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Media Switch-up #11- Apple News App

After submitting ten previous media switch-ups, it dawned on me that I completely forgot about one of my most frequently used apps—Apple News. Now, if you’re an Android user, unfortunately you wont be able to relate to any of the information I’m about to provide. Feel free to continue reading and maybe by the end of it you’ll have yet another reason to switch over to #TeamIphone.

The Apple News app is basically a nifty application that compiles news stories from a variety of publishers such as Time, The Atlantic, CNN and People and neatly organizes and displays their top stories for Iphone users. The responsive display is visually appealing, with its clear imagery and is easy to navigate. One of the cool features of the app is that it is intuitive and over time learns the users preferred content. As you scroll down the screen, users are even greeted with a section entitled “For You”…cute right? In addition to this personalized component, breaking news alerts, trending stories and editors picks are also displayed which helps users stay on top of what is popular in media that particular day. Now on to some more fun features…

There’s no secret that mobile usage is on the rise and that mobile apps often times make it easier for users to share content. Apple News makes sharing extremely easy to do by inserting their share icon next to every piece of content published on the app. Not only can users share the article via traditional Iphone methods (ie. Message, mail, notes etc) but users are also given the option to save the article for future reading or can even “Love” or “Dislike” a story. In addition to the sharing function, users can select their favorite channels and topics which will then dictate the content that gets displayed on your device. Users can also explore various content, search for specific content and finally save their content for future use.

What Apple has done is not necessarily unique in regards to the aggregation of news. What is unique however is that A) they have automatically installed this app on every Apple device running iOS9 or greater which increases the likelihood of usage B) they have provided a solution for users who are currently using multiple apps to serve the same purpose and lastly C) it provides publishers with an opportunity to deliver key content to their target audiences all while being associated with one of the most successful brands on the planet.

Where Apple has missed the mark on the Apple News app is in its inability to provide detailed engagement and usage metrics. If you’re a publisher like The Atlantic, it is important to understand how your content is performing among audiences especially if you’re spending advertising dollars. In order for this app to remain successful, Apple needs to find a solution to this metrics issue sooner rather than later. Apple customers on the other hand could care less about this type of data. They are loyal and will continue to use the functionality and will switch over and adapt to any updates or changes to the platform as they have with the previous version Newsstand. Overall the app is a win-win for Apple and its customers. As I mentioned above, the jury is still out for publishers. Only time will tell!

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Media Switch-up #10- Print vs. Digital

For this week’s media switch-up, I decided to dig deeper into the rivalry between print media vs. digital media. On one end of the spectrum, you have those who strongly believe that print is dead or damn-near close to dying. On the other hand you have those who believe that there are far more users who prefer the tangible product, whether it be a novel, magazine or newspaper to flip through to thoroughly enjoy their reading experience. I personally can provide support for both mediums as I can find certain scenarios that one is better suited than the other.

Let me paint you a picture of how news is consumed…

When I’m relaxing on the beach or poolside, I prefer to have a physical copy of a best-seller or fresh newspaper in hand. There’s something about the smell of a printed paper, the ability to fold down the pages to save my spot and the ability to underline and jot down notes in the margins, that just gives me all the feels. Clearly I’m not the only one who has this sentiment because a study by Bangor University concluded that “physical material is more real to the brain than digital.” It also stated that physical material “has a meaning and a place. It is better connected to memory because it engages with its spatial memory networks” (Forbes). I know some of you are not convinced by this little factoid, but let me ask you, is your electronic device safe near the water or in the beating sun? Im just sayin…

But here’s the deal, the rise of digital media is entirely too significant to discount. The landscape is changing whether traditional bookworms like it or not. Roughly 4 in 10 American adults (38%) often get their news online, with 57 percent getting it from television nightly and 20 percent getting it from print newspapers. With everyone having a smartphone attached to them at all times, it comes as no surprise that mobile usage for news consumption is also on the rise. The portion of Americans who get news on their mobile device has jumped from 54 percent in 2013 to 72 percent in 2016. Now, lets make things a little more interesting and add social media to the mix—

Percentage of user that get their news online:

·        Instagram: 63%

·        Facebook: 62%

·        YouTube: 58%

And over half of these users are getting their news while online doing other things, like checking their news feeds, shopping for products or paying their bills. Interesting, right? So what does all of this prove? From a marketers perspective, this information is clear proof that an integrated strategy is what will succeed in this ever changing marketplace. Traditional media is not completely dead, so there is plenty of room to reach your intended audiences in an authentic way. People see ads in newspapers and magazines and they expect that. Where they are thrown off at times, is when advertisements are forced down their throats while surfing the web or Facebook stalking their “friends”. 

