Karan Chadda

Global digital marketing and communications leader

Analytics

Six UK-specific insights from the Reuters Institute Digital News Report

The Reuters Institute recently published its annual Digital News Report. The top line findings were very interesting. We’ve been able to pore over the study’s raw data tables. From our analysis, we’re sharing six insights. Some reinforce conventional wisdom, others turn it on its head.

1. Established media brands dominate

The conversation about news for the past year or so has focused on social media and the spread of fake news. Social media has a strong presence in news distribution with two in five people using it in the last week as a source of news. However, marginally more people use the websites and apps of TV and radio companies as a source of news. The third most used sources are the websites and apps of newspapers. In short, established media brands dominate online news.

2. The BBC dominates most of all

And the BBC dominates more than any other. Online, 51% of British adults use BBC News. Offline, the domination is equally strong, the most used traditional source of news is BBC TV News. The second most used traditional source is BBC Radio News.

To understand quite how dominant the BBC is, it’s worth noting that BBC TV News is watched by more than twice as many people as ITV News and three times as many as Sky News.

3. People really don’t like online ads but blocking isn’t the huge problem publishers feared

Unsurprisingly, people hate online ads. Three in five (59%) think the ads on news sites are intrusive. Only one in 11 (9%) disagree.

Despite this, only about a quarter (22%) of British adults are currently using ad blockers. Even better news for publishers is that of this group, three in five (60%) have temporarily switched off their ad blocker. Moreover, the vast majority of ad blocking occurs on computers, whereas the trend for online news consumption is mobile first.

4. Social media is dominated by Facebook Inc

Moving onto social media, Facebook Inc dominates massively. Of the social networks listed in the study only two of the seven most popular are not part of Mark Zuckerberg’s online empire. It’s worth noting that its two messaging apps, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, are used more than Twitter. In the broader context of news on social media, this is not good for Twitter.

5. Facebook Inc dominates social news too

More British adults source news from Facebook than any other social media network. While nearly three in 10 (29%) use Facebook, only about one in eight (12%) use Twitter.

Much was made when the report was launched of the power of messaging apps as news sources. The numbers are startling in other markets, in the UK only one in twenty (5%) adults get news from WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. This number is likely to grow but that growth isn’t rapid. Back in 2015, the same study found 3% of British adults using WhatsApp as a news source.

6. Twitter is a news source, Facebook is news discovery

The question of whether stumble upon or seek out news is perhaps the most interesting. Twitter is becoming a news feed. More people (7%) think of it as a useful way of getting news than those who say they tend to find news on Twitter while using it for other things (5%).

Conversely, news discovery on Facebook is more serendipitous. One in five (20%) adults mostly see news on Facebook while using it for other reasons. Only about one in 12 (8%) think of Facebook as a useful way of getting news.

We’re happy to meet to discuss further findings

At Evolving Influence, we think it’s important to go beyond the top line and understand how people consume, discover and share news. We’re poring through the data tables from this, as well as looking at data from Ofcom and other sources. If you’d like to learn more about what we’ve learnt, we’d be happy to meet for a coffee and a chat.

Click here to drop us a note and set up a meeting

How to use the new Posts function on Google My Business

Publish your blogposts on Google

Google My Business is what the Yellow Pages used to be. Google scrapes all manner of business data and automatically compiles listings. When people Google your company’s name, this automatic list will appear near the top of the search results. You can improve that listing by verifying your ownership / control of the business and add in additional information, such as opening hours, contact details, etc.

So far, so very standard as a business listings model. The control panel page for your business includes links to analytics (so you can see how often you’re appearing in searches) and AdWords (so you can boost your company’s presence through advertising on Google).A posts function joined these other services at the end of June. It’s pretty simple, all you have to do is:

  1. Go to your Google My Business homepage or app (iOS, Android)
  2. Click on create post
  3. Write 100-300 words about your topic
  4. Select a suitable image from your computer (optional)
  5. Select a button option (i.e. buy here or read more) and provide a link to point the button towards.
  6. Click preview and if you’re happy…
  7. Click publish

So why should you do this? Quite simply, standing out in search is critical for many businesses. The new posts function is an excellent way to ensure those searching for you find out not only where you’re based but also what you think. It effectively lets you publish your thoughts at the top of the first page of Google search results.

Mobile-first and AMP developments at Google

search

Google has moved its search results to mobile-first indexing. It’s a logical progression in the development of search when you consider the increasing dominance of mobile search.

Earlier this year, Google announced that searches on mobile devices overtook searches from desktops. Desktops, with their falling sales, will never catch up. However, until now Google’s search algorithms have indexed the web and delivered results based on the desktop version of a website. This has led to mobile users being sent to sites that are not easy to on their devices. With its latest update, the search giant has fixed that.

Search results from Google are now based on the mobile version of a website. If your website isn’t mobile friendly, then you’re dropping further down the rankings. If you have a mobile version of your site but it is a pared back replica of your desktop site, you might need to look at whether it’s now a hindrance.

Already mobile? Time to AMP it up!

For those who have mobile-friendly sites, it’s time to think about AMP – accelerated mobile pages.

Early in the autumn, Google announced that it would be ramping up its AMP programme in the coming weeks. Quoting research that found that 40% of mobile web users abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load, they have worked on AMP, an open source initiative to improve the mobile web experience.

Google has promised ‘expanded exposure’ across it mobile search results for those who use AMP.

What to do?

If you’re not sure if your site is mobile-friendly, use this tool to find out. If it isn’t start looking into its replacement. Even a small consulting firm will find that between 15% and 25% of its web traffic is from mobile devices now.

Does your website need AMP? Unless you’re a publisher, it’s not likely at the moment. However, the mobile web is now dominant, so you should be keeping an eye on the growth of AMP.