Media consumption in the UK - what people are reading online and offline
Gorkana hosted an insightful webinar this week on what people are reading on and offline in the UK, based on their latest UKPulse media research, and this is what they shared…
What are millennials reading?
Sorry to break it to you Kim Kardashian but Gorkana says you’re too old to be a millennial… when Gorkana talks millennials, it’s thinking more Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber (if they lived in the UK), and what they’re reading might surprise you. Millennials regularly read the Times, the Guardian, the Metro, the Economist and Forbes and are more focussed on traditional news topics. Although, you might be less surprised to note that 20% consider BuzzFeed a primary news source.
Erica Harris, Senior Account Director at Gorkana, noted that millennials are after authenticity and honesty. They’ll forgive you if you can acknowledge when you’ve done something wrong but if you can’t…
Millennials believe traditional media to be more trustworthy than social media but trust in Twitter and blogs has
grown in the last five years. The sources they trust the most? TV and radio. And the least? Wikipedia.
34% will watch a video if this is embedded in an article. Are you taking full advantage of this additional media opportunity?
Do people still read news offline?
Gorkana busted the myth that no one reads a hardcopy newspaper anymore. It found that 70% of UK adults (and 68% of millennials) still read a print newspaper, in fact, they actually spend longer reading a newspaper than reading online. And, as 20% were less likely to read one at the weekend, chances are they’re reading newspapers during their morning commute. It’s worth considering when your audience is reading in order to tailor your content. Martin Ashplant, Digital Director at Metro, highlighted that as soon as you lose sight of what is important to your audience, your content (and therefore your coverage) loses its value.
What other media habits were revealed?
79% read the news online and it seems that readers are moving towards specialist topical sites for their news, implying that the reach of media giants like the BBC is shrinking.
Brand loyalty is decreasing, 85% would swap products/services if they found better value for money elsewhere. There’s never been a more crucial time to demonstrate the value you provide.
What will the biggest media changes in the next few years?
The webinar ended by asking Erica and Martin what they believe the biggest changes will be in the next few years. Here’s what they said:
Erica:
- Increase in video
- Increase in specialist news sites
Martin:
- Facebook (he’d earlier stated Facebook as the greatest driver of traffic to the Metro website)
- Increased distribution of content outside the news platform and therefore less control
If you’re looking to produce content that adds value, is authentic and demonstrates your authority, contact BlueSky PR.
