SODP Dispatch - 3 February 2023

Happy Friday!

Let’s talk about social media in digital publishing.

• What is the future of journalism on Twitter?

• What’s the role of TikTok in audience engagement for digital publishers?

• What’s the best course of action for publishers that want to engage with audiences who are embracing short-form social networks?

Our managing editor, Andrew Kemp, shares his thoughts on the signal-to-noise ratio on social media in his weekly Editor’s Note column:

I’m going to admit something apparently controversial for a member of the media: I’ve never really liked Twitter. Hardly the most courageous time to be making such a statement, I know, but better late than never I guess.

I’ll avoid the whole “Twitter was better before Musk” debate, because frankly I wasn’t a fan in the first place and am not the best positioned to comment on this front.

However, I have heard the arguments that Twitter is a great place for journalists to build loyal, moveable followings. That it’s a great way for media companies to engage with their audiences and promote new content. Or even that it’s a great place to receive the latest news updates.

Still, I’ve never liked it. Principally because of the platform’s horrendous signal to noise ratio. Hardly a fresh perspective, I know, but still relevant to this day.

Continue reading

PUBLISHER SEO - COMPLIMENTARY MODULE

ACCESS A FREE MODULE OF THE PUBLISHER SEO COURSE

As announced in the previous newsletter, we have officially launched our Publisher SEO course. Developed based on 15+ years of experience working in the space, it is uniquely designed with the monetization and audience engagement needs of digital publishers in mind.

We would now like to share a free module with anyone who’d like to take a sneak peek into the type of materials provided by the course and the depth of each of the 50+ modules.

The subject covered is Google’s Top Stories. You will learn what it is, the importance of Top Stories, pitfalls to avoid to rank in Top Stories, and more.

Access the free module

FROM STATE OF DIGITAL PUBLISHING

TOP TOOLS

15 BEST TRANSCRIPTION SOFTWARE IN 2023

Automated transcribing software has revolutionized how many within the digital publishing sector transcribe audio and video content, increasing the process’ speed, efficiency and accuracy.

Almost 16% of the media and entertainment industry use transcription software at least once a month, with that number climbing to 22.5% for the market research segment.

The adoption of these technologies is a purely practical one — what humans can do in hours, software can accomplish in a matter of minutes.

Here, we look at some of the advantages in a little more depth and present our list of the 15 best transcription software for 2023.

Read more

CONTENT STRATEGY

HOW TO CREATE ENGAGING CONTENT

Creating engaging content can be difficult, especially in today’s competitive online world. Not only do you need to make sure it engages your target audience, you also have to optimize it for SEO, format it correctly, include the proper headings and answer the right questions — all while trying to outrank your rivals.

Content is still king, which means you need to keep creating new and engaging material if you want your audience and business to grow.

Now, not all content is equal. Depending on what niche you’re in, who your audience is and what type of content you’re creating, your goals will be different. In this article, we’ll go over tips on how to create engaging content that both publishers, brand marketers and social media content creators can benefit from.

Read more

BUSINESS STRATEGY

NEWS PUBLISHERS AND SPORTS BETTING FIRMS: A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN?

With online sports betting now legal in 26 US states, up from 18 in January 2022, many online news publishers are embracing potentially lucrative content partnership deals with sports betting companies.

But in the vast world of media publishing, what do news publishers stand to gain from these partnerships? The short answer is that they can quickly acquire new revenue streams at a time when many are struggling with extremely tight margins. News publishers can also provide readers with added value and enhance reader loyalty by incorporating betting content and predictions into their regular sports coverage.

But how do such partnerships work and what sort of considerations should publishers take into account when assessing potential sports betting affiliate partners?

Read more

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

ONLINE COURSE

Check out this course on how to build, scale, and monetize your newsletter. Taught by the experts who have done it before. Learn more

REGULATIONS

FIPP has launched Global Media Tech Regulation Tracker! This live doc is updated monthly, bringing you the latest policy, regulatory, and legal updates from around the media tech world. Learn more

TIP

ChatGPT gets access to website content to learn from it. This post outlines how to block your content from becoming AI training data. Learn more

BITE-SIZED INDUSTRY NEWS

MONETIZATION

Leaky Paywall’s Pete Ericson discusses subscription predictions for 2023. Read more

SEO

Google may be crawling the web with a new crawler, a new Googlebot, named GoogleProducer. Read more

SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram’s co-founders are back with Artifact, a kind of TikTok for text. Read more

AI

Google is scrambling to respond to the threat of OpenAI’s ChatGPT by augmenting its search engine with capabilities similar to the AI chatbot. Read more

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT

YouTube Shorts now sees more than 50 billion daily views, up from 30 billion the year prior. Read more

TECH

OpenAI has announced ChatGPT Plus, a $20 monthly plan that gives you priority access to the AI chatbot, even during peak time. Read more

Copyright (C) Want to change how you receive these emails?You can update your preferences or unsubscribe