It’s not unusual for me to eat my lunch at my desk and watch some video. It turns out, I’m not alone.
The midday spike in Web traffic is not a new phenomenon, but media companies have started responding in a meaningful way over the last year. They are creating new shows, timing the posts to coincide with hunger pangs. And they are rejiggering the way they sell advertising online, recognizing that noontime programs can command a premium.
Not surprising.
The thing that bugged me about the online newspaper-dayparting discussion a few years ago was that no one really talked about what it meant to program different types of content throughout the day.
No online newspaper really got past publishing “editions” (read: updates) interspersed with some new content and breaking news. Much like your MBO list, these are basic concepts that every site should be doing by now.
Maybe I have a different perspective because I produced morning radio, but dayparting is more about understanding the behaviors of your audience throughout the day and creating opportunities to engage them within your daypart/edition. Online newspapers should have dedicated space to program content based on what the majority of its audience is doing/thinking about/obsessing about at that time of the day.
So during the lunch block, if you know your audience is about to watch video, why not assign a staffer to man the blog during that time? Update the best of what’s out there, what’s going viral, etc., bring it to your audience and get the conversation going.