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Online news delivery is a big business. Soon, it might be the business for newspapers. With traditional print suffering from loss of advertising, the online versions are soaring. And although traditional advertising still makes up a bulk of the revenue, the profitability potential of a good online news site will only increase in the coming years.

We do have some gems

It is interesting to observe how our local, South African websites are reacting to the moving cheese.

The www.mg.co.za and www.thetimes.co.za have both applied a new design, and a new approach to how online news should be delivered. Even if neither delivers a perfect offering yet (is there even such a thing?), the websites deliver the news efficiently and brilliantly.

Both these newspapers have done two things very well:

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Advertising is not a dirty word

Both points are crucial to the success of any online news source. The adverts serve an obvious purpose by providing a revenue source for the paper. Also, ads are used to promote other site sections, and to drive readership (subscription) of the respective tangible papers. The “citizen journalism” aspect, where I can comment on stories, and even submit my own is an essential component to any Internet savvy user. More and more people are expecting content providers to not just talk, but to actually listen.

And although advertising is obviously very present, it is also very well integrated. As a reader I am not too bothered by it: it is just prominent enough for me to notice it (and act on it, if I choose) but not so prominent as to become obtrusive. And since both sites are supported by excellent writing, news breaking stories, timeous reporting and a bunch of other features, there is an overall enjoyable and informative browsing experience. Good for them.

It’s not all good news, though….

But what about the biggest (and most popular) South African website, www.news24.com? Or the website of our dailies, www.iol.co.za. Both fall so short of being good, that it is almost embarrassing. It seems that they got lost in the Internet era of 1990s, and forgot to consult a map on how to build a website for today.

The first problem with both websites is that they seem to hold each other as a shining example of excellence. I actually had to do some research to make sure they are not owned by the same company. It seems that both sites were designed on the same template. And the template sucks.

The second problem is that they lost sight of the fact that they are a news site, over and above everything else. Both are laden with distracting ads that are made even less effective by their dark background (seamless integration of text ads gives highest click through rates, Google or not). A cleaner, smarter approach to content delivery and ad integration will not only lead to more page views, it will also lead to more ad click-throughs.

Build it badly, and still they come?

The irony is that News24 is already sitting on traffic gold, with over 30 million page views per month, making it the most visited local website. Imagine if they set the high standard for what local sites should be!

Maybe the popularity has made them complacent, and if that is the fact that is a pity. (To be fair, News24 has recently hired Matthew Buckland who was one half of the brilliant Buckland/ Maher team that redesigned www.mg.co.za to its present glory. That suggests that they are scheming greater things. If that is the case, they should start hinting, so the public can participate in suggestions).

Usually, a site is redesigned to draw more traffic and higher user participation (both with content and ads). News24 has an interesting case, since they already have the high traffic (although more is always, of course, good). So now they face the challenge of figuring out how to use that traffic to maximise revenue. Which, by any standard, is not a bad challenge to have!

Truth is, any good news source should sustain itself purely from online revenue, without the tangible cost of a printing press. That is exactly what the Christian Science Monitor is hoping for, once it discontinues its printed version and moves into online only early next year. Some newspapers, such as The Wall Street Journal, are sticking to a subscription model, but that can really only work if you are offering really propriety news (such as financial analysis etc).

News24 and Iol better get themselves in gear, and fast, because there is another new medium to conquer: mobile. For now, the http://m.thetimes.co.za takes the top prize for local mobile news delivery, but all is still up for grabs. Nevertheless, the longer News24 takes to get its web presence right, the easier it will be for another player to become the number one local news provider.

Let’s start with a simple, clean design and a cohesive attitude to ad placement. Throw in some cool features, a mobile app and a number of new revenue opportunities (there are dozens to choose from!) and watch the page views ..and the revenue..rise.

A website needs a marketing strategy, just like any other venture.
And a marketing strategy needs some goals, and goals need numbers.
It’s a common problem: Assuming an adept marketing plan, just how many website visitors is a realistic expectation?

