User-generated content, or UGC, has come into its own in the past few years, driven by the popularity of Facebook, News Corp.’s MySpace, YouTube and, for newspapers, a significant increase in community Web contributions.
With this in mind, the Newspaper Association of America last fall commissioned a study to understand how adult consumers perceive and participate in creating UGC, particularly on newspaper Web sites.
The study, by Clark, Martire & Bartolomeo, Inc. concluded awareness of some types of user-generated content remains relatively low, particularly where it exists on newspaper Web sites.
However, survey respondents’ increasing interest in UGC strongly suggests there are real opportunities. Providing space for the small but growing number of Web users who do wish to post their content on newspaper Web sites and promoting such content for site visitors interested in such content may increase both site traffic and online revenue.
The most promising areas for newspaper Web sites in the user-generated content area are in user-edited guides to local businesses and local events. User comments on articles written by journalists and blogs or journals written by journalists also have the potential for positive impact on newspaper site traffic and revenue.
Results of the full study will be available in May, but a preview is available already on the Digital Edge. Read the preview here.