Audience numbers, article tags, engagement rates, clicks, likes, views — how do news companies actually use these metrics to boost revenue and subscriptions? 

“The winners in today’s news ecosystem are those who adapt — not just in content but in how they engage their audiences,” George Montagu, head of insights at FT Strategies, shared with attendees at the recent INMA Media Subscriptions Summit in Amsterdam. “The future belongs to publishers who think beyond traditional models and truly integrate data into their decision-making processes.”

On an aggregate level, overall news consumption has remained stable, Montagu said: “We’re not actually seeing any kind of decline in overall traffic and consumption.” 

News avoidance is also not something to worry about, according to Montagu, because new avoiders still have high consumption rates: “They’re selective in their avoidance; they’re not actually avoiding entirely.”

The main problem is a declining interest in news among younger demographics, Montagu said, referring to data from the Reuters Institute. A study by Channel4 shows younger people trust news from influencers just as much as they do the BBC. The definition of what “news” is to young people has also changed. 

“There’s a real challenge in capturing the attention of younger readers,” Montagu said. “It’s not just about making news accessible but also about rethinking how we present it in ways that resonate with changing consumption habits.”

Referrals through search and social media

Google and Facebook remained the largest source of referrals to news Web sites in 2024. Google Discover is increasingly part of the mix. ChatGPT is quickly becoming a new source of referrals but still is 4,328 times smaller than Google.

Despite the expectation that news content on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok would bring people to news sites, the data shows a decline in referrals through social platforms. 

If the winners are adapting quickly to the ecosystem, Montagu said, the losers “are essentially disintermediating themselves through prioritising social as the primary gateway to their content.”

Strategies for engagement 

The solution? 

“We probably only have 60 minutes of someone’s day,” Montagu said. “We need to think about how people are spending those 60 minutes and where.”

The two dominant ways of doing this are by either super-serving niche audiences or expanding product utility, providing entertainment and news in one bundle to add depth to the service, Montagu said. Following the user needs model is a great way to do this, as is forming creator networks to centralise production and expand audience reach. 

The goal is to become “a destination” for readers.

What shifted for Sifted 

Sifted, founded in 2018 by Financial Times Innovation Editor John Thornhill, is the go-to media outlet for European startups. But like all startups, the business model became fragmented after several years. 

“We had lost our way,” according to Richard Baker, CEO of Sifted. “Our leadership was confused, our team was confused, and, most importantly, our customers were confused about what we were offering.”

Baker brought in FT Strategies to help the company better understand its audience and devise simple tactics to re-engage customers. Emanuele Porfiri, head of data at FT Strategies, used a combination of Web analytics, stakeholder interviews, and direct customer feedback to gauge how the company was doing and where it was letting down its customers.

On the back of the data analysis, Sifted started producing more content but not “more for more sake, which is a complete waste of time,” Baker said. 

Instead, they focused on how they can add value for their customers. Baker now operates by the criteria that for “every for every piece that we publish, we ask, ‘Why are we doing this? How are we making our customers’ lives better?’”

In terms of article engagement, analysis showed 10% of articles were driving 38% of total pageviews. Porfiri recommended the company determine out why “How To” content in particular was less successful rather than not producing it altogether. 

Baker and his team are now working on directing this content away from the core audience towards members that use it the most. 

Sifted also launched a single-seat pro subscription: a new product with a high price point. Despite initial skepticism, Baker said it seems to be taking off. They also created a Pro Deals Tracker to allow users to see startup deals taking place and help them do their jobs better. It has been a major factor in Sifted’s high renewal rates for premium products.

Ineffective tagging was also limiting the discoverability of content. Addressing this and improving infrastructure for data collection will allow Sifted to launch sections such as AI and fintech to highlight that information more effectively. 

Porfiri emphasised the importance of aligning this data analysis with strategic decision-making: “If you want to analyse your content’s impact, you need a structured taxonomy. If your tags are too broad, they become meaningless. Refining the classification system allowed Sifted to gain actionable insights.”

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