Mastering the Mobile Market from AJR

From AJR,   December 2012/January 2013

Mastering the Mobile Market

Clues on how to reach news junkies on smartphones and tablets. Fri., November 20, 2012.

By Barb Palser
Barb Palser (bpalser@gmail.com), AJR’s new-media columnist, is vice president, account management, with Internet Broadcasting.

The fusion of smartphones and tablets with consumers’ lives has been so freakishly fast and absolute, it’s hard to believe that the iPhone debuted fewer than six years ago — and that the iPad has been around for fewer than three. As of August, around half of U.S. adults owned a smartphone or a tablet, with 66 percent using their devices to get news. Those numbers are probably already too low.

We are now learning more about how, when and where people access mobile news content. Extensive research from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and other sources shows that mobile news use is distinctly different from desktop and laptop patterns — and from the data emerge some early ideas about what mobile news users would want.

Mobile at Home

Mobile news consumption apparently isn’t very mobile. While some mobile news is read or watched on the go, the typical mobile news grazer is more likely hanging out at home — perhaps in bed, eating breakfast or planted in front of the TV.

According to a survey published by Pew in October, 85 percent of tablet news users and 58 percent of smartphone news users say they access mobile news while at home, while 11 percent of tablet news users and 29 percent of smartphone news users say they get mobile news while at work. A mere 3 percent of tablet news users and 9 percent of smartphone news users say they get mobile news while in transit or commuting. On weekends, 92 percent of tablet news users and 85 percent of smartphone news users say they get mobile news while at home; all other places drop to single digits.

Research firm Forrester describes the tablet as the new “couch computer,” with 85 percent of U.S. tablet owners reporting using their tablets while watching TV.

Extending the Digital Day

Those at-home mobile users are bookending the traditional 9 to 5 “prime time” for desktop and laptop news use and extending the digital news day. In October 2011, audience measurement firm comScore published data showing tablet news use swelling between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., declining during the workday and rising again after 6 p.m., with peak use occurring between 9 p.m. and midnight. Smartphone news use is more consistent throughout the day, rising by around 7 a.m. and holding steady until midnight.

At least one news organization’s internal data agrees. According to ABC News, more than 50 percent of all news stories accessed on the original ABC News app were read in the morning or evening. Users watched significantly more video at night, and were most engaged with content between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

In June, ABC News launched a new app programmed for morning, midday, evening and weekend editions. While fresh content is fed to the app continuously throughout the day, each edition is tailored for the type of experience ABC News believes its users want at that time of day. The morning edition features a top story and headlines, while the evening edition is more videocentric, designed for a “lean back” experience.

Whether or not they choose an explicit dayparting strategy, varying their programming for different time slots, all newsrooms should be prepared to meet the early-morning and late-night demands of the growing mobile audience.

Browsers and Apps

While more mobile users report accessing news Web sites, news junkies seem to love their apps. According to Pew’s survey, the majority of mobile news users — around 60 percent — say they get news mostly through a mobile Web browser. Twenty-three percent of tablet news users and 28 percent of smartphone news users say they get news mostly through apps. Sixteen percent of tablet news users and 11 percent of smartphone news users say they use a browser and apps equally. While they represent a smaller percentage of users, those who use mostly apps report higher levels of engagement.

Deep Engagement on Small Screens

Contrary to early ideas that mobile content should be snack-sized, people dig deep into it. There is nothing secondary or superficial about mobile behavior. Reinforcing Pew’s findings, analytics firm Localytics reports that people spend more time per session consuming news on mobile devices than on computers, visit more pages per session and visit more frequently. When it comes to video, people don’t appear to have a problem viewing full-length shows and movies on small screens; in April Viacom released a study showing that 15 percent of full-length TV viewing occurs on tablets.

News organizations’ mobile plans should be commensurate with the time people are spending engaged with content on their mobile devices. A few years ago we might have predicted that mobile would play a central role in the future of news. Now we know it.

15 thoughts on “Mastering the Mobile Market from AJR

  1. In today’s society people only use smart phones and tablets. Its Rare that you see anyone using a computer to check the news or a social network especially if they cannot get to one. This is definitely a new trend. Smart phones and tablets are so more convenient and accessible than computers. Tablets and Smart phones are also a more popular device than computers. More people use their phones for social medias and networks while others use their tablet for gathering more information about the news. With technology constantly changing smartphones and tablets will soon be swept under the rug just like computers.

  2. Mobile devices and tablets are popular and essential because they are convenient. As society is now geared towards convenience, comfort and easy access, hand held devices are the source of our news and information. Since these devices allow such a range of information and use, it is like the world in our palm, and this is why we see a trend of high usage percentage at home, as opposed to on the go, because home is the comfort factor. This means that news will have to change itself to appease the time of day and the interests of the reader, and condense information based on the source of where they are reading it, whether it be an application or a webpage. This brings a new way for journalists to reach their audience. Journalists will have to be more concious of time and their immediate judgement of news stories.

  3. I see the trend of people switching from traditional news to tablets and smartphones on a regular basis. Personally, I know a good portion of my friends use social media websites like Facebook and Twitter to find their news. This way of finding news will only continue to grow as more people get these devices and use them more.

