Finance and business focused news platform Moneycontrol has witnessed significant traffic growth in the recent past and data from leading agencies has confirmed that Moneycontrol has continued to eclipse its rival and market leader Economic Times in terms of Unique Viewers, Page Views, and Times Spent. In an exclusive interaction with MediaNews4U – Javed Sayed, Chief Content & Strategy Officer, Moneycontrol decoded the success strategy and his plans to grow further in business news space:
1) With Moneycontrol surpassing Economic Times, what strategies or innovations have contributed to this significant growth in online engagement?
The strategy has been quite simple – to ensure our readers get what they need, which is news, views, data points, insights, and in-depth coverage of all important events from areas such as economy, capital markets, startups, politics and international markets.
The website and its social media assets ensure that we remain connected with the reader. Moneycontrol’s page views (420 mn+) are double the size of Economic Times. (213 mn) Readers spend nearly three times more time on our website (667+ mn minutes) than on ET. (223 mn minutes)
2) The latest Comscore data highlights Moneycontrol’s impressive lead over its competitors. How does the platform plan to maintain and further enhance its position as the go-to source for users, policymakers, and corporates?
We have a strong editorial muscle as compared to the competition. Our teams are breaking a lot more stories in real-time than any other business news platform.
We ensure that everything that matters to India Inc and stock markets breaks first on Moneycontrol. Similarly, our robust product team ensures that the content gets good visibility.
If you remember, the Prime Minister had recently given an exclusive interview to Moneycontrol. Similarly, we keep getting exclusive access to policymakers, market experts, economists, corporate leaders. Also, we are constantly ramping up our coverage, improving our product, adding new tools on the tech side. The Network18 group isn’t shying away from making any big-ticket investments in the product. Our tech team has come from some of the top startups in India. Some of our editorial and product talent comes from financial markets or the best of the newsrooms in the country. All of this ensures that we stay ahead.
3) Moneycontrol’s extensive time spent metric is noteworthy. Can you elaborate on how the platform keeps users engaged for longer durations and the impact this has on its influence among different stakeholders?
The content we serve our readers is the key. Readers will only come back and spend time on your platform if they are getting some value, be it in terms of markets, economy, or the world of startups. An important metric to measure the popularity of Moneycontrol would be our paid subscription platform MC PRO. It has almost seven lakh paying readers. Other platforms such as ET Prime don’t even come close. We are among the top subscription-based news products in the world.
4) In terms of influence, how has Moneycontrol strategically positioned itself to attract and resonate with both individual users and high-profile entities such as policymakers and corporates?
It’s a mix of several factors. Our research and tools that provide insights into the stock markets is an area that gets us a lot of traction. The website’s credibility gets further enhanced by its opinion pieces and the calibre of its contributors. The stories we break also ensure that we become the first choice of influential readers, and advertisers who find great value in Moneycontrol’s offerings.
5) Moneycontrol’s emphasis on deep research, breaking stories, and market analysis is evident. How does this commitment to quality content contribute to the platform’s credibility and user trust?
Most of our journalists and other editorial resources are seasoned professionals in their field. Our on-ground network of reporters and verticals such as Markets, Economy, Corporate, Energy, Personal Finance and Real Estate and others ensure that stories break in real-time. Our research and analysis team delivers best insights on markets. Ultimately, Moneycontrol’s success lies in the amount of investment that has gone into building a strong editorial and tech backbone.
