Tag Archive for: Ofcom

Why the Conservatives and Labour are using TikTok differently

Labour and Conservative Party TikToks

It’s like buses: you wait for one major UK political party to join TikTok, and then two come along on the very same weekend… Must be an election! But the Conservatives and Labour are taking very different approaches to how to use the platform.

Let me guide you through the tale of two TikToks.

Why have Labour and the Conservatives suddenly joined TikTok?

Despite the growing popularity of TikTok, and its use by some Cabinet ministers such as Matt Hancock and Grant Shapps, both parties had appeared hesitant to adopt it, due to the perceived concerns over the security threat from China. The US have now passed a law to ban the app unless it’s sold by its Chinese owners – a move that ByteDance is now contesting in American courts.

TikTok has continued to maintain that it is independent of Beijing and ByteDance insists it has no plans to sell the business. 

Ciaran Martin, the former GCHQ cyber chief and ex-head of the National Cyber Security Centre, recently told the BBC’s Media Show that:

“This is mostly an issue both about geopolitics, and influence and control over the internet, than strictly speaking a cybersecurity issue”

But there are overwhelmingly compelling reasons to establish a presence on there.

In a relatively short space of time, TikTok has established itself as one of the most used social media apps among UK adults, according to Ofcom’s Online Nation report – and I wouldn’t be surprised if it soon overtakes Twitter/X.

Ofcom Online Nation reportsurvey: Top social media services among UK adults

TikTok is the most popular video platform for 15-24 year olds, who use it for an average of 58 minutes a day, according to Ofcom figures from last year, while the demographic of users is getting increasingly older. 

Ofcom Media Nations Report 2023: time spent per day on social media platforms, by age

And another Ofcom study suggests as many as 1 in 10 of us use TikTok as a news source – more so than BBC Radio 1 and Channel 5.

Ofcom news consumption report 2023: One in 10 of us use TikTok as a 'news' source

And despite signing a law to ban it, Team Biden launched their reelction campaign account in January, with a SuperBowl-themed Q&A.

 

@bidenhqlol hey guys♬ Fox nfl theme – Notrandompostsguy

You may remember that No10 enjoyed some good success during what felt like a recent peak of TikTok, during the start of the war in Ukraine.

And my 4 year old enjoyed seeing Bluey, Bingo and Boris today:

@10downingstreet What do #peppapig, bluey and bingo have in common? #uk #australia #fyp ♬ original sound – 10 Downing Street

But that account hasn’t posted since Liz Truss took over as PM and the app was then banned on government devices, though the UK government has been working with TikTok influencers and content creators behind the scenes.

Let’s hope that both parties using it means departments can get on there (with a thought-through strategy, of course.)

Why Labour are getting plaudits for their use of TikTok

Labour has over 80,000 followers on TikTok in the space of a month. The key to their most watched content has been to lean into memes and TikTok trends, mainly poking fun at Rishi Sunak and the Tories’ new policy of national service for 18 year olds.

 

@uklabour Surprise surprise #generalelection #toriesout #ukelection #ukpolitics ♬ original sound – UKLabour

Judging by the most popular comments to the videos, this approach has struck a chord with younger users, and it has even drawn praise from GB News deputy political editor Tom Harwood

GB News' Tom Harwood praises Labour's TikTok

But we’ve seen Labour ‘win’ Twitter in the last few campaigns as far back as 2015 – but that’s not resulted in being in power.

Engaging and motivating your supporters is important, but just one part of a campaign.

The TikTok trick for Labour is finding a way to blend in positive messaging about their policies, land key messages consistently, and establish Keir Starmer as a credible PM to undecided or wavering voters, in an engaging way.

But people love the banter, less so the blah content. 

On their other videos, they haven’t quite replicated the success of their viral content criticising their opponents – but there’s still a long way to go in the election.

The Tories’ approach to TikTok

It may have been a case of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”. And I’m sure it’s a topic that CCHQ, like Labour, have been thinking about for a long time.

But TikTok isn’t the “young person’s app” anymore. Like every social media platform, it tends to be initially adopted by younger people, before older demographics join as it becomes more mainstream. For example, I have seen my personal TikToks about the death of Dennis Waterman and 40 years since Knight Rider began do well, with lots of comments sharing their memories of both.

And today, the New York Times reported internal analysis from within TikTok that found nearly twice as many posts in favour of Donald Trump than those in support of Joe Biden, since November: 1.29 million pro-Trump posts, compared to 651,000 pro-Biden posts.

Would I have launched with the National Service policy? Probably not. 

But it got people talking about the Tories’ new TikTok account – and what matters most in algorithmically-driven social feeds is people viewing and engaging with what you post. Like it or hate it, it’s seen as engagement and TikTok will therefore show you more of it.