What I foresee in the print vs digital space is a little more of the same. As technology develops, I believe that these mediums will do the same, the will develop as well. Both are extremely valuable and serve their intended purpose for their end user. So whether someone is chillin’ by the pool with a magazine or getting comfy on a 4 hour flight cross country, marketers need to continue to serve fresh, engaging content and visuals for their consumers to keep coming back for more.

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Media Switch-Up #9- Pinterest

Have you ever dreamed about remodeling your basement and kitchen or throwing the ultimate Paw Patrol birthday party for your kid but lacked the creativity or inspiration to pull it all off? Then you remember this app that you have on your phone that literally has a solution and/or idea for EVERYTHING you could possibly imagine? That app we’re talking about folks is Pinterest.

Pinterest, which made its debut in early 2010 is essentially an online cataloging platform or put more simply, a digital pinboard. The platform allows users to create personal boards where they will then add pins that they either find on other Pinterest boards or pull in from external websites. For example if you wanted to keep track of healthy recipes for your family, you could easily create a “Healthy Food” board and search around Pinterest for relative pins to save for inspiration or future use. If cooking is not your thing, no worries because again, Pinterest pretty much has a pin for any inquiry. Looking for outfit inspirations that match with navy stripes? Type “navy stripes” into the search bar and you’re guaranteed to come up with a number of results for you to scroll through until you find the right combo. Another added bonus is that you may come across someone’s board who’s sense of style and taste is what you aspire to be one day and because of how amazing Pinterest is, you can start following that user and/or their board.

The platform has seen significant growth over the years with a reported over 150 million people using the site on a monthly basis.  Since its inception, the site has been extremely popular with women with 60 percent of signups coming from this demographic. Believe it or not, men are jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon as well as they now represent 17 percent of online adults who use the platform.

As social media platforms continue to evolve, we will continue to see the rise in popularity of sites that integrate engaging visual content, provide ease of use in navigation and quick sharing capabilities. All of these features are what makes Pinterest so appealing to the masses. This also rings true for some of your favorite brands. What Pinterest has the other popular social media sites do not, is the fact that the users coming to the site are doing so with the purpose to find or shop for products. To be exact, its roughly 55 percent of users! The best brands that are utilizing the platform well, are those that have thought long and hard about the most effective ways to integrate this platform into their overall branding/marketing strategy. Brands like TOMS for example have made a concerted effort to create boards and pins that directly align with their customers interests. This tactic goes a long way with customers as it shows a level of authenticity and shared interest between the brand and the consumers drawn to them.  

From the looks of it, Pinterest appears to be doing quite well in the digital space, and based on current trends I believe they will continue to attract more users and brands to their site. For a company that is expecting to make at least $500 million in ad revenue this year, there must be a significant amount of faith in the platforms ability to maintain its popularity with consumers.

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Media Switch-Up #8- Facebook Live

After reviewing Periscope last week, I felt it was only right to dive in to what I believe is the best video app out currently—Facebook Live. If you’re unfamiliar with Facebook Live, I would assume that you have been living under a rock for the last year. If that’s not the case, and you are really just that busy, here’s the rundown.

Facebook Live is a feature that allows users to live steam videos via their Facebook feed. The feature also allows users to tune in to friends broadcasts which brings a new meaning to social engagement. Participants on a live stream can comment as they would on a general post and can use the various emoji buttons as well, which float across the screen for all users to see. Although the live feature was launched over a year ago, I personally didn’t jump on the FB Live train immediately. Mainly because I was annoyed by the few people on my feed who were going live with little to nothing to say. Annoying. Outside of these annoying occurrences, I’ve been quite fascinated by the explosion of this feature not only with every day users like myself, but also with celebrities, news media, companies and brands.