  4. Tablets and smartphones are beginning to change the world of media especially from a news standpoint. People that have either of these items are using them to access online news stories throughout the day. It is shown that smartphone users who access these websites are more consistent through the entirety of the day whereas those who use tablets have a more concentrated time period that spikes during the late night hours. This is evolving the world of online news writing with increasing attention from viewers with easier access throughout the day.

  5. I tend to see this trend happen more often with people around my age. Whenever I ask someone about if they heard a story on the news they almost always pull out their Iphone and look it up. On their phones I do tend to see the news apps and more often than not I see them in use. Personally I don’t use the apps myself, but I do believe that this trend will continue and grow rapidly over the next few years. Basically no one watches the news anymore, they look it up.

  6. I have noticed this recently. It seems like a lot of people want things immediately nowadays. With the internet at our hands at all times with high speed internet at home or 4G on the go, people are more impatient and less likely to wait for anything. So instead of waiting for the news to come on and waiting to hear the weather or the traffic, it’s easier for someone to wake up and reach for their phone or iPad. Same with the rise in use in the evening. People can check the news on their way out of work to see if there is a traffic jam to avoid. They could even check the latest news while siting at a red light. It’s a sign of change with new technology that can tell us anything at anytime and anywhere.

  7. While I personally don’t read much news on my tablet or phone, I have noticed this trend. Many of my friends use their tablets and phones to get their news. I also noticed that they read the news in the morning and later at night. Younger people are probably the ones using their tablets and phones to get the news and I think the trend will continue.

  8. I believe this will be a big trend that is just going to continue as more devices come out. These devices help people get the news more easily, but this may not be such a good sign for journalists who are writing in newsletters and other writing materials. They may get less people picking up the newsletters and more people just using their mobile devices.
    Though, journalism will never die, it may just migrate more towards social media and mobile devices. I personally use my iPad and iPhone to check the news more often than I pick up a newsletter and I do happen to be at home when checking these things.
    The future of news is becoming more international through the use of these devices and that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. It just means the news is having a new way of reaching people.

  9. I do agree that reading and learning about news stories on mobile devices is getting more and more popular. I disagree, however, that tablets are the most popular device that helps gain this information. If I see or know anyone with a tablet, I notice they use it mainly for social media, books, and videos. News stories, however, I find are found more on cellular devices due to it being so convenient for users.

  10. I have noticed this trend and that it is growing. I actually can contribute to this trend as well. Being able to obtain the news wherever you are in the palm of your hand is more convenient than reading through a newspaper or waiting for the news to air on television. People are also able to access the news that they want to hear instead of what news stations want to air. It becomes more personal and better fits the needs of a particular person.

    With this trend occurring, I believe this means that we are moving from the physical news forms (newspapers, magazines, ect.) to digital news forms.

  11. This is a trend I have noticed and am, in fact, a part of. I own a tablet, and find that after I get home, I am more likely to watch videos from 7-10 pm. I also like to get most of the news I consume from apps rather than websites. I think the statistics show that younger people are more likely to get more engaged in the news in the evening than in the morning. It also shows that people are more likely to use smartphones for reading and watching news throughout the day. This speaks to their ease of use and convenience, in that they are on hand pretty much until you go to sleep.

  12. I have noticed this trend growing with each new smartphone and tablet product brought to the market. I can sometimes be found using my smartphone while sitting with my family in the living room, or when eating at the table. The research completed by the Pew Research Center is extremely valuable to journalists because they are now able to write stories that are tailored to what the audience will respond to during a certain time-frame. They can write a story in the morning, and then make a few adjustments and add in links and videos to grab audience attention during the evening hours.

  13. I have noticed that the highest use of the internet for news gathering on computers is from 7pm to 10pm. This is because of how my generation focuses and spends their time. I usually don’t really dig deep into news until the late hours of the night specifically for the reason that I try to complete homework earlier in the hours so I can relax and veg out during the later hours.
    This means that we are setting not only a new trend but that people enjoy researching material in general when they have the free time. Web surfing is no longer used solely for the workplace or school, information gathering has become a leisurely activity. I expect things like this to continue in this manner for a long time. Maybe we need to step back now and again to enjoy the time spent with our families instead of web-surfing so much. However, I doubt that will happen. We are all addicted.

  14. I’ve definitely noticed this trend emerge over the past two years. Everywhere i turn, i feel as though i see someone using a smart phone or tablet. With the growing popularity of social networking sites and the increasing accessibilty of said sites it does not suprise me in the least that many of the people using such devices are using them to stream local and international news updates. I for one, use my smartphone to read several news articles a day when i do not have access to a newspaper, a tv, or my laptop. I believe these statistics will only increase as well, if you watch msnbc; tech companies especially are devoting a tremendous amount of money on R&D just to streamline and increase the effectiveness of the mobile web they offer on their products.

  15. I absolutely notice this trend. It’s much more common place than it ever was to see people constantly engrossed in their smartphone or tablet.
    Most interestingly I’ve noticed the extension of the news day. However, I feel this article fails to really delve into that concept. A news story that is read at 7am is outdated by 7pm nowadays, what with the immediate access to information throughout the day, which is the extension of the news day I feel is meant. This is a really interesting trend, with media so prevalent perception of time is changing as well.

    And I think this is a very important trend to observe. It’s still really early in this technology boom to really be able to make predictions as to whether this tech dependence will be beneficial or detrimental.

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