 

@ukconservatives This will change lives #nationalservice #generalelection #uk #rishisunak ♬ original sound – Conservatives

The Tories are also boosting engagement by producing videos of Sunak replying to comments

Their TikToks so far have tended to feel more “traditional” in feel – like a vertical snip of TV, to be more watchable to an older audience.

It appears to be in keeping with the apparent messaging around the Tory leader – playing it straighter, “a sensible man with a plan” vibes – as an attempt to avoid losing votes to Labour and Reform from different sets of people. 

The digital gurus behind the Conservatives’ 2019 success were Topham Guerin. They took a dramatically different approach on TikTok with New Zealand’s National leader, Chris Luxon, who sought to disrupt social feeds and capture attention as the change candidate, as they detail in this article.

@christopherluxonmp Morning skincare routine with a focus on rebuilding the economy and restoring law and order🧴#fyp #nz #skincareroutine ♬ Aesthetic – Tollan Kim

The Sunak approach reminds me of Tony Blair’s ‘S&M strategy’ of 2005 in trying to show that you’re listening to voters, while directly reaching the public without the filter of the media.

 

So is Labour winning the election campaign on TikTok?

Reform Party on TikTok

Screenshot

On crude numbers, Labour is ahead. But the Reform Party is ahead of both, with an earlier and slow and steady approach, building 120,000+ followers. And Matt Hancock has double that, although he’s not posted since March.

But social media has changed. It’s not about followers anymore for many platforms –  not just TikTok. It’s about the engagement rate – and the engagement from the audience you want. It’s the hidden metrics from public view that are poured over by very clever social analysts at both parties.

So what is the key to winning on TikTok?

I’ve been testing a range of content on TikTok for a few years – from government case studies and PM statements to Eurovision and ‘on this day in wrestling history’.

And despite the hype, you don’t need to produce slick, highly-produced vertical videos to go viral. Simple and emotive can be very effective.

From my experience, to find and engage the right audiences, your videos need to:

  • Be new or informative
  • Be visually appealing, either in the title caption, or the first few seconds of the video
  • Generate an emotional reaction: good or bad, funny or sad – make users feel something
  • Feel relatable or sharing a common interest or passion of the user
  • Feel sharable – that the viewer wants to send the link to WhatsApp, or feel driven to reply, or like
  • Ensure that when featuring people, be it leaders or the public, they appear genuine and authentic

YouTube and WhatsApp are more important than TikTok

9 audience segments from Charlesbye report into news habits

It’s not ‘the TikTok election’, no matter what pundits claim. We live in a time where there is far too much content for us to consume, in a fragmented, competitive and ever-changing media landscape. 

The above graphic from a recent study by Charlesbye, shows that campaign communications require a sophisticated targeted approach. It’s more than Mondeo Man and Meta ads.

As the earlier table showed, YouTube is now the most popular social or digital media platform among UK adults, having overtaken Facebook. And TV is still the biggest source of news.

But keep an eye on WhatsApp – the top app most used by UK adults – especially the new-ish feature of WhatsApp Channels.

Both Labour and the Tories are using the new Channels feature to directly engage with supporters, hoping that their posts will be shared with friends and family.

Keir Starmer WhatsApp Channel

The Keir Starmer channel has 9,000 followers but Rishi Sunak is well ahead on 29,000. Both have only really been active around the local elections earlier this month.

Rishi Sunak WhatsApp Channel

The opposition leader’s one reads more like a series of tweets, while the PM has more of a personal touch, such as him taking a picture of himself holding a trophy, but neither appear to be the kind of content you’d forward onto a mate. I would have thought they may have tried one of their TikToks, posted natively on there, But expect to see more sharable content as policies get unveiled. 

The digital campaign in this 2024 general election will be bigger than ever

Digital and social media will likely be the most important its ever been in Labour and the Tories’ campaigns, with the ability to target messaging at specific groups of voters online. We’ve already seen huge sums spent on digital advertising, and we’re only in week one.

It won’t be TikTok Wot Won It, but it could play a valuable role in both parties’ strategic communications aims to win the general election.

Update: I chatted with Sean on Sky News on Thursday to discuss the importance of TikTok in the Genera Election campaign:

 

 

Ofcom Podcast Survey 2024 provides great audience insights

The Ofcom Podcast Survey 2024 gives us a fascinating insight into how audiences consume podcasts – and what to think about if you have your own show.

Media consultant Adam Bowie has gone through Ofcom’s data to pull out the key findings – and what they mean.

Ofcom Podcast Survey: podcast consumption is plateauing 

The share of people in the UK listening to podcasts regularly (at least once a week) has stayed the same as in recent years – but we’re listening to slightly fewer than before.