There’s no denying that Facebook is KING of the social media space with well over 1.71 billion users on the site. With that said, it only makes sense that their live streaming feature would be out of this world amazing and would change the way we all consume media and use Facebook all together. Lets look at the 2016 election for example. In previous years, those of us who follow politics would pull a seat right up to the television to watch the highly anticipated presidential debate. We would scream at the screen when the opposing candidate said something we vehemently opposed and cheered when our candidate knocked a question out of the park. This past election however, broke from tradition (in more ways than one) by live streaming the debates for viewers. It has been reported that 55 million people watched debate related videos via Facebook during the course of the election. Crazy right, but not at all surprising when you think about it. 66 percent of Facebook users reported that they get their news from the site which explains why so many of our favorite news outlets are breaking stories via the feature. The Facebook Live feature has merely provided another way for brands to interact and engage with their audience without having to use multiple platforms to do so. Facebook has somewhat created a one-stop-shop for the average user and marketers alike.

Facebook in my eyes has hit a sweet spot with the addition of this feature on their platform. The ability to watch live videos from my favorite brands or news sources, adds a level of authenticity that is somewhat a rarity in today’s cluttered media landscape. If I could offer one suggestion to Mark Zuckerberg about Facebook Live, it would be to not over complicate it by allowing advertisers to infiltrate the space. We see enough sponsored posts in our feeds and should be able to view these live streams without being inundated with paid content. Thank me later Mark, I’m pretty sure I’m saying what so many others are thinking ;-)

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Media Switch-Up #7- Periscope

With this week’s lecture focusing on the importance of video in one’s digital strategy, I decided it would only be appropriate to select a video focused platform for the switch-up. With that said, lets dive in to my experience with Periscope.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Periscope, it is basically Facebook Live but on a platform of its own, equipped with a few more features. The app allows users to record a video from wherever they are in real time. Similar to Facebook Live, viewers have the ability to comment which allows for some interaction between parties. This feature really helps to bring another level of engagement to videos that its users seem to enjoy. In addition to the commenting, Periscope even has the option for you to “heart” videos which sends a colorful stream of hearts across your screen. So cute.

Similar to popular social media sites Facebook and Twitter (which owns Periscope), users have the ability to follow other users or brands and can receive notifications when they are live or post broadcasts. This is an increasingly popular feature especially if you’re using Periscope as a source for daily news. Now, if you’re anything like me, Periscope is cool but not something I’m 100 percent comfortable with. I do however like that you’re able to search a variety of content areas, such as sports, travel and news and can even search by #hashtags. If you happen to be interested in searching for people broadcasting in your area, Periscope also provides a mapview as well, where users can select content based on geographic location. I personally will never use this feature, but its there nonetheless.

My overall take on Periscope is that it really is just a mashup of Facebook Live and Snapchat with a splash of YouTube elements. If you enjoy being able to take or watch live videos, this app does the trick. If you want to go live but don’t want your video to permanently stay in your feed, well it can self-destruct if you set your features accordingly. As a user of multiple social platforms, I don’t see the need for adding yet another app to the mix especially since I feel I’m already getting what I need from Facebook and Snapchat.

What I find missing from this site is a strong brand presence from companies. This could be because I’m still very new in using the site and cant figure out how to find them, or, they are just simply not participating on the platform as frequently as the other sites mentioned. I believe it’s the latter. A 2016 Fortune article stated that the app reported having 10 million registered accounts and roughly 1.9 million daily active users, which are impressive numbers considering the app only launched in 2015. 

My guess is that the brands that are heavily active on Twitter will try their hand at Periscope because of the easy sharing capabilities between the platforms, while others will continue to devote their time and energy on the other popular, brand tested social sites. 

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Media Switch-Up #6- LinkedIn

If you’ve been on the job hunt in the last 10+ years then you most definitely know what LinkedIn is. If you haven’t been on the job hunt (lucky you) then you, at a minimum, have received a request from someone on LinkedIn asking you to endorse one of their many skills or to simply “connect” and join their growing network.

LinkedIn, put simply is a social networking site for professionals looking to interact and engage with other like-minded professionals. If you’re looking for a new gig, LinkedIn is the place to be. Looking to expand your network and meet others in your particular industry/field, well LinkedIn is the place for that too. Are you completely secure in your job and want to recruit new talent to your organization? Well, you guessed it! LinkedIn is where it’s at.

