Hi there,

The webinar we hosted to kickstart the year was one of our most attended webinars ever. We brought five experts together (virtually, but still) to discuss topics that seemed, at first glance, to have little connection.

We were amazed by the common thread that emerged, encapsulated in this message: be yourself, unique and authentic.

Now, that might sound like a cliché, but when you break it down topic by topic, it all starts to make sense:

  • Dmitry Shishkin delivered a passionate argument for brand-specific user needs, which can give a media brand colour on the cheeks. 
  • Lize Rensen suggested that media could address their audience on social media as though they were friends or family members – sassiness included.
  • Adam Tinworth endorsed what he calls a "me, me, me" newsletter, as long as the "me" truly understands the demand side – in other words, deeply grasps what readers care about.
  • Natalia Zaba insisted that it's a poor strategy to cater your writing and curation to Google Discover. Focus on great journalism, and Google Discover may find you.
  • Erik van Heeswijk summed it up perfectly when it came to AI tools: It’s about being authentic and mission-driven – in essence, staying true to yourself. AI should empower you to achieve that.

This message should also calm some nerves. It can be exhausting to stay on top of every new development while the next big story demands your attention. But when you use data analytics for self-reflection, the steps to improve your work become clear without having to look far.

Increasing traffic via Google Discover

Can you make use of our insights to help harness the power of Google Discover? Absolutely.

Here’s what smartocto already offers you:

  • We can track how much traffic is coming to your site via Google Discover, even down to the article level. This is not as simple as it sounds, as Google doesn’t provide a straightforward referral like social media platforms do.
  • We can analyse and report on what these visitors do on your site – how many pages they visit, the average reading depth of this specific audience, and more. You can identify which topics or sections get the most pageviews and attention, which authors generate the most traffic from Discover, and how loyal Discover readers are compared to those from other sources.

These findings provide actionable insights, which smartocto is known for. This is where the opportunity to grow and consolidate your loyal reader base lies. You’ll receive suggestions to encourage readers to subscribe to your newsletter, explore related articles, or watch videos on the same topic. These simple notifications help optimise potential with ease.

Social media productions: to do or not?

How much time and money should be invested in social media content? Should it receive the same priority as more traditional forms of journalism? These questions remain contentious in many newsrooms. Denise Bouwmeester takes a clear stance on the matter.

I followed a discussion Denise had on LinkedIn. She had been searching for an intern for her social media team. In the Netherlands, such internships require university approval – and one candidate’s school questioned whether social media could even be considered journalism.

What followed was an intriguing debate about why you should create social media content. It’s worth noting, however, that Denise works for a public broadcaster and doesn’t need to generate revenue from this content. But still, she made some interesting points.

  • Since this fits perfectly with the topic above: The Sun managed to gain 6 million followers on YouTube. Press Gazette reported on how they accomplished this.
  • You’ve probably heard that Facebook is stopping its fact-checking programme. Its staff are reportedly not pleased. NiemanLab published an interesting fact-check on Mark Zuckerberg’s claims.
  • Meanwhile, there’s unrest at the Washington Post. Employees want to meet with owner Jeff Bezos, stating: “We are deeply alarmed by recent leadership decisions that have led readers to question the integrity of this institution.”

And that’s it for the first newsletter of 2025. If you missed that webinar, you can still watch it by filling out the form on this page. We’ve also created five handouts with Q&As – questions asked by attendees during the webinar. Get in touch to ask for those. 

So that’s it for now - we’ll be back with another newsletter in two weeks.

Until then,

Stefan ten Teije
Editor @ smartocto