Ofcom: Podcast listening varies a lot by demographics 

Ofcom Podcast SUrvey 2024 shows changes to audience habits by age

Credit: AdamBowie.com

There’s been a big increase in the number of 18-24 year olds listening to them, while the figures for 25-54s have decreased. And ethnic minorities are overwhelmingly listening to podcasts more regularly than other ethnicities. And it’s still a sharp divide between socio-economic backgrounds – ABC1s are much more likely to consume podcasts.

And what people are doing when they’re listening to shows varies a lot depending on age.

Social media is best to promote new shows, says Ofcom Podcast Survey 2024

The chart below shows how social media and word of mouth can be key in promoting new shows, especially for 18-34 year olds.

Ofcom Podcast Survey 2024: social media is the biggest way for audiences to find new shows

Credit: AdamBowie.com

But news leaders are investing more in video over podcasts

Though it seems that media leaders are not prioritising podcasts this year; according to this Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism report, they are focusing more on video.

News publishers are planning to produce more of video than any other format, according to the new Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism report, ‘Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2024’.

Is there space or interest to launch a new podcast?

The results of this Ofcom Podcast Survey is another reminder of the importance of looking at data, especially your own, and examining what content your audience likes (and doesn’t) and their behaviours. However, this is a very broad market – there is a podcast for every niche nowadays, and what applies generally, or to one show and their audience, may not apply to yours.

If you are being asked to make a podcast, look at your existing audience insight and analyse the competition in the podcast market – is there space for a new show, and is there likely to be demand for it?

And consider whether audio is the best format. From a personal point of view, I find that the visual version of my own show, Sorry You Went Viral, performs far better than the pod offering – especially the clips on TikTok and YouTube.

You can read the raw data from Ofcom here, but I really recommend reading Adam’s easy-to-read analysis in full.

 

Ofcom admits it’s hard to regulate news on social media

Ofcom seem to admit they’re unsure what they can do to improve the range and quality of news on social media:

“People have limited control over their social media newsfeeds and trying to design interventions to improve the breadth and quality of news consumed on social media is a complex task.”

Their Online News research update, published today, confirms a lot about what we know about how platforms serve the content they think the user would be most interested in.

We have already learned how Meta is now only behind the BBC and ITV in terms of sources of news and in terms of ‘sources of attention’, its even bigger than ITV.

Ofcom reveal its studies into improving what news people see on social media

Ofcom has carried out some trials and detailed some interesting academic studies, on trying to improve the breadth and balance of news in people’s feeds. These include getting people to follow public service broadcast accounts, follow counter-attitudinal news sources, asking them to review who they follow and adding a trust rating browser extension.

But in short, they say these interventions were complex, not user-friendly and that the algorithms still had a large say on what users saw.

Also complicating the issue is how nearly all social platforms, except for LinkedIn, have made it a lot harder for people to access news websites away from the platform by depriortising or not allowing the ability to add in links to posts.

And Sky News for example, has said how poor Twitter referral traffic had been even before the changes imposed by Elon Musk.

BBC promise more personalisation on iPlayer as it competes with Netflix

 

BBC Director-General Tim Davie on competing with social media and Netflix

Is it too late to close the stable door after the horse has bolted?

Not for BBC Director-General Tim Davie, who will warn tomorrow about allowing “US and Chinese algorithms” to shape what we consume, pledging to invest and modernise all of its online products, including iPlayer, to provide a more personalised service.

Other PSBs are investing more time and effort in their own platforms, primarily for financial reasons, but does this mean our feeds will become even more like the Wild West, with For You pages prioritising poor quality, sensationalised content at the expense of an informed society?

You can read more about Ofcom’s research from last year on online news consumption and the rise of Meta here.

 

Why Channel 4 is changing to appeal more to younger audiences

“I’ve maybe heard of E4 – that’s probably about it. I don’t really watch anything on it. I think there are comedies or something on it… Probably my mum watches”
Channel 4, the dramas. (Girl aged 14, England)

I’ve always thought that Channel 4 was a channel with attitude, an innovator and did well at appealing to their younger audiences. Hey, look at their funny Threads account! But I’m 41.

In some fascinating, but underreported, research carried out by STRAT7 Rainmakers for Ofcom, these more youthful target groups appear to not feel the same way.

It’s the same issue that all broadcasters – and organisations with communications strategies – are facing. It’s why Channel 4 is looking to make changes to its licence as it transitions from being mainly linear to more of a digital outlet.

Younger audiences are typically less engaged and aware of what Channel 4 does

Of the 18-24 year olds surveyed, it appears they didn’t tend to watch Channel 4 on TV, or check out its streaming platforms – preferring Netflix, Disney, YouTube and TikTok for their entertainment.

