A highly engaged audience can be a publisher's greatest asset. More direct traffic, time on site and subscriptions, better performing ads, and increased reader advocacy are all byproducts of loyal, engaged audiences. However, with more and more sources battling for reader attention, converting casual readers into loyal contributors can be a challenge for publishers.
Like most publishers, CinemaBlend is constantly trying to optimize their content strategy in order to provide the best, most engaging content for their audience and increase reader loyalty. "Especially in our line of business, it's tough to get people to stay for more than just breaking news," said Mark Rawden, VP of Product at CinemaBlend.
In order to keep readers engaged on their site and coming back for more, CinemaBlend analyzes performance on a per article basis. The goal is to emulate the top performing content and ensure future content resonates with their audience and fosters audience engagement. According to Rawden, CinemaBlend publishes "around 50 pieces of content every day. The opportunity cost of everything we write is something that we don’t. We want to publish content that our readers want to read and engage with. We want to analyze what is worth our efforts."
At the start of 2017, we upgraded the Disqus Analytics dashboard to include deeper insights into audience engagement and article level performance. To better understand what content is driving the most engagement, CinemaBlend uses Disqus Analytics.
Using Disqus’ Content Analytics, CinemaBlend analyzes which stories are getting the most comments, total engagements, and reads. These insights help the CinemaBlend “congregate [their] efforts around topics that readers want to read and engage with.”
Want to learn more about how CinemaBlend is leveraging Disqus? You can download the full case study. Also, be sure to check out CinemaBlend for the latest news on all things entertainment including movies, televisions, video games, and pop culture.
For more details on Disqus Analytics, check out our blog post. We are currently working on an update to Disqus Analytics that will provide publishers with more visibility into their audience and help them to identify their most engaged readers. Be sure the check back for more information on this soon!