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Internet Hot Topic – Content Websites
In recent years, no topic is hotter than online business. Due to its interactive nature, multimedia display, personalization, non-localized flexibility, and other digital information transfer features, the Internet has become the fourth major medium alongside print, radio, and television. The wave of people generated by this new medium has led to new business opportunities. In this position, online content providers aim to attract members, obtain fees, and sell ads. As a new industry that crosses information and communication, it offers instant, interactive, and personalized information to draw visitors to the website. Content websites generate web traffic and offer low ad costs. Thus, traditional advertisers regard the Internet as a new marketing channel, hoping to uncover potential consumers and increase exposure.
◎What Is Content Website?
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The online world features not only the familiar online shopping business, but also another type of website. This website model offers various information either for free or a small fee. Main revenue is derived from two sources: ad sales and paid subscription (Picture 1). For example, sports information websites ESPN.com, MLB.com, and NBA.com, financial information websites WallStreetJournal.com, BusinessWeek.com, and Forbes.com, local/international news websites CNN.com, BBC.com, and USNews.com are all classified as content/media websites. |
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◎Attractive Contents
Content websites primarily provide content services, and grasping customer preferences is an important key to attracting a high number of visitors. Once web administrators achieve this task, they can design a more customer-centric content website. With analysis of web page effectiveness, they can identify popular and unpopular pages and the most attractive contents. This information helps web administrators make periodic updates to popular contents and replace unpopular, unimportant contents with more interesting contents.
◎Primary Customers
After attractive contents are created, the website has taken the first step toward online marketing success. The next step is building long-term relationships with customers. Web administrators must identify primary customers and their needs and preferences. An effective web analytics tool can inform web administrators about visitor status, visit tendencies, and loyal customers. In addition, visitor type analysis reveals the source of primary customers, verifying whether or not these primary customers fit the website's original targets. Web administrators can focus on the needs and preferences of their targets to further apply related marketing to attract their attention and browsing.
◎Creating Ad Revenue
| Ad revenue is the largest profit source as well as the main operating method of content websites. Marketers plan several sections of different sizes on every web page for advertisers to place their ads. Cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM, "M" is the Roman numeral for thousand) is the common rate used, which means that payment is requested from advertisers for every 1,000 times an ad is viewed by visitors. Thus, to enhance ad revenue, content websites must not only increase web traffic, but also carry out content group analysis and visitor type cross-comparison to learn the browsing status of each ad space, find platinum ad spaces (Picture 2), and set up segmented pricing. In this way, the value of limited ad spaces can be maximized. |
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◎Increasing Paid Subscriptions
Another revenue source is paid subscription. Thus web administrators must accurately grasp the level of visitor participation in paid subscription services. For example, a certain content website focuses on a specific time frame for analysis and discovers that 500 out of 10,000 visitors subscribe to its weekly e-newsletters, meaning the participation rate is 5%. This analysis data allows marketers to monitor the disparity between the campaign's actual effectiveness and projected revenue. A performance review helps improve the participate rate, which can serve as the basis for evaluating future marketing effectiveness. When 5% of the total visitors take part in the campaign, marketers can determine how much cost is necessary to create how many subscribers.
Web administrators might possess an unlimited well of free contents, but market research reveals that converting web traffic to revenue is the biggest challenge for content websites. How web administrators can achieve this objective is the focal point of great debate.
Thank you for reading this article.
In the next CCMedia e-Insight Focus On, we will present a brand new topic.
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Touching the Heart of the Public
Interview with Chief of Interactive Media Section Chili Yu |
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"Clean image," "Nonsexual programming," and "role of educating society" come to mind when describing Public Television Service (PTS). In communication studies, the concept of "public television" has its own definition and objective. It asserts that the public needs its own channel, its own station, and its own programming policy, and functions to service and inform the public. Thus, PTS differs from policy-promoting national television and ad-based, ratings-conscious commercial television. Operating independently and silently, PTS routinely captures Golden Bell awards and features a website that is unique in style and idea, creating a media platform for the public to participate. |
Officially introduced to citizens on July 1, 1998, PTS strives to become a station devoted to the public. Founded on the principle of public service, the staff consists of individuals full of ideals and creativity. PTS belongs to the entire public rather than the government, political parties, or business and interest groups. Its actions are not dictated by profit, allowing the staff to fully and freely carry out the mission of educating society. This is also one of its unique charms.
Media has long expanded beyond television and print. The rapid development and rising usage of the Internet suggest that a website is not just a "space" but rather a "door" to a variety of services. Based on this notion, PTS greatly values website administration, constantly enhancing online capabilities in hopes of offering audiences better services. "In terms of website administration, PTS utilizes an automated database framework, a 'central kitchen' concept," said Chief of Interactive Media Section Chili Yu. "The Interactive Media Section is responsible for planning, while data updates and maintenance are performed by each department." Under this management model, the website can allow audiences to obtain the latest information anytime and anywhere. In addition, the Interactive Media Department can concentrate its efforts on developing new capabilities and more complete services for audiences.