They were aware, when prompted, of some of the content on its platforms, but they didn’t clearly associate them with Channel 4, but accidentally with rival services instead.

Audiences expect a better quality streaming service

“40D is atrocious..honestly, it’s slow, you can’t fast forward from one segment to another, if you do then you’ve got to watch 3 minutes of adverts and if you want to watch a programme halfway through you’ve got to watch loads of adverts. It crashes, it’s not user friendly, you can’t look at recently released by category – It’s not user friendly it’s old… it’s like internet explorer before it was Edge.” (Female, London, 22-34, ABC1, medium C4C user)

Channel 4’s streaming services have undergone some transformations over the years, from 4OD, to All 4, to Channel4.com.

It’s no surprise that those surveyed are watching more of its content digitally, but they view it more of a catch-up service than a streaming service, where they would be ‘inspired’ by the selections on offer.

And the Channel 4 platforms were seen as “off-putting”: harder to browse, suffering from more glitches and too many ads, compared to its streaming rivals.

It’s a challenge to Channel 4, whose income solely comes from commercial revenues. Younger audiences are reported to find the ads repetitive, too frequent and the breaks too long. Being digitally native, they’re not brought up on ad breaks on commercial TV like us older lot have been.

They didn’t regard Channel 4 Entertainment as a go-to destination on YouTube as they prefer to consume content differently, through algorithms and recommendations. But they like to watch clips of popular shows.

Channel 4 appears less appealing for younger audiences

“Disney+ is where I watch most of my series and TikTok. If I ever have a free
minute that’s what I spend time scrolling on.” (Female, Belfast, 18-21, C2DE, light C4C user)

Like other Public Sector Broadcasters, it tries to appeal to all audiences, which is important from a regulation perspective, but tricky for a brand.

Although most of those surveyed saw its target audience as ‘younger’ (around mid-20s upwards), some of the youngest who took part in the study saw it as more for their parents’ generation.

A longer-term concern was that 10-15 year olds did not proactively consider Channel 4 to watch content.

A brand identity issue?

Of the PSBs, Channel 4 was traditionally seen as being more boundary-pushing, progressive, diverse and innovative. But that’s coming under threat from other streaming services pursuing similar values, particularly with the aim of appealing to younger people.

But the research said Channel 4 “would be missed if they no longer existed”, being seen as less establishment, championing diverse and challenging viewpoints, providing gritty and authentic news and documentaries, and offering a wide range of good quality, British-made programmes for free.

And there was particular support for, and brand association with, its Paralympics coverage, reflecting its values of diversity and inclusion.

And Channel 4 News was praised for how it connected with its viewers, holding power to account and the way it reported events in the UK and around the world. Although over-30s were more likely to watch its appointment to view shows, mainly the 7pm programme, it’s received acclaim (and awards) for its social and digital output, where younger generations are more likely to get their news.

It appears its request to remove its lunchtime bulletin and reduce TV commitment to current affairs would allow it to divert those resources into its digital content.

Not just a Channel 4 issue

“Channel 4 remains a key part of the UK’s broadcasting ecology”, notes Ofcom, being rated highly by audiences and “[continuing] to deliver content promoting new and diverse voices and perspectives and to play a crucial role in supporting the creative economy outside London.”

The issues the broadcaster faces are ones similar to the BBC, ITV and other brands and organisations – look at Ofcom’s report on the BBC needing to do more to appeal to working classes.

It’s why Channel 4 has asked for changes to some of its existing licence obligations to invest more in its digital growth and transformation (while also providing for those who still watch their programmes in the more ‘traditional’ TV way.)

You can take part in the consultation to its proposed changes on Ofcom’s website.

We’re all having to change the ways we reach and engage our audiences – for some target groups, it’s a matter of urgency. If you’d like to chat about how I can help you navigate through these unsettling times, get in touch.

7 practical takeaways from Ofcom’s Online Nation report

How have our online habits changed this past year? Ofcom have done a thorough exploration of this, with their latest Online Nation report.

I’ve gone through this fascinating study to pull out what their findings mean for you – and how you can be inspired to better reach and engage your audiences.

1. Do you have a good YouTube strategy?

Ofcom Online Nation report survey: YouTube is Top social media services among UK adults

For too many, YouTube is still seen as a dumping ground for TV ads and other unloved videos. But it should really be a cornerstone of your digital comms strategy.

YouTube is now the most popular social or digital media platform among UK adults, overtaking Facebook.

Think about how you can provide helpful and engaging content on your most popular or searched for topics, with clear video titles that include relevant keywords, and interesting thumbnail images.

It’s no surprise that TikTok is popular among younger adults, with 18-24 year olds using it for an average of 55 minutes a day on there, but Snapchat is proving remarkably resilient too, with its users spending nearly an hour a day on there.

