235,000 registered readers and 14% growth in page views in first year
According to Neilsen/NetRatings, in the first month after introducing its community-focused site,
USA Today enjoyed a 380% increase in new user registrations and a 21% rise in unique visitors.
In the month of March alone, the site generated 40,000 new comments. In the first year after the
re-launch of USAToday.com, they had 235,000 new user registrations and a 14% increase in
total page views across the site.
Reader comments and other social features on every page of every issue
With comments, reviews, forums, content recommendations, blogs and personas, USA Today
provides readers with the ability to interact with content on every page of the site, starting with the
home page. The site also enables USA Today to mobilize a nation of citizen journalists
through popular reader photo journals and blogs.
For over 25 years, USA Today has brought America the news in an accessible and entertaining way. In 2007, they launched a landmark social media deployment on USAToday.com. According to Publisher Jeff Webber, the goal was "to help readers quickly and easily make sense of the world around them by giving them a wider view of the news of the day and connecting them with other readers who can contribute to their understanding of events."
The site's Facebook syndication lets readers share their community interactions on USA Today with their Facebook friends. This integration also lets USA Today make its content and conversations visible to a wider audience (and Facebook reports that each article exported to its site gets on average three return clicks).
"Our relationship with Pluck has enabled us to integrate social media tools throughout the site, creating a powerful combination of content and community to engage and inform our readers."
- Jeff Webber, Senior Vice President and Publisher, USA Today
