It can be difficult to get a reader’s attention across the Internet.

“In an ideal world, every publisher delivers a personalised experience for every user to maximise lifetime value,” Chanan Fogel, vice president, APAC at Taboola, told attendees during the INMA South Asia News Media Summit this week, sponsored by the Google News Initiative, Stibo DX, and the Indian Newspaper Society.

He then detailed how difficult it can be to get a reader’s attention across the Internet: “It’s undeniable that we’re living in an attention economy. Attention is the scarce resource that allows our business to thrive.”

Fogel asked three questions: “In this world of constant stimulation, competing content, and fragmentation, how do we make the most of the attention that we get? And how do we maximise and then increase user attention? How do we ensure that users get the most impactful and relevant content for them?”

Fogel shared the results from a recent study showing people typically spend 25% of their time online on the Internet, followed by 23% on social platforms, 17% on video platforms, 16% on search platforms, and 15% on shopping platforms.

Fogel believes personalisation is the key to getting and keeping the attention of a user. “The possibilities for personalisation here are endless,” he said. 

Fogel explained that users might give social platforms their demographic data like their age, location, or favourite sports team, but they are less likely to post on social platforms their different concerns, life troubles, or life interests. Instead, people are likely to search online and read articles on these various topics. 

Readership data includes this expanded view of what a user might be interested in, Fogel said, and that is the data companies can use to personalise a user’s experience.

Instead of sticking to demographic targeted data, especially among increased security concerns across the Internet, “contextual targeting allows marketers to target article topics and, therefore, the people reading those articles as a way to reach new users without their personally identifiable information or cookies,” Fogel said.

So, where do advertisers come in? 

Fogel explained that with readership data, Taboola is able to empower their advertisers by allowing them to deliver the right messages to the audience at the right time.

Fogel presented four steps for how Taboola uses readership data to engage users, keep them on a platform longer, and increase revenue for advertisers.

1. Provide a customised user experience on a platform.

2. Populate the platform with varied advertisers' content across the user journey. 

3. Add a layer of smart segmentation to ensure the right content reaches the right user at the right time to drive maximum value.

4. Provide reporting, transparency, and accountability across all platforms. 

Complete coverage of the INMA South Asia News Media Summit can be found here.

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