Similar to Facebook where you can create a profile include a picture and can share certain aspects of your life, LinkedIn allows you to develop a professional profile that displays like a digital resume. Depending on your privacy settings, your connections have the ability to view your current employment and education history, including any accolades you wish to share as well.  

Now, you may be thinking to yourself “this seems really boring” and well, you’re right. What LinkedIn is not, is a place where you will find the latest TMZ update on who Drake was spotting with or what legal mess Chris Brown has gotten himself into today. You will however see inspiring post about what makes true leaders within an organization and even newsworthy company updates like a merger or profitable acquisition. LinkedIn is NOT about sharing what you had for breakfast or what cute milestone your baby hit. It is 100 percent about your career, which is why I believe its still so popular with adults and has 466+ million members.

According to a 2016 Pew Research survey, 25% of U.S. adults reported that they use the site. The site remains popular with high income earners as well as college graduates who make up 50 percent of online adults using the site. LinkedIn has evolved its look over the years and has become more user friendly for its members. The navigation is intuitive and if you’re use to other networking sites you’ll be able to navigate LinkedIn with your eyes closed. Even companies/brands are ensuring that they have an engaging page for members to follow. Nike for example currently has 1.15 million follower on the site!

LinkedIn in my opinion is pretty straightforward and meets my expectations. Unlike Facebook and Instagram, I’m not looking to be wowed when I hop on LinkedIn. I don’t need new bells and whistles or any robust functionality. All I need is a clear navigation to search jobs, colleagues and companies that I find intriguing. Nothing more and nothing less. If you’re looking for political banter or want to Keep up with the Kardashians, you’re on the wrong site. And believe me, those in your network will call you out if you start posting “Facebook-like” content. LinkedIn has gotten it right in terms of being in tune with current digital trends and staying true to its brand. I think the platform will be around for quite some time as long as it continues with this strategy and does not feel compelled to be everything for everybody.

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Media Switch-Up #5- YouTube

This week I decided to dig into YouTube a bit more and let me just tell you, I was surprised. I know I’m not the only one that when they think about YouTube these days, they think of it as a place to replay and share funny videos, view make-up tutorials or watch how-to videos on every potential DIY project. Until this assignment, I never considered YouTube as a true source for news. Why go to YouTube when I can view relevant content on Facebook and Twitter? 

Clearly I’m not the only one who feels this way because a 2016 Pew Research study found that 62 percent of adults get their news via social media sites. 66 percent of Facebook users get news on the site followed by 59 percent of Twitter users. As for YouTube, only 10 percent of adults reported that they get their news from the site. This is pretty much in line with what I expected but what number really blew my mind is that 48 percent of adults still use the site on the regular. Why is that? Let me tell you.

After clicking around the site and focusing in on the news it is quite clear why adults still love YouTube. Just as I explained in my Reddit review, users have the ability to subscribe to specific sections of their liking. This could be sports, business, entertainment, local and national news, technology etc. This functionality is quite nice because it allows users to filter the content they want to see with the featured stories living at the top of the page for easy access.

Another feature of the site that I also enjoy is that in addition to being able to subscribe to a specific topic area, users can also subscribe to a business channel to follow the content the outlet is pushing out. I see this as being extremely beneficial for say the millennial demographic who are cancelling their cable subscriptions left and right. Having the ability to go to one centralized place, to watch timely news reports by your preferred news outlet is what we all really want and YouTube is making that dream a reality.

Although YouTube is not my preferred method for obtaining news I now understand how and why the platform remains a top contender within the media space. I do not however see infrequent users like myself abandoning their normal media consumption platforms to pick-up YouTube, but believe their loyal followers will remain that way.

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Media Switch-Up #4- theSkimm

Between my son celebrating his sixth birthday then breaking his arm less than 24 hours later, to consoling my neighbor who had to put down her beloved golden doodle, I seriously have had no time this week to read any news articles. Thankfully, I’m a subscriber of theSkimm so all of the most newsworthy moments are delivered to my inbox on the daily, hence why its my choice for the switch up this week.

