How to attract the z era? Let ’s take a look at the track of veteran media ’s transition to short videos.
Editor ’s note: This article comes from the WeChat public account. > 德 外 5 号 (ID: dewaiwuhao).
Source | niemanlab, digiday
Author Sarah Scire, Kerry Flynn
Compile Chen Guangxiu
The news media wants to know more about the younger generation of users, and moving into the platform that Gen Z loves is an important step for them to take action. Buzzfeed, which started with aggregating news, used to win with algorithms, providing users with the hottest news of the day.
Now, its Buzzfeed news is changing from a text content-led platform to a video-driven news platform, and recently it has begun to enter the short video platform TikTok.
BuzzFeed News passes microphone to Gen Z
Recently, BuzzFeed News is recruiting and training teen ambassadors aged 16 to 19 to teach them how to make short videos of elections and social hot topics on TikTok or Instagram platforms.
Sara Yasin, director of news planning for BuzzFeed News, adds that the company will select three young ambassadors, aged 16 to 19, who are passionate about social issues and creative in storytelling . Regarding why the YouTube platform was not included in the plan, Sara Yassin explained that making high-quality YouTube videos is too time-consuming for teenagers.
Legal note: Sara Yasin’s Twitter retweets information on recruiting youth ambassadors (source: niemanlab)
BuzzFeed News will conduct intensive training for selected youth ambassadors in New York, after which these youth ambassadors will post short video news in the form of remote work. BuInsiders at zzFeed revealed that the youth ambassador will receive a competitive salary, but did not disclose the exact amount.
At present, 60% of TikTok users are between 16 and 24 years old, so adult editors will look like outsiders on TikTok, and they will also carry some self-mockery tags when posting videos, such as “old father” A joke (dadjoke) or a child’s “fellowkids”. The content published by the media on TikTok tends to be easy and funny, such as posting funny things in the editorial department or imitating popular video production related content.
BuzzFeed News ’Teen Ambassador program is different in the past, allowing Gen Z users to become video producers on Gen Z platforms. “I think it ’s really important to pass on the microphone to them,” Sara Yasin said. “Although youth ambassadors are not yet eligible to vote, we want and encourage them to interact with them on platforms they know and like Time has a meaningful conversation. “The BuzzFeed News 2020 campaign reporting team is looking forward to the work of the youth ambassador.
Why does BuzzFeed News enter short videos?
BuzzFeed News entered TikTok this time. In addition to hoping that Gen Z will pay more attention to the topic of the times, it will also consider its own business development.
Like many established media, BuzzFeed News has had “highlight moments” in the past few years. In 2016, Buzzfeed announced that the company will be split into two separate divisions-Buzzfeed News and BuzzFeed Entertainment Division-and will focus on news and entertainment as two pillar businesses. After the split, BuzzFeed News focused on its journalism business, adding more than 20 investigative reporters to the newsrooms in the US and UK. At the peak of BuzzFeed News, there were six Pulitzer Prize winners across the editorial board. In early 2017, BuzzFeed News’ investigation report on the arbitration process of large international companies was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, which is a high honor for digital native media.
Legend: BuzzFeed page (Source: Poynter)
In 2020, BuzzFeed will use local advertising and e-commerce, and moreThe prototype business achieved profit, but its news business continued to lose money. Just last week, Ben Smith, the editor-in-chief of BuzzFeed News, announced his job change to the New York Times. Therefore, the current development of BuzzFeed News still faces certain uncertainties.
In a sense, BuzzFeed News ’entry into short videos is both a self-help act and a general trend in the news industry. At present, the BuzzFeed news account has accumulated 1.3 million followers on Instagram, but on TikTok, the initial BuzzFeed news account has only more than 700 users.
Sara Yasin said that currently BuzzFeed News has not contributed to the growth of users of short video platforms, but the general plan is similar to the Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, NBC News and other The media organization’s approach coincides.
TikTok’s traditional media
In September 2018, the Musical.ly brand officially ended and merged with TikTok, which made TikTok attract the attention of many media, most of which use it as an important channel for content delivery, so as to reach younger groups. According to Digiday, as of now, more than 60 media have registered TikTok accounts.
