Last Sunday, I wasn’t able to pickup a copy of the NY Times until late in the day. When I got to the store, their last copy was incomplete. I figured, no problem, I will save myself $4, and simply read it online. As I walked home, I mapped out a strategy to ensure I read the day’s edition… I would set aside a single hour devoted only to the NY Times.
But of course, other things came up, I forgot about it, and almost a week later, I have still not gone through the online edition of last Sunday’s paper. As more and more media companies and journalists move their focus from print to online, how do they keep their news and information as a priority in the minds of their readers.
I read two papers in print, and subscribe to quite a few magazines. These have a real weight and priority in my life, because they sit on my desk begging to be looked at… to be digested… to be used, so that I can make room on my desk for other things.
When you go to the web looking for a particular piece of information, how quickly are you pulled away to something completely unrelated? When you find the information you are looking for, do you linger, in order to find out deeper details, or do you simply move on?
This is not simply an issue of engagement, time spent, or page views. It is an issue of branding. In other words: how important will your brand be to readers in a virtual environment? Are you just another website in a long list of those they try to read?