Of course, you can also ask how long a piece of string is. The audience numbers depend a lot on the target audience, especially if the segmentation occurs across geographic lines.

To get a clearer indication of reasonable expectations for South African websites, I decided to crunch some numbers. I used data available from the www.opa.org.za site, which represents the leading web publishers in the country. Most numbers are second quarter, 2008.

I only looked at Domestic Traffic, since I assume it is better to focus your marketing efforts on a market that is on your doorstep. Obviously, there are valid exceptions to this, but one has to start somewhere!

I started off with 103 websites that are monitored by OPA, and I ignored all email sites (such as Webmail, Mweb mail etc).

Here is what I found (rounded off):

Average unique browsers per site: 151,000

Average page impressions per site: 2.5 milion per month

Those numbers are quite impressive, but are skewed by the big players that get well over 20 million impressions per month. Once News24.com , Vodacom4me, MSN and Mweb sites are removed, the stats are as follows:

Average unique browsers per site: 103,000
Average page impressions per site: 1.4 million per month

And when I looked at all sites whose traffic was under 5 million page impressions per month, the stats are as follows (sample base of 89 sites):

Average unique browsers per site: 96,000
Average page impressions per site: 1 million per month

Assuming you are launching a new website, with a well thought out offering, marketing plan and budget, and are targetting a wide South African audience, these last numbers are most realistic. Bear in mind though, that the 89 sites that these stats come from are still made up of “big players” like Women24, Yellowpages.co.za and Fin24.co.za. These sites have worked hard to get to their status, and overnight success for you is not very likely. In order to compete in their game, you must be prepared to run a very tight and strategically brilliant venture.

Also, a lot of these sites have a strong offline presence, which acts as an excellent marketing channel.

Visual Representation of the 89 sites and their unique browsers (click for larger image):

Visual Representation of the 89 sites and their page impressions (click for larger image):

All numbers from AC Nielsen and www.opa.org.za

Of course, these stats are only representative of websites that are represented by the OPA (Online Publishers Association). That makes for a very selective bunch. If you have personal experience with drawing traffic to a new South African site, please add your comment below!

Those of us who are plugging the advent of Social Media to South African companies often have a bit of an uphill battle. That’s because we not only have to convince the corporates that’s it’s a good idea, but we also have to convince the prospective audience that’s it would be worth their while to participate with the brand online.

More technologically advanced countries do not have this problem, because a vast majority of customers already expects their favourite (or least favourite) brand to have an online presence, and to use it to the customer’s benefit.

It is a bit of a chicken-or-egg dilemma. We need an audience that is eager to interact with the business online, but we also need the business to start the conversation. And it seems that each party is waiting for the other to go first.

Which is why the role of the Community Manager is so vital. I see that Seth Godin has identified it as a potential new job for you, but it is not a new job role at all. In fact, the local grapevine is filled with companies who are wanting to fill this position. It is an essential role for anyone who has a startup too, because it is the easiest way to galvanize a new audience.

A Community Manager’s role is to start, moderate or continue an online dialogue with potential or existing customers, via a multitude of channels. (Peter Kim identifies 22!)

What makes for a good Community Manager?

Ideally, I think it has to be someone who is an early adopter of technology, but also one who understands that most people aren’t.

It is someone who has a great passion of the potential of the Internet, and knows how to use it brilliantly as a communication tool.

It should be someone who is well connected, but this is not actually as essential as one would think, since the “A-list” of online fundis is so small (in South Africa) that it is almost ineffectual.

It is someone who has a understanding and admiration for the product he is representing

We are lacking!

There is a shortage of community managers in South Africa, probably because not a whole lot of us feel comfortable to use any of the online channels to communicate effectively. And those of us who do, are running our own online projects.