Legend: Partial media list for registering a TikTok account (Source: Digiday)
These established media seem to be younger on TikTok. “The Washington Post” responded to netizens’ messages in an anthropomorphic tone in the comment section, as if an “old father” was learning to use young people’s social media.
Legend: “HuashengPost’s response on TikTok (Source: niemanlab)
The Washington Post video producer Dave Jorgenson said he spends an hour and a half creating and editing the contents of his TikTok account every morning, and that at other times of the day, he It will take me a few minutes to open this software to reply to comments, “Even if it is a ‘applause’ emoticon comment, I will reply.”
Jorgenson is working hard to promote the integration of news and short videos. “We hope to do some expansive work in the field of news that we are good at. The video content is not only a picture of breaking news, but also a wider range of people talk about daily. News events and topics. “The Washington Post recently did some content about the spelling contest, and the user ’s browsing data is not ideal. From the result, this matter has not been questioned but has not been successful. Allowing users to accept change and change existing thinking requires a process, so the Washington Post believes that “we must at least let users know that we are using TikTok.”
Dallas Morning News followed the Washington Post ’s steps, registered its own TikTok account, and launched a special TikTok emoji package following the local trend. This move has been loved by many users. .
Unlike the anthropomorphic plan of the Washington Post, the Dallas Morning News video strategy is to show the more personal side of journalists. “When you see traffic police in your daily life,” said audience interaction producer Mallorie Sullivan, “you think of these as the people who issued you tickets. But when you watch the traffic police post themselves on TikTok When you ’re in a short video, you will feel that they are a very personal group. “
As a local media in Dallas, “Dallas Morning News” can make full use of local “stalks” to interact with users. For example, when a weather forecaster announces the weather, “How can I localize this content? The news broadcast is connected to people in the local community to achieve better publicity? “Said reporter Elvia Limon.
Legend: TikTok account of the Dallas Morning News for weather reports (Source: niemamab)
Track of the short video: From Snapchat to TikTok
Traditional media have registered TikTok accounts to switch to the short video track. This is a new attempt by traditional media to change the content narrative method. In fact, the voyage of traditional media into short videos has already begun.
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the Olympics, and other major news events, NBC journalists and members of the digital team learned that while Snapchat delivers news, it also gives users a peer-to-peer affinity , So it is widely loved by young users. That year, NBC News decided to sign up for a Snapchat account.
After NBC Universal invested $ 500 million in Snapchat, in 2017, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) launched a morning and evening news program dedicated to Snapchat Discover. This is also the first time NBC has tried on a mobile device. Launch of short video news.
NBC ’s director of news, Nick Ascheim, said: “We walk slowly before running.” There are many differences between the vertical mode of mobile devices and large screen video news. To better adapt to Snapchat, the entire NBC team is also transforming its content production model. “Our audience will be different from (NBC) traditional evening news audiences. These people want information, but not necessarily news fans.” Nick Aschem said, “We have gotten rid of the inverted pyramid style, I do n’t say anything about new information and provide some news background. Instead, I emphasize the places that influence users, for example, how does this story affect you, why do you care about this topic? “
In 2019, NBC will switch its promotion position from Snapchat to TikTok, upload four new contents every week on TikTok, and become one of the most prolific news accounts on the platform.
Legend: NBC’s TikTok account (Source: TikTok)
Although both platforms publish video content, the tone is not the same. “On Snapchat, we talk to the audience, and more interaction on TikTok.” The account’s executive producer Angie G.Angie Grande said, “On Snapchat, we can do a full episode of the presidential debate. On TikTok, we discussed how to pronounce the names of all candidates. Although the video content is not so serious, it still lets users Participate in big news events. “In daily content production, editors will look at what is a hot topic on TikTok, and then see if there is a story that can be matched with it.
From Snapchat to TikTok, the production team is adapting to the content production rules of the new platform. This shift is to better meet the needs of users, and it is also the times. Angie Grande said: “Originally on Snapchat, we thought that 2 minutes was short enough. I didn’t expect to have to finish the news in 20 seconds.”