IF YOU READ ONE THING

Refresh your data strategy

A number of organizations have seen an influx of readers since the start of the pandemic, and while those traffic numbers have begun to return to pre-coronavirus levels, many now have a new trove of data on readers, listeners, and financial supporters. A new guide from the Membership Puzzle Project offers advice for how to use that data to make informed decisions—including identifying the right data to track, the best ways to collect that data, and how to turn that data into action. The first step, according to Federica Cherubini, is to start with questions you might have about your audience, such as:

• Where do they come from? Which call-to-action is performing the best?
• What specific types of content are resonating and driving engagement?
• Is there any correlation between conversions and engagement? Just because one audience is opening a newsletter, for instance, doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll click through or buy a product.

POWERSTAT

TikTok has quickly established a foothold among other prominent social networks, with its app joining the ranks of Facebook’s mobile app, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger in surpassing 2 billion downloads since 2014. The majority of downloads come from China and India; however, the United States is the second-most revenue generating country, with its users spending $86.5 million on the platform. 

Source: TechCrunch

TRENDWATCH

A positive for podcasts

Many have been closely following the fate of podcasts during this pandemic, and this week, those in the podcast business may finally have some good news: For the first week since March 2nd, podcast download and podcast audience growth is up, according to Podtrac. While this is certainly a positive sign, Hot Pod's Nicholas Quah points to some questions for creators and advertisers that lie ahead, one being whether to launch coronavirus-related podcasts. “Information needs under the pandemic are ever-growing and ever-changing,” he writes, and for coronavirus podcasts, “there will always be something new we need to know about.” But, of course, information also comes from various media beyond audio, and some people are already feeling burnt out on COVID-19 material. 

The key question for non-coronavirus podcasts is whether to take a chance on experimental forms or certain content types, given the uncertain audience and advertising landscape (he notes multiple instances of networks pushing back the launches of true-crime podcasts). “I’m firmly in the camp of this being a time where more people should be starting new podcasts of strange and capricious qualities,” says Quah. “The key, in my opinion, is to start out with as little risk as possible, with as little expectations as possible, and go from there.”

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Instagram Live can help connect brands to their audiences

If your brand has been considering joining the Instagram Live fray, you might want to read this first: Instagram recently published a guide explaining how brands can take action during COVID-19 by using each of Instagram’s functions—IGTV, Instagram Live, Shopping, and Stories (for those interested, Facebook also released a similar 64-page guide in early April). The short guide includes “how-to” tips and ideas for each of the functions, as well as examples of successful accounts. We’ve included some of our favorites below:

• Before going live, make sure to test your internet connection, as well as get familiar with the functionality and set-up. 
• Let your followers know ahead of time that you are going live by teasing it on your feed or story beforehand. 
• Hosting a live Q&A can educate and entertain your followers. Either ask for questions during the stream, or use the questions sticker in Stories to source questions beforehand. 
• Show your followers some rare content by going behind the scenes of your business.
• After going live, save your video and upload it to Stories so it shows up for 24 hours. You can also save your Live video and upload it to IGTV.

PERSPECTIVES

Keeping up with consumers

As coronavirus news fatigue grows stronger, people are becoming increasingly excited and interested in how their lives will positively change once the world shifts back to a more normal state. Readers’ mindsets have evolved over the course of the pandemic—from an initial need for in-depth coverage about the virus to looking forward to the future. We’re seeing this play out through a few audience habits: 

• Pinterest users start to imagine their personal lives again. “When the pandemic hit and isolation began, most people needed immediate help. Searches like ‘pantry recipes’ and ‘how to entertain bored kids’ spiked. But then, surprisingly quickly, people are getting back to future optimism. They’ve returned to searches about travel, event planning, summer, weddings and more.” — Andréa Mallard, chief marketing officer at Pinterest (AdWeek)
• Finance and business searches are increasing as people are seeking ways to secure their economic futures. “Business and finance coverage is the fastest-growing area of news and information content during the coronavirus era, according to data from SimilarWeb. … Of the several hundred global news websites measured by SimilarWeb for this analysis, business and finance news websites grew 42 percent year-over-year, while other types of news, like sports, lost significant traffic.” — Sara Fischer, media reporter at Axios (Axios)
• There’s a spike in local news attention, showing that people are becoming less interested in the global effects of the pandemic, but also want to know what’s happening in their communities. “Americans are focusing attention on both national and local news related to the pandemic. About six-in-ten (61 percent) say they pay about equal attention to news at both levels, while 23 percent tune in more to state and local news on the outbreak and 15 percent follow national news on the topic more.” — Pew Research Center (Pew Research Center)