Sunday, June 25, 2006
Web strategy for papers — concentrate on your strengths!
Traditional print revenue models were based on a monopoly on local news or being part of an oligopoly in national and international news (as all competitors in the market published “breaking news” at the same time). This was partially broken by the arrival of radio and then TV news, which broke the basic details of the stories in bulletins before print media could get on to the streets.
But broadcast news bulletins have never offered the length or analysis of print media, so print has always had a USP in those areas. Until the Internet came along.
That’s why it’s different as a competitive threat — it can offer both breaking news and analysis and availability to news consumers earlier.
But not exclusive content from media brands with high reputational assets, yet. That’s what papers need to capitalise on, as reputation x advice = influence and influence x audience = impact. Just as magazines have been doing since they began, because of their production delays.
Look at how The Economist has handled publishing in print and the Web — with some content freely available to all, but most protected for subscribers only.
Similarly, Wired initially only makes some content available on its website at the start of the month, holding back that with most exclusivity value (just displaying taster headings) until it reckons all likely print edition sales (or at least the bulk of them) will have been made. Making all its edition content freely available after that point then boosts its reputation and potential future print sales…and more website views!
So what should newspaper websites do?
They’re right not to hold back “commodity” news – the headlines and brief statements available free from many sources these days (TV, radio, Teletext, the Web) — as if it’s out there elsewhere you might as well offer it too. But holding back exclusive content and analysis for subscribers and purchasers first can only be right, unless you can somehow fund your site alone from advertising to all and sundry.
This is one of the reasons The Economist is going up in readership and circulation — it’s concentrating on its USPs.
Emphasise your strengths, not the areas of your weaknesses!
All that said, long-term Schumpeterian competition in the media can’t be stopped and electronic media brands will develop competences in areas papers are now strong in and over time take more of the share of the readership market, and with it the one for advertising too.
But broadcast news bulletins have never offered the length or analysis of print media, so print has always had a USP in those areas. Until the Internet came along.
That’s why it’s different as a competitive threat — it can offer both breaking news and analysis and availability to news consumers earlier.
But not exclusive content from media brands with high reputational assets, yet. That’s what papers need to capitalise on, as reputation x advice = influence and influence x audience = impact. Just as magazines have been doing since they began, because of their production delays.
Look at how The Economist has handled publishing in print and the Web — with some content freely available to all, but most protected for subscribers only.
Similarly, Wired initially only makes some content available on its website at the start of the month, holding back that with most exclusivity value (just displaying taster headings) until it reckons all likely print edition sales (or at least the bulk of them) will have been made. Making all its edition content freely available after that point then boosts its reputation and potential future print sales…and more website views!
So what should newspaper websites do?
They’re right not to hold back “commodity” news – the headlines and brief statements available free from many sources these days (TV, radio, Teletext, the Web) — as if it’s out there elsewhere you might as well offer it too. But holding back exclusive content and analysis for subscribers and purchasers first can only be right, unless you can somehow fund your site alone from advertising to all and sundry.
This is one of the reasons The Economist is going up in readership and circulation — it’s concentrating on its USPs.
Emphasise your strengths, not the areas of your weaknesses!
All that said, long-term Schumpeterian competition in the media can’t be stopped and electronic media brands will develop competences in areas papers are now strong in and over time take more of the share of the readership market, and with it the one for advertising too.