To sum it up, theSkimm is essentially geared towards those who are too lazy to read, have no time to read or just prefer someone else telling them what’s important to read. Subscribers of theSkimm receive an email every morning around 6:30am with the latest and greatest newsworthy stories. This is not your ordinary enewsletter. The daily skimm is written in a friendly tone almost as if your best girlfriend is sharing some juicy gossip with you on the couch. As their tagline states, “we read, you skimm”, the daily newsletter is filled with simple yet engaging headlines that grabs the readers attention. The writers have a way of breaking down mountains of information in a digestible format that’s palatable to just about everyone.  In any given day, subscribers can read about everything from what President Trump abruptly tweeted at 5am to how the Dow closed the previous day. As a person who NEVER opens enewsletters I can say that I’m happy that I allowed my friend to talk me into subscribing. For this momma on the go, theSkimm is exactly what I need to stay informed.

Just by glancing at the logo for theSkimm it is quite clear that this newsletter is geared towards women in their mid-20s and 30s. It all makes sense considering the founders are also two professional women who are self-proclaimed lovers of news (theSkimm). What is interesting about their target demographic is that not only has the newsletter been popular with their intended audience, but they have found that many of their readers are also men and stay-at-home moms (Forbes). The common denominator for all of these key publics is that they all want to be more informed and have little time to spare keeping up with it all.

The Skimm in my opinion has gotten it right in terms of how to carefully craft a content rich newsletter that recipients are eager to open instead of rerouting it to their junk folder. Mobile apps are cool and so is scrolling through articles on Facebook and Twitter for news (sometimes fake) but the one-stop-shop that this enewsletter provides is a game changer.

Ps. If you want your day made, feel free to use my link to sample a daily dose of theSkimm. If you like it as much as I do, please, Share That Sh*t!

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Media Switch Up #3- Instagram

This week’s media switch up is all about Instagram; aka IG, the Gram or Insta. This social networking app is pretty similar to Facebook but better (in my opinion), especially if you’re more of a visual person like myself. Instagram allows its users to share photos and videos (with filters of course) to their personal feeds for easy viewing by their followers. Users can ‘like’ posts, comment and also have the ability to share on other social media sites Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr. Instagram also recently launched ‘Stories’, which if you’re familiar with Snapchat then you know exactly how to use it because, well, it’s pretty much the same.

What is interesting about IG compared to the two previous media apps that I’ve reviewed is that Instagram has been extremely successful with the use of strong visuals alone. People are drawn to Instagram by the visually engaging content that is posted by users and brands alike. I will be the first to admit that I thoroughly enjoy just scrolling through the search tab to see which random posts catch my eye. It is not so much about the copy that people are interested in, it’s the visual content and the carefully crafted stories that are being told through these visuals. Bait. Its all about the photo bait to lure users in!

Since its launch in 2011, Instagram has evolved tremendously and it is apparent through the number of active users and brands participating daily on the platform. Instagram recently reported that as of December 2016 they have more than 600 million users on their platform. They also reported that users ‘like’ 4.2 billion posts per day…insane! With numbers like these, it comes as no surprise that brands are establishing more of a presence on this network to get in front of their customer base. According to a recent article by Adweek, 53 percent of social media users say they follow their favorite brands on Instagram. As I mentioned above, visually engaging content is key for this platform. Smart brands get that and are continuing to outdo themselves with the posts that they share and the hashtags that accompany then.

As users become more creative with their self-expression and brands continue to capitalize on every opportunity to reach their audiences where they gather, if I had a crystal ball I would predict that Instagram will be around for a little while longer. This makes me happy because I’ve barely scratched the surface of it all of its branding capabilities.

A video posted by Under Armour (@underarmour) on Feb 1, 2017 at 5:17pm PST

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Media Switch Up #2- Snapchat

The media platform that I selected for this week’s media switch up is Snapchat. I absolutely LOVE this app. I mean really, who doesn’t like to be transformed into a puppy dog, a gorgeous flower goddess or face swapped as your favorite celebrity? Me, me and me!

