This document provides lessons on building an audience in today's social media ecosystem. It discusses how audience attention is now fragmented across platforms and how content needs to be accessible, personalized, and useful. Brands must create "social things" like charts, lists, and facts that are visual and shareable. Headlines and content should be optimized to inspire sharing on social media. Once a piece gains attention, an organization should promote it widely across their owned channels and by tracking and fueling further discussion. Staking a claim on unique topic areas and transforming knowledge for digital are also discussed.

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Bridging the Curiosity Gap
L E S S O N S A N D I D E A S F R O M
A T L A N T I C M E D I A S T R A T E G I E S
Lymari Morales
lmorales@atlanticmedia.com
@ByLymari

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0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Today’s web is
social and mobile
-­‐
400
800
1,200
1,600
2,000
GlobalUsers(Millions)
TheAtlantic.com Traffic Sources,
2011 to Date
Global Web Traffic,
2007 to Date
SEARCH
SOCIAL
REFERRAL
DIRECT
MOBILE
DESKTOP

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We can consume within the
“micro-moments” of our
daily lives.
“If in 2004–2005 people read
(free) dailies on the bus or train
to work to fight boredom, 10
years later the checking cycle
even fills micro-moments of
waiting for the red light or
elevator.”
”Checking, Sharing, Clicking and Linking:
Changing patterns of news use between 2004
and 2014,” VU University Amsterdam
RESULT:
BRANDS MUST FIT INTO
THE TIME GIVEN
This social and mobile
technology has transformed
audience expectations
We expect content to
meet us where, when and
how we want it.
“If the news is that important, it
will find me.”* People expect
content to be “pushed” at them
through personal sources and
social feeds. As a result, they
do not need to “pull” news to
them by visiting a homepage.
*Pew Research participant, 2010
We connect what we read
to our needs and our
networks.
“News and information are
woven into an often continuous
but mindful way that Millennials
connect to the world generally,
which mixes news with social
connection, problem solving,
social action and entertainment.”
”How Millennials Get News” 2015, American
Press Institute
AccessiblePersonalized Useful
RESULT:
BRANDS MUST KNOW
WHERE TO FIND ME
RESULT:
BRANDS MUST PLUG INTO
MULTIPLE ASPECTS OF LIFE

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Brands only have a moment to
connect in this fragmented
and crowded environment

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10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Jan-12 Jan-13 Jan-14 Jan-15
UniqueVisitors(Millions)
AllAtlanticMediaProperties
Launch of
Quartz
“Why Women Still
Can’t Have It All”
Hurricane Sandy
Coverage
Thoughtful Boston
Marathon Tragedy
Coverage
Launch of
Defense One
Quartz’s
Bee Article
Bieber Gets
Spoofed on
The Wire
Traffic records for
The Atlantic and
CityLab
“What ISIS
Really Wants”
The Atlantic cracks
20MM UVs for first
time
Quartz cracks
10MM UVs for
first time
“The
Overprotected
Kid”
The Atlantic has found
ways to prosper in this
new world
Atlantic Media, 2012 to Present
0
10
20
30
40
UniqueVisitors
(Millions)

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To build audience, brands should think
of their social content as mission work
Discover and follow the
social habits of your core
NOT (JUST) BUT (ALSO)
Overhaul home page/
owned channels
Design ‘specific’ content
for usefulness and sharing
Create high-quality content
with broad appeal
Ride social waves (that
you or others create)
Drive traffic to
owned channels

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Today: Lessons building
audience in a social ecosystem
Source: xkcd.com

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To be useful, drill down
to the “social thing”
Topics of General Interest or
Emerging Importance
Breaking News,
Traditional Article
Social
Things
Cybersecurity,
Hackers,
Technology
1

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Social things can take
predictable forms
Charts
Techniques Facts Objects
Lists Red Herrings

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Anatomy of a
social thing
6. ”Key” to
understanding
5. Unexpected
4. Reason to share 3. Connection
to target
1. Concrete
2. Visual

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Headlines should be built to
travel and inspire click-through.
“Information is increasingly
being distributed and
presented in real-time streams
instead of dedicated web
pages.”
- Erik Schonfield, TechCrunch
9x
The amount sharing grew
over the past 5 years
111%
The year-over-year growth in
referrals from the top 5 social
media sites
2

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A growing social web is
changing how information is
presented.
“Headlines have to work on
their own, unlike in print.
What’s the proposition you
want to say to the reader to
earn his/her click?”
- Gabriel Snyder, Former Chief
Editor of The Wire
Create “Things” Be Decisive
Make People Feel Lead with a Fact

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Other tactics to try
Amaze or surprise
Warn or advise
Explain

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Other tactics to try
Ask the key question
Make it about “you”
Be their “everything”

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Audience interest is
concentrated and
unpredictable
% of Articles Written % of Site Traffic
10%
56%
90%
44%

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Once a piece gains traction,
flood the zone
Case Study: The New York Times’ Modern Love Piece
Views reach 5MM.
NYT tracks social
trajectory. NYT asks
for user stories.
NYT prepares Valentine’s
Day special package: 36
questions app and user
stories post. Piece tops
8MM views.
NYT continues to track
others’ efforts, gaining
300-400 likes per post.
January 9th January 13th-30th February 13th February 14th-28th
Initial Modern Love
post: “To Fall in
Love with Anyone,
Do This”
3

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Stake a claim on topics you
are best positioned to own
Maps and Charts
Companion Video
Commentary
Reactions
Immersive Experience
Investigative long-form
4

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Traditional brands can
transform their knowledge in
the same way
Country Filters
and Drill-Downs
Infographics
Spotlighted Facts
Long-form Reviews
Interactive Map
Taking a resource to digital

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Successful organizations
deliver on their brand promise
wherever their readers are
We don’t mean publish once and send it
everywhere. We mean Quartz can go anywhere
our readers are, in whatever form is appropriate.
What’s most striking … is what sits in the middle:
our brand. In this environment, it’s the most
important thing…That drives our editorial
mission, our product vision, and our
commercial business.”
- Zach Seward, Executive Editor, Quartz
“

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The modern meaning
of brand loyalty
Syndication
Twitter Facebook
LinkedIn
Creative Services
Events
Atlas
iOS App
Daily Brief
Homepage Stories
India Africa
Flipboard
Google
Newsstand
Social Apps
QZ.com
Editions
Messaging

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Thank You
Lymari Morales
lmorales@atlanticmedia.com
@ByLymari