Building trust and loyalty with our audiences is more essential than ever.

Why?

It drives repeat engagement, increases subscription and retention rates, and turns casual readers into long-term supporters and advocates of your journalism. In this fragmented media ecosystem — amid discussions of declines in search traffic — engagement is foundational. 

This was the topic of my session for the recent 2025 Latin American Conference. 

In today’s fragmented and platform-dominated media environment, building trust and loyalty isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s the foundation for long-term success. Yet while we talk often about trust, we don’t always take action to earn it. 

During my session at last week’s 2025 INMA Latin American Conference, I focused on five proven strategies to deepen audience engagement and turn casual readers into loyal, long-term supporters. 

Here’s a recap of the ideas — with real-world newsroom examples — that any news organisation can start applying now.

1. Lean into habit formation

Loyalty starts with frequency. Media brands should create experiences that invite readers back daily or weekly:

• E-mail newsletters are the strongest driver of habitual use — especially when written in a personal, conversational tone.
• Push notifications (when used thoughtfully) help maintain touchpoints.
• Build content series or franchises readers return for, like a recurring columnist or recurring feature.

Case study: Newsletters are fundamental to Advance Local’s strategy for deepening reader engagement, driving greater frequency of visits and building reader habits. 

2. Employ user needs to superserve your audience

Understanding why people come to you — not just what they read — is key to building loyalty.

• Map your content to user need frameworks (e.g., “educate me,” “inspire me,” “give me perspective”).
• Identify which needs you’re overserving or underserving based on content and performance.
• Let these insights drive editorial priorities, tone, and formats across platforms.

Case study: 70% of Omroep Brabant’s content fell into the “update me” category yet generated just 22% of their pageviews.

3. Build connections with individual journalists

The rise of the content creator has led to important lessons on individual brands, authenticity, and format.

• Encourage and teach journalists to build personal followings through newsletters, videos, or social posts.
• Use bylines with photos, bios, and links to social to put a face to the story.
• Let audiences “follow” reporters or topics for personalised alerts or newsletters.

Case study: During last year’s elections in the United States, The New York Times deliberately featured its journalists front and center to build loyalty.

4. Deliver content that feels personalised

Personalisation of content—or even the perception of it — helps readers feel seen and understood, which strengthens their connection to a news brand and increases the likelihood of return visits and loyalty.

• Use reader data to recommend stories based on interests or behaviours.
• Segment newsletters or homepage modules by reader type (local, political, sports, etc.).
• Create liquid content so consumers can have options for how they get their news.

Case study: Schibsted aims to serve different users — some who visit frequently, some only a couple of times a week — with different interests.

5. Engage your audience in a two-way conversation

A two-way conversation fosters trust, deepens engagement, and transforms passive consumers into active, loyal participants.

• Be active in the comments and on social platforms by taking part in the conversation.
• Solicit story ideas or questions from your audience.
• Host regular AMA (ask me anything)-style events with reporters or editors.

Case study: A Gazeta recently topped 1 million Instagram followers in a region of just over 4 million people. Engagement was key to their strategy.

These five strategies show loyalty isn’t won overnight — but it can be built through smart, intentional newsroom choices. If you’re focused on engagement in 2025, this is where to begin.

If you’d like to subscribe to my bi-weekly newsletter, INMA members can do so here.

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