Snapchat for many is fun, effortless and perfect for anyone with a short attention span. Unlike my Facebook feed, Snapchat is free of political rants, relationship drama and random quiz results. The app allows you to take pictures and videos and share them with your intended audience. The game changer for me is unlike other apps, Snapchat videos are extremely short, lasting 10 seconds and they are only available for 24 hours. So, if you’re having a crazy night out with your friends and take a few funny pictures or videos, there’s no need to freak out because they will be deleted automatically the following day. If you happen to really like the photo or video that you’ve posted, Snapchat also allows you to save media in what they are calling ‘Memories’ that will be stored within the app and can also be shared to your camera roll. How neat is that? In addition to being able to share media, you can also follow your friends, celebrities, favorite brands and news outlets.

Another great feature of the app is the chat capability. Users have the ability to send text chat messages to friends as well as video. Snapchat also allows users to comment on a specific video or image viewed on a friends storyline. What I enjoy most about this feature is again the length of the videos involved and the fact that the content does not clog all the storage on my device! I will admit that I don’t spend as much time on this app as I do with other social media, primarily because my peer group has not jumped on the Snapchat train just yet. As soon as I can convince more of my friends to start using the app, Im sure it will become part of my daily app viewing ritual.

Now on to the stats. You may be wondering, who actually uses Snapchat? Well, the answer is not very far off from what I initially suspected. A 2016 study found that 60 percent of Snapchat users are under the age of 25 with 23 percent of these users being high school students (Statista). The millennial demographic makes up 26 percent of users with Snapchatters (yes that’s what we’re called) between the ages of 35-54 making up 12 percent of users (Statista). With the rise of mobile apps and social media platforms in general, I am no surprised at all by these numbers. The popularity of this app is unbelievable and one that I believe will be around for the foreseeable future. Snapchat users currently watch more than 10 billion videos per day (Snapchat)! Who is actually doing work during the day?

In addition to the general public, Snapchat is extremely popular among brands. The ability to share engaging content with users is the primary driver of the brands utilizing this platform. Notable companies such as Fox, Marriott and even Taco Bell have advertised on the app using what Snapchat calls ‘Sponsored Lenses’ for Snapchatters to use. This is a unique way to get in front of your customer base without being too pushy. I personally love it and may have a picture of myself with a taco face in my stored memories.

As the popularity of this app continues to rise, I think more brands will begin using this platform as a way to make an emotional connection with customers and drive their brand identity further.  Between the fun filters, chatting and the ability to a catch a glimpse into the lives of your friends, celebrities and favorite brands, the app in my opinion is a refreshing change of pace that app users have been waiting for.  

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Media Switch Up #1

For the media switch up this week I selected the media platform Reddit to review. To be completely transparent, this is probably only the second or third time that I have visited this site. I consider myself to be up to date on new technologies, social media platforms etc. but I often stick to the traditional media sources to consume news. I currently subscribe to a digital newsletter from the Washington Post and the Washington Business Journal, both of which deliver content to my inbox on a daily basis. This works very well for me as it provides me with a one stop shop to view the top news headlines each day. In addition to these e-newsletters, I also view news via social media channels Facebook and Twitter.

After reviewing Reddit this week its not completely clear who the composition of the individuals are using this platform. It seems to vary completely and includes input from all age ranges and demographics. Based on what I’ve reviewed and have heard from my peers, it appears that this platform is extremely popular with millennial demographic as it allows for free expression and input from all. Reddit provides its readers with a plethora of information on topics ranging from parenting to gaming. Although I can see how having so many subcategories is appealing to most, for me it was completely overwhelming to digest. I found the platform to be extremely cluttered with information which made it very difficult for me to focus in on the topics and stories of interest. When I was finally able to just zero in on the news category, I did appreciate the ability to view articles from multiple sources all in one centralized location. Even though I have my news outlets of choice, I feel it’s healthy to also consider other perspectives and interpretations on issues. Reddit makes it easy to do this.

Another feature of the site that I actually enjoyed is the comment feature and the ability to raise up or down an article/post.  I like that the top articles are voted on by the users and are not controlled by Reddit specifically. Following what some may describe as the most volatile presidential campaign on record and the constant cries of “fake news”, its refreshing to see information that readers feel are important and in need of some media attention.

If I could offer a suggestion to the creators of Reddit it would be to organize the site better and to make it a little more aesthetically pleasing for their audience and users. Now that I have a taste of what the site has to offer, I think I will continue to check in more frequently.