We spend a lot of time analysing what’s working for news publishers, and there’s been a lot of debate about the role of social media in the news ecosystem in 2025.

Hyper-fragmentation has hit the news industry hard in the last few years. From a distribution perspective, there are more corners of the Internet than ever where news is shared and discussed. A recent Pew Research study found there are five platforms where 10% or more of people regularly get their news, compared to a decade ago.

At the same time, we’ve seen an increase in the number of voices on those platforms. News creators now find success with community-driven news and culture updates. The likes of Marques Brownlee, Dylan Page, and others consistently have their videos seen millions of times per month; in a zero-sum game, that has the potential to take attention away from publishers.

And finally, we’ve seen a drop in traffic, with social referrals down significantly in the last few years.

It’s obvious the industry is facing a number of problems, but if used in the right way, social media can still be a hugely valuable asset for news publishers.

Here are four pillars where social media still can be used successfully.

1. Building brand

Brand awareness is the first big one. You can argue that, in many ways, this got lost in traffic mania in the early days of social for publishers. But when you think about it, this is the main function of social for the biggest brands in the world.

This is how the likes of Duolingo, Wendy’s, Ryanair, and more are making themselves visible and top of mind for potential customers in the fragmented landscape we live in today. News publishers can learn from this — and make sure they’re top of mind — by ensuring they post regularly and engage with their audiences.

In a recent Nieman Lab post, Sarah Marshall, president of audience strategy at Conde Nast, mapped the concept onto the news ecosystem.

The gist of her argument is that, to build loyalty and revenue, publishers must focus on audience engagement, habit, and retention. This audience journey mapping — understanding how users interact with content at different stages — is essential for driving deeper engagement.

Social media is the first part of all of this. Sustained revenue comes from building social media habits that deepen audience relationships and underpin the brand.

The best social media strategies are data-informed. Publishers can use that audience behaviour data from social media to optimise content, grow subscriptions, and maximise revenue.

2. Building trust

It’s an oft-repeated fact that trust in the news (and institutions more broadly) has collapsed, but there are ways to begin to reestablish it via social platforms.

This is where we come back to the example set by news creators. Younger news consumers want to have a relationship with the journalists who are reporting or explaining the news to them. The kind of video work these news creators do maps well onto social strategy for 2026.

Wired has successfully done this in the last 12 months. When the company put its journalists on camera, it had a huge effect on the publisher’s reach, and even subscription levels. Subscriptions had risen 94% at the time of the article’s publication, and views on Instagram had climbed 800%.

To explain the phenomenon, we can examine the example of Dave Jorgensen, who ran The Washington Post’s TikTok strategy until this year and was a huge part of their success.

“Gen Z and younger Millennials trust people before they trust institutions. For decades, credibility flowed from the masthead to the individual, ‘They must be good; they work for The Washington Post,’” Jorgensen said. “Now it flows in reverse: ‘I trust Dave, and he works for The Washington Post, so they must be worth listening to.’”

3. Building community

The community aspect is somewhat tangential to the trust-building exercise. News consumers want to feel part of a group, as if they’re in active conversation with both the news-breakers and other audience members.

We’ve seen huge legacy brands launch places for discussion of their articles, which is another way to increase engagement.

Examples include BBC Newscast launching a Discord server for discussion of its shows and feedback to its hosts, as well as the well-worn example of the The Washington Post’s Reddit presence.

4. Driving traffic

I know I said referral traffic was down. That’s true on a macro-level, but it doesn’t mean that will always be the case or there aren’t exceptions to the rule.

TikTok recently launched a beta for news links, and Facebook traffic increased again at the start of this year.

Things can change quickly on social, and what went down can go up again very quickly. This is why it’s crucial to maintain an active presence in case something does change. You don’t want to be scrambling to re-establish yourself if and when the next update comes.

Social media may no longer be the traffic engine it once was for publishers, and the focus has shifted from chasing clicks to cultivating relationships, credibility, and recognition. Building brand, rebuilding trust, fostering community, and maintaining a presence ready for the next algorithmic shift all contribute to a sustainable social strategy.

The news companies that thrive won’t be those lamenting the loss of referrals but those that treat social as an ecosystem for audience connection. So, yes, social still works for news — just not in the way that it used to.

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