Association of Online Publishers

Converting scrolling into revenue growth

Date: 10 Sept 2026 , 9:00 - 12:30
Charlotte Street Hotel, London

Our CRUNCH series continues to be supported by our TAB partner Google

The average 16-34-year-old spends 151 minutes on social media every single day. It’s where they’re researching, relaxing, and – increasingly – finding news; the 2026 Digital News Report from Reuters Institute shows that 52% of under 35s say social media, video networks, or AI chatbots are their primary news source.

Alongside this seismic generational and behavioural shift, publishers are also contending with the rapid drop in search traffic referral as AI-driven search continues to re-shape the internet. Combined, social media is becoming a vital platform to drive audience growth and engagement – but monetising that output is still challenging.

On 10 September, we brought the digital publishing community together in London to discover new strategies to maximise return on investment in third-party platforms. Here’s a quick overview of what we explored…

Which platforms are proving successful for publishers looking to engage and monetise their audiences
Strategies from leading publishers on how to effectively monetise off-platform content
Tailoring your content to the platform to ensure the right message reaches the right person at the right time.
How to align editorial and commercial priorities when developing social-first content formats
Decoding the social media black box to understand how to drive performance on third-party platforms

CRUNCH is a series of four events where publisher members can come together with their contemporaries and the industry for

Collaboration to progress key industry issues
Inspiration and learning
Networking

Bitesize

Discoverability is increasingly being driven by algorithms. In an era when people are not coming to your owned and operated platforms to consume content, it's more important than ever to have repeatable content that is easily recognisable in a stream of suggested content within other platforms.
Personalisation is everything if you want to grab someone's attention. Lean into niche content where you can build a community around your expertise.
Originality wins in an algorithmic world. If you can't be first, be second - and if you can't be second, then try something else entirely.Invest the resources in developing specific content for each platform. The rules of engagement are different across YouTube, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, and Substack, but if you can get it right, then you can amplify your reach exponentially.
Likes and eyeballs aren't enough to measure the value of your work. Attention and outcomes are far more beneficial metrics when demonstrating value to clients.
Trust is increasingly being awarded to individuals rather than to brands. Empower your journalists to develop their own brands and communities, and show your audience the humans behind the keyboard.
Test, learn, and repeat ad infinitum. The digital world moves rapidly, and you need to constantly tweak and refine your social media playbook.