It feels too early to make any decisive views on Threads, but despite aggressive promotion on Meta’s other platforms, it’s not quite caught on so far. Like many of us, I’ve dipped in and out of it. But Channel 4 is doing a good job on there!

Don’t write off Twitter (or X) – although its usage has declined overall, it’s still the main place for breaking news, sport and other live events, if that’s what your audiences are interested in, and journalists and opinion formers are still active there.

 

2. The one size fits all social approach doesn’t work anymore

Overall, we’re seeing an increasing fragmentation of social media, with different groups of audiences using a wider range of channels. Just plonking the same post and content on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is unlikely to work as it may have done before.

You need to examine what is working on what channel for you – even if it contradicts the general findings of this report – and even be bold about focusing on fewer of them.

Diversify your forms of engagement and communication too – we’ve seen how a whim of a social media giant or tweak in the Google algorithm can have a serious impact.

Also, think what you’e trying to achieve – is it to provide information and drive awareness, where social can be beneficial, or is it driving people to your website, which is becoming trickier through these platforms without paying?

Tailoring and optimising content and messaging is so important as well. Generally, we have less time and patience than ever before – if your caption or first few seconds don’t interest them, it’s likely to struggle.

I’ve proven this theory wrong, with some 16:9 videos on TikTok getting hundreds of thousand of views, but the content has to really resonate with, and engage, your followers.

And with the general shift to more algorithmic-based feeds, look into an organic promotion strategy to help boost the visibility of your posts – this doesn’t mean just influential voices, but your own staff too!

 

3. Is your content and site optimised for mobile?

This may sound silly in 2023, but we are using our phones more than ever to go online, with computer and tablet usage declining, according to Ofcom.

Even though those aged 55+ use smartphones the least, this still accounted for the vast majority of their time spent online.

The irony wasn’t lost as I tried to read Ofcom’s PDF-only report on my phone…

 

4. Consider reaching and engaging your audiences on WhatsApp

Apparently, we have an average of 36 apps on our phones – having culled a load recently from my phone that I hadn’t used in ages, this surprised me!

Meta-owned apps were the top ones used by adults, with WhatsApp still the favoured app of the nation.

Have you thought about creating a broadcast channel or explored whether you can gain access to Channels?

Success on there so far has been a bit hit and miss (my assessment is: less link posts, more native chat and content.)

 

5. Think about how AI can help your teams do their jobs better and provide a better service and experience for your audiences

I was fascinated to learn that as many as three in ten UK internet users had tried out a generative AI tool, such as Chat GPT, DALL-E or Snapchat’s AI. There’s an apparent willingness for people to use them, if they’re clearly labelled as such

But as Microsoft discovered, great care is needed when using it to avoid undermining customer confidence in what you do.

AI is also being used to provide great benefit to comms jobs – Buckingham Palace used AI-driven software to help assess the notoriously-tricky-to-measure online sentiment to the recent royal visit to Kenya, and Whitehall is testing their own in-house tool to see how it can help improve tasks such as in press offices.

I recommend following Peter Heneghan who’s doing exciting work in this space.

 

6. We all have a duty as content creators and publishers to protect our audiences

“Attitudes to being online are complex and often ambivalent”, notes Ofcom.

It adds that “adults recognise the benefits of being online at a personal level, but less so for society overall… Although being online provides both adults and children with many benefits, the online environment also has the potential to expose internet users to harm.”

Misinformation is the biggest issue – with those surveyed claiming political or electoral content is the biggest problem. A quarter of users had also encountered hateful, offensive or discriminatory content in the past month.

Think about the steps you can take to protect followers: do you have a clear guide in place? Do staff know about it, from a professional, and also sadly, personal basis?

Worryingly, with the shift to more algorithmic-based feeds, over a third of users said their most recent harmful interaction came for just scrolling through their feeds, or the for you page.

Combined with the fact that less than half of those surveyed were aware of platforms’ rules and safety measures in place, I’d love to see a high profile campaign by these apps, government and Ofcom to raise awareness of how to report potential issues, and also improve media literacy of users online.

 

7. We’re more online than ever – but remember those who aren’t

UK adults spend on average 3¾ hours online – slightly more than this time last year. It’s no surprise that younger people spend nearly an hour more, and 65+ an hour less.

But what struck me was the numbers that don’t have access to the internet at home, either through desire or affordability.

It’s 7% of 16+, rising to 18% of over-65s. Over a quarter of people said this was due to cost.

Despite the race to be more and more digital, don’t forget to include all of your audiences in your communication efforts.

You can read Ofcom’s fasinating Online Nation report here.

WhatsApp Channels can help you reach and engage your audience 

I’m really excited by the potential of WhatsApp Channels, which are slowly being introduced here in the UK.

