5 Ways News Websites Can Use Videos for Audience Growth

In today’s digital age, video has become a force to reckon with as the most popular form of media that people are engaging with. According to a report on Statista videos recorded an audience reach of 92% among internet users wordwide. .

Statista

These statistics reveal that viral videos, educational content, live videos and sports clips are among the popular types of videos consumed around the world.

Surprisingly a majority of news publishers and bloggers aren't using the full potential of videos for audience development. Given the surge in video consumption, publishers can leverage it for newer audiences. Here's how you can get started.

5 Tips to Use Videos for News Websites to Enhance Engagement

Today's audiences seek engaging and immersive experiences and are no longer satisfied with plain and static information. They crave visual content and want to be part of the stories they consume.

Video content offers news websites a competitive advantage by increasing engagement, leading to loyal and active subscribers who share content updates.

In this post, I’ll dish out five expert tips to make use of videos for news websites.

Let’s get started.

1. Use Social Media Platforms as Your TV Channel

These days, you’d find most people glued to their phones for a considerable part of their days. And chances are, they’re on one of the social media platforms.

If you want to reach more people, you go where they hang out. The most recent data indicates an estimated 4.89 billion social media users in 2023.

Image via Statista

Facebook, the market leader, now reigns as the most popular social network with around 2.95 billion active users monthly.

Image via Statista

Facebook and YouTube have billions of active users and massive reach. This offers an unprecedented opportunity for news websites to expand their audience.

You can create short and impactful video updates covering breaking news, major events, or trending stories.

Publishers like The New York Times and CBS News do this by posting concise video clips on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Viewers can find detailed news stories on respective news websites if they’re interested.

Image via Instagram

Image via Twitter

Social media has become an integral part of our lives.

The average user spreads their digital footprint across six to seven platforms every month. While keeping just your Facebook followers engaged is good, making use of a multi-platform approach to grow your news website would serve you better.

Posting news videos on these platforms allows you to tap into new viewership and engage a broader demographic. Just like CNN and Fox News, who have harnessed the power of YouTube marketing to amass millions of followers and even more viewers.

Image via YouTube

Using a video, CNN reached out to its 15 million YouTube subscribers to table the situation on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Image via Youtube

The image above shows a YouTube snippet starring host Laura Ingraham talking about the rise in illegal immigration in New York City.

2. Create Short-Form Videos as Teasers

Short-form videos excel at one thing—grabbing attention! You can see platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts gaining popularity, why?

Because they provide consumers with an endless amount of short-form video content that appeals to the short attention span we all have.

You can use short-form videos as teasers for longer, in-depth content. These videos entice your viewers and lure them in to watch the full video for more comprehensive information. Also, you can combine videos to create an effective single video from the best parts of multiple videos.

Taking a cue from BBC News and The New York Times you'd notice that they cleverly produce short video snippets to promote their longer news segments, and it works like a charm!

Here’s an example from BBC News.

Image Via TikTok

The image above is a short snippet of an intriguing development in the news about gas explosions in Johannesburg. The video has since amassed close to 6.2 million views. Talk about reach!

Creating short teasers that can quickly appeal to your audience's senses might require excellent editing. To get started you can try AI Video Editors online.

Read More: Content Curation: How Newsroom Teams Could Get Started

3. Leverage Live-Streaming

Live streaming is a great way to make use of videos for news websites. It’s not just about broadcasting news; it's about engaging your viewers in real-time.

This dynamic medium allows you to provide real-time coverage of breaking news, interviews, and thought-provoking discussions. This makes your audience an integral part of the story’s conversation.

The Washington Post Live, the newsroom's live journalism platform, hosts conferences, interviews, and panel discussions.

Image via Washington Post

4. Collaborate with Influencers

Teaming up with influencers is an effective way to grow your news website. They can connect with their followers, tapping into their reach and engagement to turbo-boost your website's visibility.

But don't limit your collaborations solely to influencers. Consider reaching out to other media houses or individuals within your niche to explore untapped audiences. Working together with like-minded partners can open doors to new communities and expand your reader base.

Morning Brew, a tech and business news website, partnered with tech YouTuber Mrwhosetheboss. As a fan of Mrwhosetheboss, I subscribed to Morning Brew's news updates after watching their collaboration video.

Image via Youtube - Mrwhosetheboss.

5. Cross-promote Your Videos

You've got some videos on your news website, right? Well, why not take them to the next level and cross-promote them on multiple platforms?

You have the option to include a link to the video on Instagram in the videos you publish on YouTube, and vice versa. You see, the key here is to make the use of videos on your news websites easily accessible and shareable.

When you cross-promote your videos, you're giving your audience multiple entry points to discover your news website. For seamless video packaging, publishing, and distribution you can try a video content management system to stay organized.

Final Thoughts

These five tips are a good starting point to help the use of videos in your news website. You don't need to spend a lot to get great results from video content on social media. You can create budget-friendly videos that connect with your audience.

What’s most important is that you keep your videos focused and to the point. If the news update is big, you can split it into multiple videos to keep your audience engaged. Don’t lose them.

Guest Author: Reena Aggarwal

Reena is Director of Operations and Sales at Attrock, a result-driven digital marketing company. With 10+ years of sales and operations experience in the field of e-commerce and digital marketing, she is quite an industry expert. She is a people person and considers human resources as the most valuable asset of a company. In her free time, you would find her spending quality time with her brilliant, almost teenage daughter and watching her grow in this digital, fast-paced era.