Digital tools for media outlets are multiplying exponentially: what used to be a matter of printing paper, distributing it, and generating revenue through public or private advertising is now a complex web of clicks, social media, and metrics tools. And, given changing news consumption habits, news organizations’ teams are forced to constantly train to understand their audiences and achieve reach, loyalty, and monetization.

With the goal of providing knowledge to achieve digital growth and providing new tools to the media ecosystem, WAN-IFRA , with the support of the Google News Initiative (GNI), created the Audience Bootcamp . During this program, a series of personalized training sessions and mentoring sessions were held to support media outlets in Latin America. With the goal of accelerating ten media teams in Honduras, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay, Panama, and Venezuela, the Bootcamp organized tactical and strategic meetings to achieve effective knowledge transfer. The focus of the training and consulting sessions included three key aspects: editorial, the incorporation of technology, and monetization.

“The development of this program has been very important for WAN-IFRA , allowing us to continue contributing, through our mission, to the digital transformation of news media in Latin America. I can attest to the relevance this project had for each of these media outlets, the teams involved, and everyone’s commitment to actively participating in the training and mentoring sessions, which also brought about changes in processes and results.” Olga Britto | Ibero-America Director, WAN-IFRA

Editors and technical teams from eight Latin American countries participated in this program with the goal of improving audience diversity and taking steps toward more equal representation to boost future growth. This report presents the program’s key findings.

PARTICIPATING MEDIA

The program initially included 24 hours of training for all media outlets, which took place between September and November 2022, and was complemented by five hours of personalized mentoring for each team, led by the WAN-IFRA consulting team. The experience with the ten media outlets in this first phase led to the
identification of six of these organizations to continue to a second phase. The decision was made based on the media outlets’ performance and evolution, the incorporation of recommendations, and their participation and commitment during the training sessions during the first period.

The six media outlets selected to complete the program were La Diaria (Uruguay), La Nación (Costa Rica), El Heraldo (Honduras), La Prensa (Panama), Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela) and Prensa Libre (Guatemala).

“Our partnership with WAN-IFRA, in a constantly changing digital environment, is crucial to scaling the Google News Initiative’s mission to promote quality journalism and provide media professionals with the tools and resources necessary to address current and future industry challenges. The results of the bootcamp are astounding and motivate us to continue working to build a more sustainable, diverse, and innovative news ecosystem in Latin America and around the world.” Fabiana Zanni | Head of Latam, Ecosystems & Associations, Google News Partnerships.

The work in the second stage was more intensive. A model action plan was created for each media outlet, which included a diagnosis of the areas for improvement in the audience development strategy, objectives to be met, and tasks to be completed to achieve these goals. The teams were trained on various topics and in the use of tools such as
Google Discover, Google Search Console, SEO-focused titles and content, new organizational models, financing models, social media content distribution strategies, trend detection and analysis, among other topics. The second stage of this learning and support process involved more than 10 hours of consulting tailored to each media outlet and each strategic plan to boost their growth. The achievements were reflected in the program’s impact.

“The media outlets that made the greatest progress in the program were those that integrated their teams into the consulting team’s training dynamics. The media outlets that stood out in performance were the most flexible and willing to learn and implement the recommended processes and analyses.” Jazmín Bonilla | Member of the WAN-IFRA consulting team

The teams underwent changes not only in technical aspects but also at a structural level, that is, in the makeup of their teams, through the incorporation of new specialized roles and how this interacts with the work they do with audiences. Specifically, four of the six media outlets incorporated new profiles for traffic analysis, SEO specialists, or evergreen content creation. Others reorganized schedules to serve audiences during peak traffic hours or to link these profiles with other teams in the sales or technology departments.

Learnings and Impacts in the Media
After the strategic training and consulting process, the teams participating in the accelerator confirmed that what was implemented in their media led to significant growth indicators within their outlets: 86% improved their technical SEO practices, as well as their social media practices and use of tools like Search Console; 57% explored new topics to position themselves in Google Discover and Google News.