Messaging apps, like WhatsApp and DMs on Twitter, Insta and Facebook, is where conversations are increasingly taking place, rather than publicly on news feeds.

WhatsApp Channels: Daily Mail, LBC, SportBible

How do WhatsApp Channels work?

Unlike Threads or other Twitter competitors, it uses an app already used by millions and millions of us, young and old: WhatsApp (which is owned by Meta.)

It’s the UK’s second most popular online communication platform among internet users aged 16+, according to Ofcom, just behind YouTube (Ofcom, Adults’ Media Use and Attitudes report 2023.)

There’s more details about the nation’s use of WhatsApp in Ofcom’s Online Nation report.

Ofcom research shows YouTube and then WhatsApp are most used by adult internet users - but YouTube is most popular for 16--24 year olds

You may need to update your app to get the Channels tab – it will appear on the far left of your app, under Updates (where you could update your status, if you ever bothered to.) I think this is better that having organisations flood your chats with friends, families and co-workers.

Updates on WhatsApp channels

What’s good about it, unlike Broadcasts or previous functions, is that your name, number and (depending on your privacy setting) your profile photo can only be seen by the admin – fellow users can’t see when you join or interact with a channel and your number is protected.

For organisations, there appears to be no cap on the number of followers, unlike WhatsApp for Business (the biggest channel, WhatsApp, has 11 million followers.)

Who’s on WhatsApp Channels already?

Channels allow people to follow your brand or business (seemingly all verified to prevent fraud and confusion) and get vital information, news, or just be entertained.

Examples of brands and organisations on WhatsApp Channels

A range of TV programmes, Gen Z celebrities, sports teams and news organisations are on there already: from This Morning and Good Morning Britain to Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo, top Premier League clubs (Man City being the most popular with 5m followers), the Indian cricket team and Mark Zuckerberg.

In terms of UK news organisations, there is BBC News (the biggest UK-based news publisher, with 200,000 followers), The News Agents, LADbible, JOE, Daily Mail and LBC.

But I think this has huge potential for both the public and private sector, particularly for customer service, from a UK Government account posting important policy announcements or updates on the RAAC crumbling concrete crisis in schools, or practical help with benefits, to a utility company updating customers on outages or new deals.

 

 

What works on WhatsApp Channels?

It’s far too early to say – I think it’s best to try a range of different content, not just post links, which some are doing. Judging crudely by the reaction emojis left behind on messages, they tend to perform the worst.

Think about what you or your audience likes getting on WhatsApp – why are you going to take time to tap on a link to a site and take you away from the platform you’re on?

It’s screenshots, images, videos that are natively posted and embedded – they don’t need to be highly produced, just easy to read within a few seconds (I think what I send to mates and colleagues.)

LADbible WhatsApp Channel

Adding more details into a post can really help – take this Daily Mail one, which explains the story, which has among the highest reactions (though it could be due to the death of someone who was on TV – followers can’t see the breakdown of the different emojis used)

Daily Mail WhatsApp Channel

LADbible are trying memes (as below shows, some are more successful than others…) I’m not sure recycling old memes is quite right; those that tap into ongoing conversations about news, topics and events that are happening right now would be more successful.

LADbible WhatsApp Channel

Admins can also send stickers, and polls. I haven’t seen anyone use followers’ comments (screenshotted or otherwise) as a way of turning this broadcast channel into more of a 2-way conversation or function.

All publishers are trying to find the formats that work and the frequency of posting. I think less is likely to be more – no-one likes the group chat that is spammed by someone posting too often, or even worse, with your notifications going crazy (hopefully many publishers have learned their lessons from push notifications. I say ‘hopefully’…)

Think about discovery of the WhatsApp Channels outside of the platform too. It was hard to find details of organisations via Google (there are a lot of worrying-looking imitation WhatsApp accounts of BBC News there) and I saw that LADbible had promoted theirs via an Insta post (though you had to go back to their bio to get the link – a joined-up Meta operation where you could add a call to action button to View Channel would be great.)

How can you evaluate success on WhatsApp Channels?

On the face of it, it is just emoji reactions, though I hope and expect WhatsApp have an analytics dashboard for admins on audiences, engagements, views and forwards and timings.

What you ideally want is followers to engage with the message and forward it onto a group or other contacts. When they do, they see the original message plus a big View Channel call to action button.

Liverpool WhatsApp Channel message forwarded on

According to the same Ofcom report, 13% of users get their news from WhatsApp. I expect this to increase as more and more people use this service.

