NN: How Top Social Media Publishers Reach Audiences In 2017

[curved top shadow] [NewsWhip Note header] Changing strategies and platform priorities are altering how publishers reach audiences on social Hi there, In 2014, the relationship between social media platforms and publishers seemed a lot more straightforward than today. For many sites, the main social media strategy was to look for their stories to go as viral as possible, and get readers to click and head over to their sites for the full story. Native formats like Instant Articles and live video weren't considerations for publishers, simply because they didn't exist. Some social-optimised sites did really well with this model, and managed to achieve tens of millions of engagements with their articles on Facebook every month. Since then though, a range of factors mean that social publishing is significantly different to how it was in 2014. Here are [five ways we've seen social distribution change for publishers in that time](: 1) A greater variety of sites now in the top 25 Facebook publisher rankings each month. Smarter distribution strategies coupled with increased social media use means that more publishers have the opportunity to reach larger audiences than before. 2) Engagement rates are now more evenly matched among top publishers. In May 2014, over 27 million engagements separated the top Facebook publisher and the tenth most engaged. In December 2016, there were just over 7 million engagements between the two spots. 3) Native content has increased massively in importance. In October 2016, engagements on videos on CNN's main Facebook page accounted for over 60% of their monthly total. Large publishers are now seeking out ways to reach and engage their readers that don’t rely simply on the premise that readers will share stories from their websites back to their own news feeds. Native video has been a uniquely powerful format in that context. 4) Two content strategies emerge: high output vs high average engagement. Our top Facebook publisher rankings are dominated by two distinct publisher models. The first are sites with huge monthly outputs, which reach enormous numbers of people with different interests and in different regions. Examples include networks like Fox, and sites with different national versions, like the Huffington Post. The second are sites with lower output, but much higher average engagement rates. 5) More political content, less 'curiosity-gap' headlines. For the final months of 2016, and into early 2017, the most engaged stories on Facebook tend to be a mix of news reports, listicles, opinion pieces and extraordinary stories, ideally with a positive outcome. Meanwhile, there are more partisan political publishers than ever. These sites appeal directly to readers on either side of the political divide, using algorithmic bumps provided by fast reactions to their stories. We have full analysis [on the blog](. For more, we invite you to [join our exclusive webinar]( on key findings from the report next Thursday, February 23 at 10am ET/3pm GMT. The effect of a Trump tweet: 11,000% engagement boost Last week, President Trump name-checked US department store Nordstrum in a tweet. The social reaction was immediate. NewsWhip data shows that from February 6th to 13th, 2017, Nordstrom has driven over 3.45 million engagements across Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest on English language content. Compare this with a weekly average of 31,000 engagements in January 2017. This most recent week is over a 11,000 percent increase to that average. [Check out our blogpost for the full analysis](. [What NewsWhip's Series A Funding Round Means]( We were delighted to [announce]( NewsWhip's largest investment to date this week - a $6.4m Series A round that will go towards building our tech and team. In this round, we've been backed by the world's top news agency, The Associated Press, leading Japanese publisher The Asahi Shimbun, Dublin VC fund Tribal, and more. You can read more [about the fundraise on TechCrunch](, and our CEO Paul has more on who's involved, and what we'll be using the funding for, [on our blog](. Also, we're now hiring for [customer success managers]( in New York and Dublin. If you know someone with excellent communication skills and a fastidious approach to problem solving, we'd be grateful if you could pass the message along. Noted: - Facebook announced some [significant changes]( in how native video in the news feed will be presented in future. The most obvious change has to do with sound in auto-play clips, but other points include a 'scroll and watch' feature, and improved vertical viewing capabilities for mobile. That's all from us this week. Please reach out if you have any questions or thoughts, and [connect with us over on Twitter]( to stay up to date with our research throughout the week. Have a great weekend, Liam and all at NewsWhip. [curved bottom shadow] NewsWhip, 25 Broadway, New York, NY 10004, USA This email was sent to {EMAIL}. If you no longer wish to receive these emails you may [unsubscribe]( at any time.