On TikTok, USA Today Finds Traction Without News

  Rassegna Stampa, Social
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For USA Today parent company Gannett, social media success has little to do with the news.

Two of its editorial franchises, Humankind and Problem Solved, have seen growth in their social reach across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, where the brands have prioritized vertical video formats. There, the media company has used the viewership to generate advertising revenue and build awareness of the USA Today brand.

Humankind, which amplifies feel-good stories, has 4.2 million followers on TikTok—more than CNN, The Washington Post, Disney and Nike—and added 600,000 followers in 2022. Problem Solved, which offers life hacks aimed at younger audiences, has 1.2 million followers on the platform after gaining 440,000 last year. 

An internal Gannett team of roughly 55 staff, called Content Ventures, runs the accounts, as well as a portfolio of other brands, such as the affiliate marketing business Reviewed. Gannett created Content Ventures in 2018, and the division brought Humankind and Problem Solved to TikTok in 2020.

“We realized this content did well on Facebook, but it was challenging to get it out consistently on the core USA Today social platforms,” said Russell Torres, the vice president of video content. “So we broke it out into its own brand, into a space where there is no news, and we have seen tremendous growth since.”

The media company monetizes the reach of these franchises through video ads on Gannett sites (45%), on-platform revenue shares (25%), roughly eight to 12 annual video sponsorships (20%) and its connected television channels (5%), among other sources of revenue (5%), according to Kate Gutman, the senior vice president of Content Ventures.

The company wouldn’t share the total revenue generated by the franchises, although sponsorship packages can net multimillion-dollar payouts. 

Publishers have scrambled to reorient their editorial strategies to foreground vertical video, whose highly engaging nature has inspired its adoption across the digital ecosystem. But monetization has lagged behind adoption, and Gannett is already facing acute financial pressure. 

Its operating revenue fell 8% in 2022, to $2.9 billion, and debt the company accrued following its 2019 merger with GateHouse has forced the news organization to cut its workforce dramatically from 21,255 in 2019 to 11,200 last year.

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