Popularity of forest.fi grew by 64 percent

Forest.fi, international news site of the forest sector, has again attained a new record in readership figures.

During the early part of 2024, the Finnish readership of forest.fi increased by 82 percent, compared to last year. As for the English version, the readership grew by 64 percent. The periods compared are from start of January to mid-May in 2023 and 2024.

Forest.fi is an international online publication for the forest sector. It is published by the Finnish Forest Association, a cooperative organization for forest communication established in 1877.

The increase in readership has been very much the same in comparison to earlier years.

Tero Karjalainen, Editor-in-chief of forest.fi, considers the figures to be significant for the online publication, which has reported on topical issues in the forest sector for over 15 years.

’The increased popularity of forest.fi is based on the high-quality and sustained work of the Finnish Forest Association. Thanks to it, the magazine attracts an ever wider readership both in Finland and abroad,’ Karjalainen says.

While we are delighted at the growing readership, the values most important to us are facts and research-based information. Of course, they too can be presented in a way that interests the readers.

’At the same time, while we are delighted at the growing readership, the values most important to us are facts and research-based information. Of course, they too can be presented in a way that interests the readers,’ Karjalainen continues.

The person in charge of forest.fi is Communications Manager Anna Kauppi, while the visuals and social media presence are the responsibility of Communications Specialist Vilma Issakainen, both at the Finnish Forest Association.

’Success is always the result of teamwork,’ says Karjalainen.

It’s all about the content

The popularity of forest.fi is due to half a dozen simultaneous measures, including improved and targeted marketing within social media, search engine optimization, improving the distribution channels and marketing the site during events organised by the Finnish Forest Association.

In Anna Kauppi’s opinion, the most important factor is to produce content that the readers find significant.

If people find a story or a topic to be uninteresting, there’s no way you can attract them – not with the headline, or with marketing in social media or a newsletter.

’If people find a story or a topic to be uninteresting, there’s no way you can attract them – not with the headline, or with marketing in social media or a newsletter. Our readers are interested in new technology and forest news linked to current affairs, such as Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Other stories that attract readers are those that provide helpful tips or guidance; on how to identify signs of forest damage, for example. These are what we do write about,’ says Kauppi.

Karjalainen explains that the choice of topics is based not only on analytics, but also on the instinctive awareness based on experience.

’When you get the feeling about a topic that there’s a story in it, then that’s what we write about. This helps to keep the magazine fresh and individual, which you won’t get if you base your choices on analytics only, and AI won’t help you there either,’ says Karjalainen, who started at the FFA just over two years ago, having previously worked as news editor at the evening newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.

The forest.fi website is currently being redesigned. The new site will be launched after summer.