Social News Desk’s president and founder Kim Wilson finds that even though broadcast news operations get that social media and Facebook in particular are among their biggest sources of traffic to their websites, they have trouble cracking the code of how to monetize those referred links. Wilson shared her recommendations for broadcast news operations to more fully monetize this premium content in today’s episode, Audience Development and Revenue Growth with Social Media, of BIA’s
Leading Local Insights podcast.

As Wilson puts it, “Broadcasters are faced with the question of how do you balance that critical distribution of news content with the very real requirements of running a business?”

In Wilson’s mind the need to extend the news product to social media to engage audiences where they are to get your brand and content in front of them makes sense for audience development.

From a revenue growth perspective though, she’s concerned many broadcasters are not taking advantage of news products shown to work elsewhere. “Broadcasters can try to monetize social audiences by bringing them back to owned and operated assets but that may not be enough to reach revenue goals,” Wilson cautioned. “We’re seeing many of our newspaper clients who are monetizing newsletters, email newsletters, premium memberships, sponsorships, events and other innovative ways to engage audiences and the brands who want to reach them.”

Another point Wilson makes regarding Facebook is that broadcasters often times can get more ROI from their ads on Facebook. She advises, “Go to your team to see what you’re already spending on Facebook ads to boost your posts. Chances are you’re spending it all wrong. You don’t need to spend more, but do need to spend with a strategy. What are you boosting and why? You should have a strategy for content you’re trying to boost and why. Then measure results and adjust accordingly.”

In the full podcast, Wilson speaks to how the data shows as the news changes, so does the audience. As she says, “Use artificial intelligence to identify what your best content is at a particular time and how to buy ads to boost engagement and promote your brand. That’s the best way to use social.”

To listen to the podcast, click here.

About the Leading Local Insights Podcast

Get on-point analysis of the local media marketplace with BIA’s Leading Local Insights Podcast. Each Tuesday, BIA shares its current insights on major topics including digital ad spend, broadcast media, print, media ad platforms, advertising revenue estimates, financial valuations and more.

Find our podcast here – bookmark this link – and on Spotify, iTunes, Google, Amazon Music and more.

Have an idea on a topic you’d like us to cover in the podcast? Email us at podcast@bia.com.