A majority of Twitter users (64 per cent) follow some form of news accounts — it could be an individual journalist’s take on a story or it could be via a newspaper brand.
In fact, a report from Reuters Institute, using YouGov’s social media analysis tool, identifies a complex relationship between Twitter, the concerned news source and the journalist in the context of breaking news and developing stories.
The rise and rise of smartphones and tablets has had fewer people using desktop computers to check the news. Now, 20 per cent say the mobile phone is their primary access point, while 39 per cent of online news trackers use two or more digital devices a week for updates.
When it comes to payments, the situation is different. The number of online users paying for digital news has remained steady over the past 12 months.
Facebook is by far the most important network for news everywhere, and while Twitter is widely used in the US, Spain and the UK, it is far less influential in other European countries.
The research also discovered that apps, rather than mobile websites, are the main conduit to access news. In the UK, nearly 50 per cent of smartphone users say they mainly use apps. News apps are proportionately used more on smartphones than on tablets.
Over the last year, newspapers, broadcasters and online websites have been focusing on more visual content, such as pictures, data-rich charts, animated gifts and video itself. This is attributed to the multimedia capabilities of new devices and also because distinctive visual content works well in social media. Another important aspect relates to commercial reasons. Video in particular has higher advertising premiums.
Despite this, the research show most users remain wedded to words — 70 per cent only consume news via text. Pictures and videos are relatively more important in the US, Brazil and southern European countries. Size does not matter — 24 per cent of online users would rather watch on a bigger screen while 18 per cent complain that the video doesn’t work or takes too long to play.
The conclusion is that the smartphone is pushing the web towards new possibilities for monetisation. Trusted news brands remain important to nearly everybody. The ingredients for success remain the same — credibility, immediacy and relevance.
