The global media landscape continues to evolve, and so should our content strategies and editorial approaches.

The good old newsroom practices that worked in the 1980s and 1990s are no longer as effective as they used to be. Who still uses a manual typewriter to write news? I am using a typewriter in this context to symbolise the moribund methods.

Not only have our tools of trade evolved, but the audience demographics have also fundamentally shifted. Computers, Web sites, social media platforms, and smartphones are the new tools. Millennials and Gen Z are the new media consumers.

Gen Z, in particular, is remarkably different from the older generations in terms of consumption habits and preferences. They are tech savvy, have short attention spans, consume content on the go, and have no time for long and boring stories or stale news. By the time you finish typing that news on a typewriter, they will have read it on social media, which happens to be their most preferred source of news.

A 2023 study titled “Media consumption in an evolving digital world: millennials and digital natives’ consumption habits and implications for legacy media in Kenya” by the Aga Khan University Media Innovation Center (MiC) found that 45% of Millennials and Gen Zers rely on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X for news and entertainment.

But for Gen Z, social media is not just a source of news and entertainment. It is also a forum where they are part of the conversation about issues affecting our society.

Our managing director, Julia Majale, summarised this very well in a recent interview: “Gen Z demands authenticity. They will engage you. You have to respect their intelligence and acknowledge the role that they are playing in societal change.”

They want their voices to be heard. This was evident during the Gen Z protests we witnessed in Kenya demanding accountability from the government. Smartphones and social media were their main weapons.

Those of us in media companies should appreciate the role of young people in society today. More importantly, we should appreciate how technology can help to amplify their voices. Our strategies should be attuned to these realities.

In light of the digital media disruptions driven by rapid advancements in technologies and the growing influence of the young generation, how then do we adapt quickly and stay relevant?

At TUKO.co.ke, we learned certain lessons much earlier, and one of them is that news is no longer just about who said what, when, where, and why (the 5Ws). How that news story is packaged and delivered makes the difference between digital and traditional delivery.

Don’t get me wrong: News must still capture all the important facts to pass the trust and credibility tests. However, for a digitally native audience to engage with it in the same way their grandfathers once consumed newspapers, we need to add more layers to our storytelling approach.

This includes catchy headlines, intriguing social media leads, and emotion-packed visuals. Additionally, we need to deliver the content on the platforms they actively use, such as social media and other digital channels, and in a variety of formats tailored to their preferences.

For instance, we use trendy formats that include Facebook picture posts with a link in comments and galleries for better engagement. And, we use infographics to break down and simplify complex information for easy consumption, among other rich and dynamic multi-media formats that take the art of storytelling to a whole new level.

When I sit down to listen to some of my colleagues from the legacy side so eloquently talk about digital-first content strategies, social media seldom features in those “expert-level engagements.” How can it be considered a digital-first strategy when the most important digital tool is pushed to the back burner?

Data-driven strategies and decisions

Away from the content packaging and mode of delivery, our newsroom also learned data is everything when it comes to developing content strategies that can help a struggling newsroom spring back to life.

Data not only gets rid of subjectivities that can sometimes cloud our editorial judgments, but it also provides very important insights into media consumers’ behaviours.

We heavily rely on data to understand our audience’s preferences, including what they are consuming, the devices they are using to access the content, their demographics, and many other data-backed insights.

Armed with that data, we can align our strategies with readers’ preferences. For instance, if the metrics show us our readers are interacting more with content on particular celebrities or topics, we are likely to cover them more often.

One could argue a journalist does not need data to know what news grabs attention. The truth is basic news values such as prominence, proximity, significance, novelty, and timeliness that journalists traditionally used to judge news are not going anywhere. However, experience has also shown us a good news judgment is not all that is needed when you are developing a digital content strategy.

While journalistic instincts and experiences are crucial in making editorial decisions, our personal biases can quite often get in the way of objectivity. Data simply helps us keep these biases in check.

Collecting data

There are a variety of data analytics tools in the market catering for different levels of expertise and based on the type of data you are seeking to collect. These tools are seamlessly integrated into backend systems and are designed to work asynchronously with the front-end applications.

Our analytics tools are equipped with specific metrics, such as number of unique visitors and pageviews, that we use to measure content performance and other things to see whether we are making progress or not. If not, we can determine what needs to be improved or changed.

With the help of these digital tools combined with our core journalistic values, principles, and experiences, we should be able to develop content strategies fit for the modern media consumer.

Therefore, a combination of quality data and good journalistic judgment enable us to tailor content strategies corresponding to the needs of our audience while also ensuring we do not lose focus on stories that are in the public interest.

With a robust digital-first content strategy in place, we can create content relevant to Millennials and Gen Z.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .