News Republic Welcomes Influencer Content with the Introduction of Spark Platform

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- News Republic, a global mobile news service operator owned by Cheetah Mobile (NYSE: CMCM) and known for providing mobile news services with a personalized experience, today launched Spark, a micro-influencer content distribution platform powered by artificial intelligence technology. Built within the News Republic mobile app, which is available on iOS and Android, Spark leverages machine learning technology to provide relevant influencer content for users. The launch of Spark transforms News Republic from a news app supported by top tier news outlets into a comprehensive content app with both evergreen influencer content and breaking news. Effective immediately, users of News Republic can start receiving and subscribing to content, such as blogs and YouTube channels, from Spark members. 

According to Charles Fan, Chief Technology Officer of Cheetah Mobile, "News Republic is an AI-powered content app designed to provide the most personalized and relevant content to users. Our algorithm analyzes user preferences to help discover their interests. With the introduction of Spark, users can not only get breaking news from our 2,000+ top news providers, such as Reuters, Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and BBC International, but also stay on top of exciting content from their favorite YouTubers and bloggers. Spark harnesses the power of artificial intelligence, helping all influencers reach a highly personalized set of potential audiences."

Micro-influencer content is known to provide authenticity, a unique point of view, deep storytelling, and access to a more tailored audience¹, which makes the introduction of Spark critical in diversifying the content sources within the News Republic app. For influencers, Spark serves as a great channel for additional traffic to their sites.

"Spark solves two main key issues for influencers: audience identification and monetization. Spark is a distribution platform for all content creators who would like to make the most out of their existing content. Upon joining Spark, creators can get their content in front of the 600 million users across Cheetah Mobile's suite of apps, including Clean Master and CM Security, alongside coverage from News Republic's top news outlets," Fan said.

The first three pieces of original content published via Spark from the first 1,000 content contributors will have an audience of approximately 10,000 people. "The sign-up process for Spark is intuitive. Content creators simply provide a blog RSS link and/or YouTube channel to complete registration. The system will then start automatically pulling content into the News Republic app. Our monetization model for Spark influencers is ad revenue share," Fan said.

Over 350 content contributors have joined Spark since the beta version launched, including TED speaker Jia Jiang², who has significantly expanded his reader base since joining Spark, "For an online influencer like me, reach is everything, and having Spark as a channel for my content is simply awesome! The analytics tool tells me who my new readers are so I know what to write for them." Robin Mudge, owner of Playful Kitty³, a top pet blog, commented that she noticed a significant increase in her website traffic. "Page views of my blog has increased 29% since I joined Spark," she said. "I appreciate the traffic, and I'm so glad people are enjoying my content."

Spark is emerging from its invitation-only beta phase, with registration now open to the public. The platform also welcomes potential writers without existing blogs, as it provides a publishing tool for posting content in News Republic. About 20% of the current content contributions are new to the influencer space, meaning they didn't have an established blog until they joined Spark. The platform has helped them get more exposure. "My articles published via Spark have received more than 10,000 clicks within two weeks. It's been fun writing topics I'm truly passionate about, while having the opportunity to share it with the right audience set. I think the AI aspect really makes the difference in helping my content get seen by readers that are truly interested in my work," said Christina Kitova, a top performing writer specializing in military and politics writing.

News Republic drives Cheetah Mobile's content operations alongside the company's live video broadcasting and casual gaming endeavors. Influencers and content creators can now be a part of the success of the News Republic app, which has achieved the No.1 position in the News and Media category in 23 countries/regions on iOS and has been No.1 in News and Media category in over 60 countries on Google Play. For more information about Spark, visit: https://goo.gl/VtlC3R.

About Cheetah Mobile

Cheetah Mobile is a leading mobile internet company.  It aims to provide leading apps for mobile users worldwide and connect users with personalized content on the mobile platform.

Cheetah Mobile's products, including its popular mission-critical utility applications Clean Master, CM Security and Battery Doctor, help make users' mobile internet experience smarter, speedier, and safer. The Company has attracted 612 million global Mobile MAUs as of September 2016, of which approximately 80% are located outside of China.  Leveraging the success of its mission-critical applications, Cheetah Mobile has launched its line of mobile content-driven applications, including News Republic and Live.me.

Cheetah Mobile provides its advertising customers, which include direct advertisers and mobile advertising networks through which advertisers place their advertisements, with direct access to highly targeted mobile users and global promotional channels, which are capable of delivering targeted content to hundreds of millions of users.

SOURCE Cheetah Mobile