The future of news is digital

THREE weeks ago, thepost’s reporters and editors had a brainstorming session on how to cover the election on our digital platforms. Our expectations were modest.

We did not set out to have spectacular coverage but to simply get it right.

Yet even with those humble ambitions, the monumental task ahead became apparent as ideas were banded around. There was a profound fear that we might not be able to adequately cover Lesotho’s most important political event.

With hindsight, we now know those fears were not overdone. A lot could have gone wrong and there were, indeed, some minor glitches that might have turned into epic disasters.

We are thankful that we did a decent job. A lot of what we got right boils down to the instant feedback from the audience. When we mixed up the numbers we were instantly chided and corrected. When the sound was not right the audience was quick to alert us. The same applies to when our cameras were not properly focused.

The first lesson for us is that the audiences know what they want and you can only ignore their feedback at your own peril. The second is that the quality of content, not technology, attracts audiences to digital media platforms.

The third is that there is a hunger for well-packaged news content. In the past 28 days, our Facebook page has reached 606 000 people, half of which were reached in the last seven days. Engagements are up by 413 percent over the same period.

We have also seen huge growth on our WhatsApp Newsbot which was launched last month. We believe the future of news is digital.

thepost is investing more in human resources and seeking new talent as we take a long-term view to consolidate our position in digital news.

Our growing numbers on digital platforms provide an opportunity for advertisers to tap into a wider audience. Our commitment is to keep the numbers growing and engaged with our content. We promise both the numbers and attention that advertisers seek.

Thank you for the support