Meanwhile, 71% created new reports to track metrics, adjusted aspects of the site to improve performance, and worked to better identify KPIs based on their strategy. Fifty-seven percent worked on various aspects to improve their subscription strategy and streamlined their internal processes. Additionally, of the six teams, two created roles specifically focused on audience management, a decision that has proven to have a significant impact on the media in the medium and long term.

The media experienced considerable growth in areas related to audiences.

THE DAILY – URUGUAY

During the first stage, La Diaria’s work focused on improving the acquisition and retention of new subscribers. To complement this knowledge, the second stage included defining positioned topics to monitor, using video as a monetization resource, developing new digital formats, and creating reports in Google Analytics.

Starting with the Bootcamp, tools were incorporated so that each team member could make decisions based on measurable data, using Google Analytics or Search Console.

“The bootcamp served to synthesize an internal discussion process and define an organized path toward digital first.” Cecilia Álvarez | Web Director of La Diaria.

COCUYO EFFECT – VENEZUELA

In the case of Efecto Cocuyo, from Venezuela, one of the challenges was to increase traffic through organic sources and from other countries in the region. Throughout the Bootcamp program, the increase in unique users was 23% during the second phase, and the increase in page views was 27%.

Bootcamp Period vs. Pre-Bootcamp

The impacts for Efecto Cocuyo included the production of more evergreen content, the use of Google Search Console, improvements to the technical aspects of the site, and improved processes. In the future, the site migration will be a great opportunity for the outlet to generate better organic positioning and in Google Discover and News. Another important change they implemented was the creation of meetings with editors and directors to work on improving communication channels,
the skills and knowledge of those responsible for the areas, and the implementation of effective strategies to improve the performance of the site and the company.

“We learned more about SEO, keywords, and Google Search Console, which we hadn’t used before, among other things. We knew the basics, and this opportunity has allowed us to see how sustained our growth has been, thanks to putting into practice what you’ve recommended to us in a clear and educational way. It’s been a gradual but persistent effort on the writing side.”   Ronny Rodríguez | Editorial Coordinator at Efecto Cocuyo.

THE HERALD – HONDURAS

Before starting the Bootcamp, El Heraldo de Honduras needed to improve its metrics. However, after completing the program, they registered a 400% growth in Discover, thanks to the adjustments and recommendations made during the Bootcamp.

The editorial team implemented SEO best practices and recommendations made during the Bootcamp, such as providing up-
to-the-minute coverage of the election of the new Honduran Supreme Court justices.

Following the consulting work, El Heraldo achieved improved Google rankings, registered an increase in traffic across social media, and increased its SEO tools, consolidating its growth. Additionally, changes were made within its newsroom, such as the reorganization of its work teams, the use of bylines on its news pieces to ensure transparency, and the promotion of a new strategy for its YouTube videos, all of which contributed to this growth.

“We thank every member of the wan-ifra and Google News Initiative team for their valuable sessions led by leading professionals, their responses to every question, and their personalized assessment of our media.”    Astrid Zambrano | Digital Editor at El Heraldo.

THE FREE PRESS – GUATEMALA

In unique users, Prensa Libre de Guatemala saw nearly 12% growth during the 5-month Bootcamp period compared to the previous five-month period.

Discover saw 73% growth during the Bootcamp period compared to previous months. This growth was the result of improved practices in the tool’s use.

As for their usual practices, they increased the number of audiovisual pieces on social media and created new metrics reports.

“I liked seeing the team always thinking about topics when they left the bootcamp meetings and applying what they had learned. The bootcamp classes are immediately applicable. For me, it was a learning experience, in the sense of seeing other models. I think that’s very useful.”  Doménica Velásquez | Editorial Director, Prensa Libre de Guatemala.

From an editorial perspective, following the Bootcamp, Prensa Libre promoted a more robust SEO agenda in its election coverage. For example, the election coverage section was renamed “Guatemala General Elections 2023” instead of “Free Decision.”

