How to create content that will engage across screens

Kristina: A recent Pew Research study found that a majority of people are now reading content ‘across screens’ – they’re turning to online newspapers, clicking social networking links via tablet, getting magazines direct to their e-readers. Is this ‘connected reader’ good for publishers?

Scott Cooper, Co-Founder and CEO, ShopAdvisor: The answer is yes, and in more than one way. When a reader consumes content “across screens” from a single publisher, that is a great way to cement reader loyalty and to reduce churn. By capturing reader behavior in terms of the types of content they consume and interact with on varying device types, publishers have an opportunity to tailor those experiences to make them even more enjoyable and useful.

In terms of revenue, publishers have long struggled to get readers to pay for web-based content. Yet, on native apps on smartphones and tablets, readers have demonstrated a greater readiness and willingness to pay a premium subscription for content. Therefore, the proliferation of screens brings with it new opportunities to boost subscription revenues – and makes the delivery of compelling cross-screen experiences all the more imperative.
And, thirdly, multiple screens provide publishers with a growing array of advertising solutions of which to take advantage. For example, print ads that appear in magazines can take on a rich, interactive experience on a reader or tablet that makes them more valuable to advertisers.

Kristina: What can publisher do to ensure they are engaging with these connected readers?

Scott: There are a number of things publishers can do to ensure they are engaging with these connected readers. Here are two examples:

• Take advantage of the benefits each “screen” provides. For example, tablets and e-readers encourage browsing and longer periods of engagement. This discovery commerce landscape provides publishers with the opportunity to add increasing amounts of content designed to captivate and keep the reader within the publication’s digital pages. We have seen readers express frustration in a reading experience in which they find themselves popping out of one context and into another. On the web and in native apps on smartphones and tablets, publishers have the opportunity to limit such disruptions by bringing relevant additional content (e.g., video, images, shopping info, social network commentary) into the reading context itself, instead of sending readers away to a third-party website.

• Save it for later. The compelling content in the pages of a website or magazine may catch a reader’s eye or imagination, but it’s not always easy to act on that information. Recipes, attractive new fashions and styles, and even the contents of advertisements used to get “dog-eared” in their physical paper versions. Publishers can now create the digital counterpart of dog-earing a page, and using the notification capabilities of mobile devices to gently remind readers of content that has been marked “for later.”

You can read part one of my chat with Scott, including the growth of discovery content, here. More from Scott and ShopAdvisor tomorrow when he shares his top tips for creating actionable content.