Ofcom news consumption report 2023: One in 10 of us use TikTok as a 'news' source

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Ofcom Media Nations report: Live TV isn’t dead – our habits are evolving

I read some of the headlines and dramatic opinion pieces forecasting the death of live TV that followed the publication of the 2023 Ofcom Media Nations report, as if it had been a bolt out of the blue.

We still watch live, linear TV for the big moments, says Ofcom Media Nations report

Gone are the days of regular mass audience viewing, with a dramatic increase in the multitude of platforms and specialist shows now available to us to enjoy.

But this isn’t to say the country doesn’t still come together for the big moments: England losing in the quarter finals of the World Cup was the most-watched programme last year, followed by the Queen’s funeral and Platinum Jubilee.

Ofcom top 10 most watched programmes in the UK in 2022

There are more demands than ever for our attention, but when it matters, we still turn to the TV for a ”shared viewing experience”.

It’s just that the concept of ‘TV’ has evolved, driven by technological change. Despite all the drama, broadcasters maintained their share of video viewers (60%) due to the growth of on-demand platforms.

Interestingly, of all the viewing to BBC One’s broadcasting of the Platinum Jubilee, 12% was via iPlayer. And the 8th series of Love Island attracted 39% of its audience on what was then ITV Hub.

And it isn’t just a ‘young person’s thing’; for the first time, Ofcom recorded a big decline in broadcast TV viewing among over-64s.

What’s happened is that we’re offered more choice of content based on our specialised interests, now fitting around our hectic lifestyles – why shouldn’t we take advantage of that, rather than being chained to what time a programme starts on TV?

How radio has embraced the changes to listening

Global Player ad

Radio is experiencing changes too but seemingly adapting to them better.

Live radio is still the most popular form of audio, but we’re enjoying the different ways we can listen, be it on catch-up or streaming.

And online options have recently overtaken analogue in popularity, with smart speakers quickly catching up (DAB is still the most popular device.)

Despite the changes, the power of radio to connect the presenter with the listener remains very strong – in fact, commercial radio has never enjoyed such a high percentage share of listeners. The recent RAJARs show how we are increasingly seeking stations that fit our moods and interests – Greatest Hits Radio exploiting the gap in the market to appeal to disillusioned Radio 2 listeners, for example.

Radio stations and groups are embracing these changes, becoming multimedia powerhouses – diversifying into successful podcasts and social video like Global, or offering ad-free listens through their own apps, like Bauer, which allow them to gather better audience data and generate additional revenue.

 

‘News’ on social media can mean a lot of things

Ofcom: short social media videos watched by genre

The one area of the report that I would like further detail was on social media. It claims news is the second most popular type of social media video amongst the over 15s – but ‘news’ is a very broad category; it can range from Ukraine to the legal row over Lizzo and the latest Liverpool transfer gossip.

And video formats and content types vary wildly on different platforms – what we watch on TikTok is different to YouTube.

Users watch a lot of video on social media says Ofcom report

I question the notion that short-form content is best and most-watched. Concise and snackable may be fine for one type of topic, but longer videos and podcasts are popular too, if engaging enough. I recently saw how Times Radio recorded 1 million views on YouTube for an hour long discussion on Russia. And some podcasts, like Joe Rogan’s and some of my wrestling ones, go on for several hours.

 

Ofcom: time spent per day on social media platforms, by age

There’s a reminder again of the importance of YouTube, a neglected platform for some news publishers and businesses. We all are aware of the popularity of TikTok – still a thorny issue for politicians and the government, who feel paralysed to get involved in any form. I’ve been testing videos aimed at older generations (40 years since Knightrider started, for example) and there is clearly a growing older audience on there; it’s not just a ‘young person’s platform’.

 

@timtokgatt This is how Hoff met KITT… Iconic 80s programme – who didn’t want a talking car? And great theme tune too #knightrider #knightriderkitt #davidhasselhoff #michaelknight #80s #80sTV #TV #TVshow #1980s #USTV #ustvclips #ustvshow #tvclips #kitt #car #carsoftiktok ♬ original sound – TimTok Gatt

We shouldn’t forget about Snapchat, which is still very popular even though it’s fallen out of the spotlight – but no mention of Twitter as a video format, strangely.

How TV news needs to adapt to the changes in viewership

I watched a clip of Sky News’ report on this study (on Twitter), which claimed that TV news is still the place for big breaking stories. I’m not so sure. Twitter and TikTok are faster and quicker in terms of updates and video, albeit less reliable, on most stories. I agree for the huge moments, like the death of the Queen, we do switch on the TV but will still be on our phones too.

The challenge for rolling news channels and other content providers is how to adapt how they do things to the ever-changing environment; my old boss John Ryley used to talk about the need for constant change:

It’s not the cleverest or biggest news organisation that succeeds but the one most adaptable to change.

