to create new revenue streams.

And environment matters a great deal as emphasized by Scott Prindle, VP Executive Creative Technology Director, CP+B. His clients approach social with different levels of comfort, so entering the space by partnering with established publishers is instrumental in getting brands to jump in.

Michael Reidy, Digital Sales, NBC Universal ended the day with a case study highlighting the impact social had in catapulting The Voice to hit-show status. Reidy emphasized that a clear understanding of the audience—both the publisher’s and the brand’s—is crucial for a fruitful partnership and impactful program. For instance, The Voice built successful partnerships with Sprint and Starbucks, after realizing the TV audience and the brands’ target consumer shared an affinity around the importance of community.

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OPA Social Media Day: Tackling Influencers, Tools, Metrics, Audience Development and More

By Pam Horan on 03/09/2012 | Comments

The 2nd Annual OPA Social Media Day provided an opportunity for the leading online media brands to share insights around successful social media programs.  As we continue to surface the possibilities and opportunities available across channels, top publishers and agency heads shared their plans for the future, innovative campaigns to date and lessons learned.  Ultimately, the conversations will steer publishers to help brands continue to make a meaningful impact via social media. 

With brand names mentioned in social media half a trillion times in a year, Forrester’s Melissa Parrish focused on the need to understand real “influencers” and the value influencers have in terms of extending brand messaging.  Parrish pointed to the benefits of forging key partnerships with vendors as they can provide data and listening platforms. She also emphasized that there are no hard and fast rules, but rather the need to measure context surrounding your objectives to frame your specific campaign so that results aren’t just numbers on a page.

Rhoda Bueno, Director of Marketing and Sales Development with FutureUS, discussed the types of tools publishers can use to better understand the impact of their programs. Rhoda presented a case study on the success of a cross platform program in which social was at the center.  The takeaway was on the importance of choosing the right tools based on the needs of the campaign – and not on all the bells and whistles (or even cost).

Next up was Adam Sherk, VP of SEO and Social Media at Define Media Group, Lisa Brewer, Director Digital Audience Development, Time Inc. and Sasha Koren, Deputy Editor Interactive News, The New York Times. Adam highlighted the need to set specific goals and measure against them instead of putting a general ROI for all social activity. He also shared lessons on how to create optimized experiences on owned websites, making sure to be thoughtful about the placement and number of social buttons to drive audiences, not discourage them.

Referring specifically to People Magazine’s Facebook strategy, Lisa Brewer added that, “90% of our goal in social is to drive traffic back to our website.” She went on to say that “users want to interact with topical content and show their affinity on Facebook.” She explained that in order to make that experience as effective as possible, People Magazine has developed unique ways to reward fans around events. For instance, for the Royal Wedding, People ran a wildly successful Facebook campaign that stood out from the commonplace giveaways and contests and instead gave fans the opportunity to superimpose their own likeness onto a royal stamp. A resounding 40% of users that interacted with the stamp wound up using it as their profile image. .

Concluding the discussion, Sasha Koren said the Times takes a multi-pronged approach when integrating social into coverage of major news events like the political debates or the Oscars.  Sasha elaborated that social informs the news process enabling the media to produce content that is more appealing to users and even has the power to change our journalism.

Check back for our next blog post in which we’ll cover the best practices The Washington Post has learned from their Facebook social reader and insights from agency executives—from Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, PhD, kbs+p and Initiative—on how publishers and agencies can strengthen their relationships to deliver better social programs.

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OPA Digital Q&A: Forrester’s Melissa Parrish Previews Research on Social Media Influencer Strategies

By Pam Horan on 03/06/2012 | Comments

The “OPA Digital Q&A” showcases perspectives on key trends in online publishing and media by industry leaders.

In advance of her presentation at OPA’s annual Social Media Day on March 6th, 2012, I took the opportunity to ask Melissa Parrish, a senior analyst with Forrester, a few questions about the research she is previewing exclusively at our event.  Be sure to follow the event on Twitter with hashtag #OPASMD2012

Can you tell us a little bit about the impetus for the new research Forrester is about to release on influencer marketing? 

MP: By the end of 2011, nearly 85% of US marketers were using social media in some way.  With this many brands engaging their customers in social media, we wanted to do a deep dive into some of the popular objectives that lead marketers to this channel.  Influencer marketing is one of the key ways that brands are able to drive measurable results in a social context, so that’s what led us to explore the topic more deeply.

One of the areas you look at closely in the report is the “social influencer”.How do you define them?

MP: A social influencer, simply put, is someone whose opinions about products or services, posted in a social media context, affect the decision making processes of other consumers.

How does identifying these social influencers affect marketing tactics for brands and publishers? 

MP: Identifying influencers is the first step to creating measurable and effective programs.  Without that identification step, brands and publishers are left with just a “spray and pray” strategy where they push out content and hope somebody likes it enough to share it.  But through identifying people who are influential in various contexts about specific topics, brands and publishers can create smarter, more relevant content and campaigns that acknowledge the particular needs and interests of those influencers.  Because the programs speak to the interests and needs of the influencer, that influencer is more likely to talk about it.  Because the brand has created a complete strategy around the program—instead of, say, just a funny video that they hope will “go viral”—the marketer will be able to choose the right metrics to track that will show success towards the goal of the overall program.