But having discussed this in some detail with an online entrepreneur who is desperately looking for someone to start and continue a dialogue around his new venture, I’ve concluded that in most cases it does not actually have to be a full time job. And since the remuneration should be incentivised according to the actual result, it could be a very worthwhile part time job.

I admit that I have a vested interest in seeing more community managers in South Africa: it would be so much easier for a web strategist (me) to create a strategy that I could trust to someone else to implement. And it would make my clients even happier So if you are interested, drop me a line. Or at least a comment!

(Image by D’Arcy Norman, from Flickr)

Some interesting Social Media reads that have popped up on my monitor lately

Links to some good reads on Social Media that have popped up on my monitor lately:

OSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE) recently sponsored a national online digital marketing and interactive advertising survey to gain insight into what marketers want from their advertising and marketing agencies in the next 12 months. The survey polled more than 200 chief marketing officers (CMOs) and senior marketing professionals, all of whom are either directly or indirectly responsible for managing digital marketing budget allocation across multiple channels.

Survey respondents were asked about the top qualities they sought in their advertising and marketing agencies in the coming year. Based on the survey results, Sapient Interactive, Sapient’s marketing services group, has created a Top 10 Wish List for Agencies of the Future.

1. Greater knowledge of the digital space. With more than a third of marketers surveyed revealing that they are not confident that their current agency is well-positioned to take their brand through the unchartered waters of online digital marketing and interactive advertising, it’s clear that agencies need to have a greater knowledge of the digital space in order to thrive. In fact, nearly half (45 percent) of the respondents have switched agencies (or plan to switch in the next 12 months) for one with greater digital knowledge or have hired an additional digital specialist to handle their interactive campaigns. Further, when it comes to an agency’s area of expertise, 79% of respondents rated “interactive/digital” functions as ‘important/very important.’

2. More use of “pull interactions.” When trying to engage consumers with their brand, 90 percent of respondents agree that it is becoming increasingly important that their agency uses ‘pull interactions’ such as social media and online communities rather than traditional ‘push’ campaigns.

3. Leverage virtual communities. An overwhelming 94 percent of respondents expressed interest in leveraging virtual communities (public and private) to understand more about their target audience.

4. Agency executives using the technology they are recommending. Ninety-two percent of respondents said it was ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ important that agency employees use the technologies that they are recommending. For example, it is important that agency executives regularly use Facebook, Flickr, wikis, blogs, etc. in their personal social media mix.

5. Chief Digital Officers make agencies more appealing. Forty-three percent of marketers surveyed said that agencies with chief digital officers are more appealing than those without.

6. Web 2.0 and social media savvy. Sixty three percent of marketers surveyed said that an agency’s Web 2.0 and social media capabilities are ‘important/very important’ when it comes to agency selection.

7. Agencies that understand consumer behavior. Seventy-six percent of respondents deemed this as an ‘important/very important’ aspect of their agency’s online digital marketing and interactive advertising area of expertise.

8. Demonstrate strategic thinking. Seventy-seven percent of marketers surveyed ranked strategy/brain trust capabilities at the top of their agency wish list.

9. Branding and creative capabilities. Sixty-seven percent of respondents ranked branding at the top of their agency wish list while seventy-six percent ranked creative capabilities as ‘important/very important.’

10. Ability to measure success. It’s no surprise that marketers want an agency that can report on where campaigns succeeded, fell short and where they should be fine-tuned. Sixty-five percent ranked analytics at the top of their agency wish list.

“Marketers want agencies that can deliver on these demands today – not by 2009 and beyond,” said Gaston Legorburu, chief creative officer, Sapient. “As the interactive channel becomes increasingly important, only those agencies that can create, manage and measure multi-channel campaigns will stay relevant and thrive in an uncertain economy. Marketers keep turning to agencies like Sapient to deliver more sophisticated, integrated digital marketing initiatives that truly deliver optimum levels of customer acquisition and retention.”

This post was taken from a press release by Sapient. You can find the full copy here.