Upon entering the PTS website, audiences are showered by banners as well as e-cards. "Our banners are updated everyday," said Yu. "Even our program schedule can be modified without human labor. This is all thanks to the work by each department and the automated database. Proper planning saves a lot human labor and time." Thus, the PTS website achieves the best program promotion and advertising. Its bulletin board also draws many people to discuss its programs and browse the website.
Chien-Ming Wang five-inch away jersey dolls from the PTS donation campaign sold out in one minute and 58 second. Wang's charisma is undisputed, but this demonstrates that a website not only is a value-adding tool for enterprises, but also has the potential to create value. PTS boasts real as well as virtual members. The former maintains a sponsor-reward relationship with PTS. The latter enjoys a 5% discount on PTS products and various services (e.g. online newsletters) provided by its foundation.
"PTS does not purchase ads on popular portal sites nor engage in product placement, but still possesses a high number of members,"said Yu. "This is because we are a nonprofit organization that places 100% of its emphasis on service." The station and the website have formed a reciprocal relationship. In charge of managing and maintaining the brand and company image, the station can only provide programs. The website serves as backup support for the station, observing public needs and preferences through discussions.
Committed to service, the website needs the most accurate web analytics solution. "Whether for personal or company objective, long-term relationships are built by walking a mile in someone else's shoes and being considerate," said Yu. PTS has amassed eight years of experience to create this successful website. Thus, it requires advanced and accurate web analytics software to better understand audiences, grasp their needs, and offer them more user-friendly interface, making it the people's website.
"WebNibbler truly helps us understand the browsing behavior of various types of members,"said Yu. "It performs analysis according to different needs." The PTS foundation has expanded from one station to five stations with themes such as Hakka and indigenous people. Its website has also transformed into a platform that encompasses all five stations. WebNibbler provides data that helps web administrators learn about customer behavior and develop more functions in boosting website effectiveness.
PTS continues to cultivate, experiment, and innovate. It strives to advance media education and ethics. Hopefully, it can lead a new generation of humanistic media.
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In the 48 years since its founding in 1958, Kyobo has continued to stand by its unfortunate customers, providing solutions related to finance and health education. A philosophy centered on customer and product quality has been applied to the life insurance field in developing services that customers enjoy and products of excellent quality and uniqueness. In 2004, Kyobo became the only company to receive the Customer Satisfaction Prize for five consecutive years, securing a place in the industry's Hall of Fame.
In late March of 2005, assets reached KRW 36 trillion with KRW 8.9 trillion from insurance revenue and 382 billion in net profit. Kyobo was recognized as "AA+" enterprise by the Insurance Performance Evaluation.
The Korean life insurance market ranks seventh in the world with USD 42 billion annually. As a market leader, Kyobo demonstrated a close relationship with its customers by earning the CRM Prize in 2005.
◎WebNibbler Implementation
- To remain competitive in this rapidly changing market environment, Kyobo has utilized online channel to make up for the deficiencies existing within offline channel. From gathering online customer behavior data to discovering and carrying out various marketing opportunities, the importance of an ideal marketing process repeatedly arises. This is why continuous CRM and diversified marketing are necessary. These actions enhance customer retention in maximizing revenue for the company.
- Kyobo hoped to segment customers into potential customers, members, current customers, and excellent customers according to online customer behavior data stored in DB. It decided to implement a solution capable of executing in-depth analysis. Customized product recommendations and diverse contents can be offered based on customer habits.
◎WebNibbler Results
(1)Useful Online Customer Data and Analysis :
Utilizing WebNibbler analysis data to improve navigation, content effectiveness, and other website operations strategy, Kyobo can offer more efficient sales support with data on customer preferences. This dramatically increases the sales rate of its insurance products.
(2)Marketing Strategy Based on Customer Needs:
Establishing website operations and new product development plan according to customer needs, Kyobo uses personal information of every customer to provide smart customized services, physical sales support, and statistics for customer service. It optimizes online customer data, enabling successful and effective cross-department collaboration.
(3)Instant Customized Information Service Based on Customer Data:
Kyobo combines customer research to provide customer-centric information automatically. It utilizes WebNibbler's online data analysis to understand customers and WEPA to present personalized services, enhancing the level of customer satisfaction.
(4)Marketing Principle:
Software based on automated personalized recommendation can reduce the time and costs involved with the marketing and sales process and bring greater efficiency. Customer segmentation is carried out according to customer tendencies and preferences. The most ideal products and services for each segment are defined to respond to customer needs.
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The success of Kyobo demonstrates WebNibbler's ability to provide and analyze online customer behavior and preferences, helping marketers gather online data and manage customers. In addition, it features customized services, builds a set of marketing principles specifically for enterprise needs, and increases sales performance. The success of e-business also starts from accurate customer data collection and management, and WebNibbler offers the most multifaceted and complete assistance.
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