Are there specific tools or partners that brands and publishers are relying on to help identify and build relationships with influencers?

MP: There’s a variety of tools and partners that brands and publishers can turn to for help throughout the planning and execution process.  Listening vendors like Radian 6 and Sysomos and data providers like Klout, PeerIndex and FlipTop are particularly crucial in identifying influencers and measuring the success of these campaigns.

Has your research revealed any best practices for effective influencer marketing? Can you give us some examples?

MP: The most important best practice is to understand that there are 3 types of influencers:

  • “Social Broadcasters”, who are often the internet celebrities that you might think of when you hear the term “influencer”.  This also includes journalists, editors, and major bloggers.
  • “Potential Influencers”, who are basically the common people in social media.  This is you and me and the majority of people reading this post.  We have small networks of friends and family who take our opinions very seriously, but we don’t have the kind of huge reach that Social Broadcasters do.
  • “Mass Influencers”, who are an undeniably important segment of influencer for any brand or publisher because while they represent 20% of the online population, they create 80% of the influential content.

Effective programs can be created to reach just one of these influencer segments, or you can really take your program to the next level by creating an influencer strategy that speaks to all 3 types of influencer.

Do your findings provide any insight as to the direction Social Media is heading in the near future?

MP: This particular research reinforces the idea that social media will continue to have an impact on more departments than just marketing and communications.  Consider the kinds of conversations that influencers may have.  Sure, some of it is likely to be about how much they simply like your brand, or about a terrific program that you’re running and want them to talk about.  But they’re also probably talking about customer service questions, ideas for your products and content, reactions to your offline campaigns or event experiences, etc.  Listening to them and engaging with them smartly has the potential to improve your business not just your content and campaigns.

 

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OPA Digital Q&A Define Media Group’s Adam Sherk on Social Media: Part II

By Pam Horan on 03/02/2012 | Comments

The “OPA Digital Q&A” showcases perspectives on key trends in online publishing and media by industry leaders.

On March 6, 2012 Adam Sherk, VP SEO and Social Media, Define Media Group, will lead a discussion at OPA’s annual Social Media Day on audience development best practices.  In advance of his presentation, we had the opportunity to ask him a few questions. Here is Part II of his responses (Click here to read Part I):

How can publishers maintain active social outposts without sacrificing on-site community and engagement?

AS: Fortunately for publishers, sharing links is a huge part of social media activity. As a result major social sites have become valuable referral sources as opposed to taking away traffic.

A lot of the conversation around content does now happen off-site, but interestingly this has not led to a drastic reduction in on-site user activity. From what we have seen over the past few years social media has increased the total number of conversations as opposed to taking those conversations away from the main site. And publishers can always experiment with things like Facebook Comments to try to bridge the two.

In addition, off-site activity can be a great source of ideas and user generated content that can be leveraged on the main site (as well as the print publication) in interesting ways.

The New York Times is particularly is good at pulling social content into a value-added package of some sort on their own site, either in combination with their own reporting or through things like data visualization.

For those publishers that you view as being most successful in the space right now, are there particular metrics they are using to show the success of their social media campaigns?

AS: Traffic is still the most important measuring stick. As with search traffic, it is good to look at YoY (Year over Year) growth across the various social outlets as opposed to getting too focused on MoM (Month over Month).

As I referenced above it is also useful to compare user activity and behavior both among social sites and against other sources of traffic. This can inform site and content planning that will ultimately lead to increased engagement and conversions.

In addition it is good to define specific goals for both ongoing social activity and for specific promotions (like a special package or feature) to establish a meaningful way to evaluate success.

Total followers, likes, tweets, +1’s, pins, etc. are also interesting to monitor, but quality of engagement and achievement of specific goals wins out over quantity of activity.

How does social media impact SEO?

AS: Social media impacts SEO in a number of ways both directly and indirectly.

For instance Google is using Google+ and Bing is using Facebook to directly influence the search results that signed-in users see. Google’s new “Search Plus Your World” initiative is a very big push towards greater personalization through social connections and social activity.

Google+ does not yet have the mainstream adoption of Facebook or Twitter, but Google is making it a major priority and heavily promoting it. So I wouldn’t expect it to go away anytime soon. At a basic level this means publishers should be making the most of +1 buttons on content templates and official Google+ pages.

The engines are also looking at social activity in aggregate as way to evaluate the popularity or relative “importance” of content and the authority of sites. Links are still much more important but social signals are growing in prominence and value.

If Google had better relationships with Twitter and Facebook we would already see greater visible integration of a wider range of social signals in its ranking algorithms. This has seemingly taken a step back in the past 1-2 years as Google places its bets on Google+.  But it would be foolish for Google to ignore activity on other social sites.