THE NATION – COSTA RICA

Comparing the Bootcamp period with the previous period, La Nación de Costa Rica recorded a 10% increase in unique users. Regarding page views, La Nación maintained its positive growth in this metric. These changes were recorded after implementing actions learned during the training on SEO, Discover, and evergreen content to achieve greater direct traffic.

Among other achievements achieved by this media outlet during the Bootcamp was the extensive training program implemented by Grupo Nación for other media outlets within its company: La Nación, La Teja, and El Financiero. Additionally, the Digital Desk team received training on SEO, Discover, and evergreen content to increase direct traffic.

“During the program, we reinforced the need to work with a structured plan across departments, as well as the importance of defining the roles of each area to achieve objectives. To date, the development of strategies and the creation of spaces for brainstorming between departments have been institutionalized, which has favored audience growth and connection with them.”     José Quirós Gallegos | Audience Contributor, La Nación de Costa Rica.

THE PRESS – PANAMA

During the Bootcamp acceleration process, La Prensa de Panamá’s organic traffic positioned itself as the main source of traffic and has consolidated above social traffic and email campaigns. In this sense, Discover was one of the most important areas of opportunity for the outlet. While its performance has fluctuated significantly throughout 2022, during the Bootcamp’s activation months, its clicks grew by almost 100%.

A valuable learning experience for this medium was a better understanding of how the conversion funnel and data analysis work, as it encouraged the team to improve its UX and incorporate data interpretation processes or methodologies that represent continuous improvement.

“Implementing all these strategies from all the areas covered—paywalls, Google Ads, SEO—was all very rewarding, and it also demonstrated everything we’ve learned. The enriching aspect wasn’t just how to create or improve the strategies, but also how to use the tools to improve.” Luimmy Rivas Rondón | Journalist at La Prensa de Panamá. 

THE PROGRAM’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE REGIONAL MEDIA ECOSYSTEM
The program’s impact and results are evident: the newsrooms that participated in the Bootcamp strengthened key areas of the digital age in just a few months, and also implemented tools that will continue to yield good results and growth.

• Media outlets need professional support and assistance to change unfavorable trends in their metrics.
• The application of tools (such as those worked on in the Bootcamp) guarantees positive evolution if their appropriate use continues.
• Using tools like Google Discover can ensure national ranking.
• Modifying internal processes and restructuring teams is an effective way to improve site performance.
• Using Google tools allows media outlets to set new growth goals.

Amidst ongoing and rapid technological transformations, ongoing training within newsrooms is imperative to incorporate new tools that help improve the delivery of content to audiences. The results obtained during the Bootcamp acceleration process demonstrate that with the right support, visible achievements can be achieved.

AUDIENCE BOOTCAMP PARTICIPANTS 2022-2023

ABOUT WAN-IFRA
The World Association of News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is the global news media organization. Our mission is to protect the rights of journalists and publishers worldwide to operate independent media. We provide our members with the expertise and services to innovate and thrive in a digital world and play their crucial role in society.

ABOUT THE GOOGLE NEWS INITIATIVE
The Google News Initiative is a program, launched in 2018, that collaborates and supports media outlets to contribute to their sustainability in the digital age. It focuses on three pillars: strengthening quality journalism, business models, and fostering technological innovation in newsrooms.

EQUIPMENT

• Olga Brito, Ibero-American Director | WAN-IFRA
• Vanina Berghella, General Coordinator of the Audience Bootcamp – LATAM | WAN-IFRA
• María Noel Scanarotti, Audience Bootcamp Coordination Assistant – LATAM | WAN-IFRA
• Raquel González, Deputy Director of Ibero-America and WAN-IFRA
• Daniela Bermúdez, Digital Manager Latam I WAN-IFRA
• Juan Manuel Lucero, News Lab Lead Latin America, Google
• Rodrigo Bonilla, Industry Relations Manager, Google
• Fabiana Zanni, Head of Latam, Ecosystems & Associations, Google News Partnerships.

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