🤝 Today, most newsrooms agree on one principle: don't put all your eggs in one basket. It's impossible to predict the long-term stability of platforms, especially when it comes to their policies toward the press.
🧪 Assuming an experimental approach can be helpful as long as it doesn't abruptly affect the media's workload or revenue. It's important to maintain a certain flexibility so you can change course if results don't match the goals you initially set.
📰 It's possible to build a community beyond social networks by creating clubs for your readers, for example, by distributing newsletters or by engaging public spaces and community venues, like Marsactu.
On the Internet, rules and algorithms change as rapidly as platforms emerge and disappear, sometimes abruptly. Some media outlets, which have entrusted a large portion of their traffic to these structures, are forced to reconsider their degree of dependence and to reassess their distribution model. Consequently, the trust placed in these digital giants has eroded, and newsrooms' approach has become more measured.
A striking example is the recent emergence of new "micro-blogging" platforms, a sector that Twitter once dominated unchallenged but where competitors like Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon now hope to win over those disappointed by Elon Musk's takeover. The billionaire's drift toward far-right politics, avowed supporter of Donald Trump and whose antisemitic remarks drove advertisers away, combined with flagging traffic, had forced some media outlets to question the value of their teams' efforts in maintaining their profiles. A case that illustrates not only the volatility of social networks, but also the necessity for newsrooms to remain vigilant and agile in their approach to these channels to avoid falling into a one-way relationship. We therefore spoke with several newsrooms in recent months to better understand their approach to these newcomers and how they perceive their dependence on social networks.
Reorganizing your resources to tackle platform diversity: a balancing act
Twitter is no longer what it used to be. « Traffic is stalling, even declining, despite our efforts. We try to meet the algorithm's criteria, we've even paid for Twitter Blue (monthly subscription offering additional features, Editor's note). You'd think you'd be visible, but no », notes Jours communications manager Joséphine Gorel. While some media outlets had then decided to leave the platform, like the show Quotidien in France or NPR across the Atlantic, most maintained their presence while diversifying. Faced with X's growing limitations, some have indeed offset its shortcomings by investing in competing platforms. An operation that required some internal organization to ensure the flow of production and publishing of content for these new communication channels.
This was the case for L'Informé, explains Jérémy Joly, social media manager for the young outlet specializing in political and financial news: « There are time management challenges. We're not a large team and I handle social media on my own ». The solution: automation. The newsroom has thus equipped itself with Echobox, Buffer « and Fedica, which is less well known in France » he adds, allowing in particular the scheduling of posts on Bluesky. An equilibrium and reorganization that Les Jours has likewise applied, for whom the decision of whether or not to use these new platforms doesn't really come up according to Joséphine Gorel: « For me, the question of whether to go there or not, ultimately, doesn't really exist ». The newsroom has therefore adopted similar tools, like Buffer, with a view to minimizing the time spent juggling between these new platforms. A choice justified by the risk « of losing access to people who don't know us ».
Because for independent media outlets that don't have decades of established reputation or physical presence in newsstands and bookstores, simply having a presence allows them to have a showcase through which they can gain recognition. To the point of being everywhere? "We still ask ourselves the question about our type of content," tempers Jérémy Joly, listing the concerns raised by the use of new communication channels: "Will we be able to reach people who will be interested in our content? Is it worth our while to be there? Will it take us extra time?"
Targeted and engaged audiences: a advantage for independent media
For certain former X users frustrated by the American billionaire's political stances, the exodus to X alternatives like Mastodon and Bluesky constitutes an activist stance. For independent media, these platforms thus represent an opportunity to strengthen ties with specific, engaged communities while avoiding the algorithmic pollution of major platforms. Ændra Rininsland, data journalism engineer at the Financial Times, outlined these specificities in the columns of PressGazette: "The Bluesky audience is very different from that of X. It is composed mainly of people who left the platform". A community she describes as "very dynamic and extremely diverse in composition, generally more center-left than right". An observation shared by Les Jours, for whom Mastodon's audience appears to value independent media more: "Spontaneously, our readers cite us alongside other media in a sort of virtuous circle of independent press (…) This is something that doesn't exist on other networks" confirms Joséphine Gorel.
For independent media outlets, these alternative networks make it possible to reach an audience that is admittedly smaller, but highly engaged. While Bluesky and Mastodon appear to attract a more activist-leaning user base, they have also won over users interested in the "tech" space, curious to discover these new networks and their features: "We can clearly see that on these tech topics, they're very responsive," adds Jérémy Joly, who sees the platform's more limited user base as an opportunity rather than a limitation. "We know that Mastodon won't be a major audience driver," he acknowledges. "It's not like Facebook, which could pull in massive audiences a few years ago. But there are more interesting things to do in terms of community building."
Experiment with new formats to attract audiences
The emergence of new social networks has also prompted some newsrooms to rethink how they address their audience. For Joséphine Gorel, this surge of new competitors encouraged the newsroom to question its use of social media and imagine different strategies. « I would like us to experiment with posting less or being able to customize our publications based on the social network. For example, on Twitter, I think hot topics are more interesting than cold content ».
For Ouest-France, opening an account on Bluesky in 2023 was an opportunity to adopt a more authentic tone and connect with their younger readership: "When we launched on Bluesky, we decided to use a radically different tone. We wanted to be much more approachable, with a view to rejuvenating our image," explains Loup-Lassinat Foubert, the journalist in charge of social media for the newspaper. The local daily thus chose to focus on more positive news: "It's a genuine willingness to test this angle, to show that news isn't just sad or terrible things."
On L'Informé's side, Bluesky is also seen as an opportunity to try new approaches, even at the risk of getting things wrong, according to Jérémy Joly: « We have the advantage of not being a brand with 150 years of history behind us (…) Apart from time, we have relatively little to lose when we decide to launch. We test and see what happens ». The main goal of these experiments: to try new formats to meet the specific needs of each audience while maintaining a certain flexibility to adjust or abandon ideas that don't work. An experimental but cautious approach, which Emma Krstic, director of engagement for POLITICO, recommends PressGazette. « I think with social media in general, you have to try to be at the forefront of new platforms and see if they're worth investing time and resources in… When it comes to a new platform, you never really know if people will actually adopt it and if it will take off ».
Test, adjust, and withdraw if necessary
However, despite the desire to experiment, newsrooms know that not all platforms deserve sustained investment. Some generate only minimal traffic over time, prompting media outlets like The Guardian and the BBC to scale back or even abandon their presence on platforms such as Threads, as Digiday reported in December 2023. As for Ouest-France, the newspaper has not published content on Bluesky for nearly two months at the time of writing this article.
For Joséphine Gorel, the future departure from certain platforms is far from unthinkable, especially if they fail to meet set objectives or no longer align with their values: "This choice will be easier for us to make because we're not at all dependent on social media (…) I think that if it stops working, we wouldn't have too much difficulty in terms of traffic to decide to leave". A key flexibility for media outlets, which can thus adjust their strategies more quickly based on observed results and avoid becoming hostages to the volatility of platforms that aren't always very generous with the press.
To go further
- LinkedIn is interested in news, here's how to profit from it
- With Marsactu Unlimited, the Marseille media outlet offers free access to its content in various locations, including cafés and community centers.
- For three years, several major French media outlets have offered reduced-price subscriptions to those who subscribe through their Google account. These bilateral partnerships distort subscription pricing and create a new form of competition.
- Building communities beyond social media is possible. To do so, media outlets are increasingly creating "clubs". A way to strengthen their community and convey their values.