About Adam Sherk

Adam Sherk is VP SEO and Social Media for Define Media Group. Adam works as an embedded strategist and trainer, helping news and content sites to develop and execute effective SEO and audience development programs. Adam writes about SEO and social media for publishers at AdamSherk.com.

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OPA Digital Q&A: Define Media Group’s Adam Sherk on Social Media - Part I

By Pam Horam on 03/01/2012 | Comments

The “OPA Digital Q&A” showcases perspectives on key trends in online publishing and media by industry leaders.

On March 6, 2012 Adam Sherk, VP of SEO and Social Media at Define Media Group, will lead a discussion at OPA’s annual Social Media Day (#OPASMD2012) on audience development best practices.  In advance of his presentation, we had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about social media best practices, social plug-ins and more, This is Part I of a II part series with Adam. As always, we welcome your questions and comments.

When it comes to social media best practices, what are some examples of publishers gaining traction?
AS: There is still a lot trial and error going on (which is one of the great aspects of social media). Encouragingly, over the past couple of years there has been an evolution towards incorporating social media into a cohesive audience development strategy as opposed to treating it as a separate initiative.

I am fairly familiar with magazine publishers like Condé Nast, Time Inc. and Hearst, all of which are doing good work.

The New York Times has been active in social for quite some time but in the past year or so they have stepped up their efforts. ABC News is doing well too and The Washington Post is having success with its Social Reader.

I have also been impressed with NPR. They recently shared an interesting case study on their experiments with Facebook Page geotargeting.

How important is on-site optimization? What are some of the things publishers should keep in mind when deciding on the right social plugins to use? How much is too much?
AS: On-site optimization is critical. It starts with the basics like which social sharing buttons to add and where to place them. That seems pretty straightforward but you’d be amazed at how often sites make mistakes with it.

Facebook integration gets a lot of attention now as publishers try to figure out their comfort level with things like frictionless sharing. Like buttons, Open Graph tags and reasonable use of Facebook Social Plugins are standard practice now but it will be interesting to see how this evolves.

Publishers are also doing things like comparing pageviews and time on site (by content type and social referrer) in an effort to create optimized experiences for social media visitors. This ties into ad sales and conversion rate optimization too as user intent and behavior varies by social site and as compared to search or direct navigation traffic.

Check back on the blog tomorrow for Part II of Adam’s answers to find out how publishers can maintain active social pages without cannibalizing on-site community and engagement.

About Adam Sherk
Adam Sherk is VP SEO and Social Media for Define Media Group. Adam works as an embedded strategist and trainer, helping news and content sites to develop and execute effective SEO and audience development programs. Adam writes about SEO and social media for publishers at AdamSherk.com.

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Gannett to Launch Subscription Model Across All Community News Websites

By OPA Staff on 02/23/2012 | Comments

Gannett announced in an earnings call that it would be unveiling a new online subscription model for its US publications, excluding the USA Today.

The company announced a number of revenue generating initiatives, including the creation of a new digital marketing services business targeted at small and medium size businesses, but it is the online subscription model that got the most press. 

Like the existing system in place at the New York Times, the model will limit access for nonsubscribers, and offer paid content on all platforms, Jeff Bercovici of Forbes, noted.

PaidContent praised Gannett’s localized approach – that “its pricing and paywall strategy to each individual market—meaning that issues of pricing, bundling and meters will be determined on a paper-per-paper basis.”

PaidContent’s Jeff Roberts wrote: “This seems like a smart strategy—not only will the company have a chance to implement an optimal formula for each paper, but it will also acquire a wealth of price and marketing data.”

The mediasphere will no doubt anxiously watch Gannett’s next few months as it begins rollouts of the online subscription model, but one thing is clear: similar approaches have worked because readers are reaffirming that they will pay for valuable content.

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Trend: Publishers Forging Key Partnerships to Bolster Tablet Products

By Pam Horan on 02/21/2012 | Comments

In 2011, the world witnessed the iPad become one of the year’s most popular gift items. Now that more affordable tablets - such as the new Kindle Fire – are coming to the market, it’s no surprise that a recent study by the Pew Research Center found that tablet and E-reader ownership has nearly doubled in the U.S. over the holiday gift-giving period. As the surge in tablet use continues to grow, some publishers are looking to leverage the popularity of tablets through strategic partnerships.

Two examples point to the trend of publisher/tablet maker partnerships. MediaPost reported that Barnes & Noble joined forces with The New York Times to offer consumers who buy a digital subscription of the newspaper on a Nook $100 off of a Nook Simple Touch or Nook Color tablet. AdAge reported a slightly different model, with the announcement that News Corp’s The Daily app will now be available on certain Verizon-marketed devices. Consumers that already own a Galaxy Tab will have access to The Daily app through a software update. Both approaches aim to incentivize tablet purchase and increase app usage.

Since tablet maker/publisher partnerships are relatively new, we will have to wait and see how this seemingly symbiotic relationship performs.

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