It’s important to realise, it’s not about people (demography), but about motivations.One person can have multiple motivations
People are looking for a selection of the news, as they are overwhelmed by the enormous amount of news available.
Information overload is their fear
We’re busy. And most people have a life besides watching news. So the news has to fit in with everything else.
Ideal is news as a routine; you check the news when you wake up. Or when you get home.
We’re busy. And most people have a life besides watching news. So the news has to fit in with everything else.
Ideal is news as a routine; you check the news when you wake up. Or when you get home.
Another important aspect is trustwortyness: people need to rely on the selection, so this HAS to be reliable
Strong trustworty brands are important within this news need.
People are looking for a selection, so they can talk about this selection with other people.
News as social glue - the coffee machine talks.
For this it’s practical if you gave the same information as your friends/family/colleagues
When you are looking for ‘stay updated’ news, you need relevance.
Why is this the selection that you HAVE to know?
Relevance is:
- what’s in it for me
- what are the consequences (for me): heart, wallet, mind
Be aware: relevance can be different for different groups! Know who you are addressing
When a journalist is addressing the need to stay updated, they function as a diet coach.
You know what’s out there and you have made a selection (menus - news items)
If the consumer follows this selection, they will get what they want (to lose weight - to stay updated)
When a journalist is addressing the need to stay updated, they function as a diet coach.
You know what’s out there and you have made a selection (menus - news items)
If the consumer follows this selection, they will get what they want (to lose weight - to stay updated)
One of the trends that triggers this motivation, is Any Device Any Place Any Time;
Technically you can consume news anywhere, so therefore you want to.
The trend was very much towards ‘not missing out’: by the Fear Of Missing Out
But, times are perhaps changing again: now it’s the Joy Of Missing Out.
Phonestacking, knitting, people leaving Facebook: are the times changing?
This adds to the need to be able to determine yourself which news you want to consume
You don’t want to rely on someones selection, you want to access the bulk and choose for yourself
For this motvation, news needs to be free to use. And it’s not nescesarry to own the information.
I can just ‘plug in’ the cloud and get the information
You also see this in other areas then news: car sharing, for example (A’dam in one year from 24 to 16% car ownership amongst 18-29 year olds)
This adds to the need to be able to determine yourself which news you want to consume
You don’t want to rely on someones selection, you want to access the bulk and choose for yourself
For not missing out, it’s not important that news is complete or comprehensive.
It should also be factual and not go into too much opinion (stick to the facts).
Journalists that address this news need are like an iv-drip.
You just push the information, with as little adding as possible.
People who want to form an opinion want to think for themselves about what is true.
And adding to that is our growing skeptical and critical view towards institutes like banks and governments.
People want to search and compare multiple sources to figure out what different views exist and what their own opinion is.
Help is welcomed; Google is of course perfect, but also Storyful does this excellent.
User Generated Content is just as valuable for poeple with this news need.
Why would experiences from ‘real people’ be less then from institutes?
You see this more and more: people move away from big systems and form their own little ecosystems.
Good example is Blottr.co.uk: the people powered news service
This offers opportunities: you can tell stories from the audience, f.e. by using big data
This is an October 2012 map of tweets about the US elections - data tells the story
People have a growing interest and appreciation for how things are made.
Festivals for VJ’s, for example.
A journalist making news for this news need, should act as a guide.
Don’t give your opinion, but let people develop one themselves.
Show them various content and links, be transparant, allow contributions from the audience and follow or start discussions
With this news need, people are looking for an involved experience.
They want to feel something, they want a response (like these women).
People don’t always recognise this news need themselves, but it is growing.
Your senses need to be triggered with this news need, so storytelling is very important.
Your attention needs to be grabbed within the enourmous information overload, and this can be best done with audio, video or photo.
If you do this well, you even grab people’s attention who’re not even interested...
To arrouse an experience, it helps to make something pretty.
For a few years now, we’re living in the trend of beautification. Everything can be beautiful (Instagram), so people expect them to be beautiful as well.
And this can also work for audio! Pretty audio :-)
Example = Instagram Fetching Tigerss (16 year old girl with 672k followers)
And, news for people with the need to have an experience can also be positive.
This does NOT mean it’s only cats saved from a tree, but also constructive, positive news (tip: Ulrik Haagerup, DK)
We want to share our experiences.
The social aspect is very important with this news need, you want to express your feelings about the news.
Kony is a good example: people shared this massively on social media.
For people to have an experience, the sender of the information needs to be sincere en authentic.
You have to want to tell the story. There has to be an urgent need.
You can’t learn this! Example: Hans Rosling
As a journalist making news for this need, you have to be a story teller.
Tell a Real Story from sincere interest and involvement. And make it a pretty story by using beautiful images or strong audio.
It’s important to realise, it’s not about people (demography), but about motivations.One person can have multiple motivations