It’s no surprise that GB News is rivalling them in the evenings with strong opinionated current affairs programmes, when it’s just competing against a re-run of news reports. Being bold and shaking things up in how TV news is done, taking in some of the storytelling and production elements of social media, could boost viewership – and I don’t mean just in terms of linear viewing.

What does this mean for us trying to connect with audiences? It means that more so now than ever, a ‘one size fit all’ approach very rarely works. You need to segment who you are trying to target and engage them with different forms of content and messaging, adapted to the platform they’re watching or listening on.

Grabbing their attention is key – be it the visuals, the captions or the post copy, And always think of the person you’re trying to attract – why would they stop scrolling or flicking around and watch, read or listen to your content?

And like these Ofcom findings – be informed by the data but also trust your judgment and experience.

The 2023 Ofcom Media Nations report is here.

You may be interested in 7 practical takeaways from Ofcom’s Online Nation report

5 things you need to know from Ofcom’s news consumption report

Reassuringly for once, a new report doesn’t signal the need for a dramatic shift in the way we must communicate with audiences on social media.

But the new Ofcom news consumption report does confirm that it’s a complicated media landscape, with a strategic and sophisticated approach needed if you’re trying to engage a broad range of people.

Here’s the five things you need to know:

1. One in 10 of us use TikTok as a ‘news’ source

 Ofcom news consumption report 2023: One in 10 of us use TikTok as a 'news' source

The continued rise of TikTok is perhaps most interesting.

One in every 10 adults (10%) are using it to keep up with the news – more so than BBC Radio 1 and Channel 5.

It’s the fastest growing platform, as even social media rivals slow down or plateau.

Of course, the definition of ‘news’ is broad: emotive human interest stories and showbiz and entertainment news tend to perform well.

It’s not that they’re turning to TikTok for every cut and thrust of the latest Westminster row, but these stats are an issue for the government, who hasn’t been on the platform since last summer.

What is fascinating about TikTok, and what challenges the presumed theory about the platform, is that basic, raw, non-vertical video can perform well on there, as long as it’s at least one of these three things:

  1. New or important news or information
  2. Visually appealing, either in the text caption, or the pictures
  3. Generates some form of emotion, positive or negative

 

2. The popularity of iPlayer and ITVX for news

This same chart from the Ofcom news consumption report has recorded broadcast on demand (BVoD) for the first time, and it shows pleasing results for the BBC’s iPlayer and the revamped ITVX.

This is despite news not being featured too prominently (you have to scroll down quite a few rows or ‘rails’ as the insiders call them) – unless there is a huge story.

This is likely to rise as more of us get smart TVs (I still use an Amazon Fire stick, but I’m not a big TV watcher.)

I’m curious as to whether Channel 4 and Sky News’ stats are all linear TV or a mixture of on-demand too.

 

3. There’s been no dramatic changes in what media we mainly use for news, apart from papers

Ofcom news consumption report: TV is still the main platform for news

Interestingly, we’ve been generally been using the same forms of media for news that we’ve been accustomed to for the past five years, as new technology offers more flexible and personalised ways to continue to enjoy them.

Print continues to decline, saved by their online operations. The decline in linear TV has been countered by the rise in on-demand options through your remote. Audio options have flourished, from podcasts to catch-up to ad-free subscription services.

Hidden from this table I think is the role of passive forms of news consumption, especially radio, with record numbers listening to commercial radio and listening to a bulletin between their songs.

 

4. Kids are complicated

Ofcom news consumption report: family, TV and social media are the biggest sources of news for 12-15 year olds

A lot is talked about the need for news organisations conquering TikTok to attract young people, but for 16-24 year olds, Instagram is still by far the biggest platform.

But for the younger 12-15 year olds, TikTok is most important social platform, followed closely by YouTube and Instagram – but they’re not interested in news unless it’s very big (understandably). And TV still plays a bigger role than social media.

But what I think is still underplayed in these Ofcom news consumption surveys is the influence of friends and family – and messaging apps.

We may not consciously realise, but we tend to share a lot of news and information in things like WhatsApp chats – which due to their encrypted nature are impossible to track unless someone selects to share it there by tapping a button on a different platform.

5. The importance of the BBC

BBC News logo

Despite all the ups and downs of the BBC as an organisation in the media, this report confirms what a vital role it continues to play in how we access news through media, whatever age we are.

Ofcom says, “BBC news output across all its platforms reaches 73% of all UK adults” and it’s still the most important source of information for 12-15 year olds.

The importance of a suitably funded and supported Beeb in providing trusted and impartial news is clear.

But…

The challenge for media organisations is how you make revenue out of this situation. But that’s a different story for a different article.

You can read the Ofcom report here – it’s well-produced and an easy read.

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What young people think of as ‘news’ on Instagram