Convergence journalism: the new rules (and roles) of content creation

Joe McEnteeGroup Editor, IOP Publishing SSP IN Conference, 19 September 2011

Email: joe.mcentee@iop.orgLinkedIn: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/joemce

Agenda

The headline take IOP Publishing A few numbers

Multimedia services: one of our big stories – one of your big stories? Case study: online video journalism Analytics, measuring success

Convergence journalism: 10 top tips Summary and Q&A

The headline take: IOP Publishing

A leading international science publisher For-profit publishing arm of Institute of

Physics (IOP), a not-for-profit professional society with 41,000 members worldwide

Our portfolio includes… 60+ research journals High-profile partner publishing

programme 10+ magazines, online communities Specialist education products

Number-crunching: IOP Publishing

Headcount Approx. 300 staff, seven international

offices Publishing financials

FY 2010 revenues: £40 million ($65 million); +5% vs 09

Professional-society membership FY 2010 membership: 41,000+

The headline take: Group Editor

My brief covers… Editorial leadership for online/print

journalism teams Editorial leadership of multimedia content

team, spanning online video, audio and webinar services

Customer-research programme focused on e-publishing requirements of research scientists, research libraries

Multimedia services: one of our big stories

Timeline looks something like this… Summer 09: initial R&D investment in

editorially led video, webinar, audio Q4 09: R&D roll-out on physicsworld.com,

flagship website of IOP membership magazine Physics World

2010 and 2011: learn lessons, scale-up, rethink editorial/production workflows, transfer know-how to other content teams and product groups

Case study: online video journalism

The story so far…. Over 50 video reports published online in

past 24 months Output from 19 separate filming projects –

12 in UK, four in Europe, three in US Video now an established part of the

editorial and production workflow No increase in editorial headcount!!

Online video: a few rules of engagement Content=marketing

And high-value multimedia content = high-value, high-impact marketing

Content with a purpose Content designed to prompt a response

Think viral, think social Push content to where your potential

readers/viewers are spending time online Discoverability is key

Online video – a great way to help people find our products (needle) on the web (haystack)

Online video: harnessing those network effects

Online video journalism: learning by doing The story so far (continued)…

Editorially, we have played to our strengths – i.e. expert commentators, story-telling, A-list contacts book

We have reinforced all of that with specialist third-party expertise (filming, postproduction, training)

Cross-platform marketing opportunities ensure maximum ROI (e.g. the special issue will never be the same)

Bottom line: editors and marketeers have embraced the new world of convergence journalism >>PLAY

Video analytics, business outcomes

Video gives you interesting new ways to think about user engagement

We have published >50 exclusive videos on physicsworld.com since Sept 09 135,000 unique views to date 500,000+ minutes total view time

That means collectively those viewers have spent… A whopping 348 viewing days engaging

directly with our products and services

physicsworld.com e-newswire subscription growth

physicsworld.com: e-subscriber acquisition 2009-11

Promoting journal usage: video as a driver

Culture of experimentation – using video to seed viral marketing campaigns

Objectives… Raise visibility of journal special issues or

keynote review articles Drive referral traffic, usage, downloads A catalyst for content, marketing teams to

collaborate on diversified campaigns Open up new audiences we might not

otherwise reach via traditional channels

J Phys D: using video to drive engagement

J Phys B: using video to drive engagement

Industry recognition: physicsworld.com multimedia

Best Specialist Site for Journalism, Online Media Awards 2011 Finalists included the likes of Forbes.com,

ESPN.com and FoxSports.com

Best Editorial-Marketing Collaboration, SIPA UK Awards 2011

Convergence journalism: 10 top tips

First up, and most importantly, be clear about outcomes and what constitutes success Use analytics to monitor, track progress

and fine-tune if necessary Secondly, play to your strengths – don’t

try to do it all You’re not the BBC or HBO

Thirdly, choose your partners wisely –and to suit your budget Use your editorial network to source

Convergence journalism: 10 top tips

Training is essential, but so is learning by doing Be prepared to fail, but fail fast, learn, and

move on Get started – even if you’re unclear what

the service will ultimately look like It’s OK, you’ll figure it out soon enough

Think social, think viral Get your content out to where your

potential readers/customers are spending their time online

Convergence journalism: 10 top tips

Lead from the front (of the camera) Yes, that means you!

Give younger members of your editorial teams a voice and a platform They get all of this stuff, they’ve grown up

with it Think laterally

Video as a platform for new product development

Convergence journalism: 10 top tips

Redouble your emphasis on the fundamentals: Hire great people, look after them, train

them well, challenge them (and yourself) Know your readers, viewers and

customers (as they are now and where they’re headed in the future)

Customer research – make time for it And one more for good measure...

Joined-up project management is THE critical success factor

Thought for the day

From Seth’s blogExisting publishers have the power to change the form of what they do, increase the value, increase the speed, segment the audience, create communities, lead tribes, generate breakthroughs that make us gasp

Thanks for listening…

…now over to you for questions

And enjoy the rest of the conference