Monday, August 1, 2016

Advertising and the Future of Print Media

Social media and the pervasiveness of the internet have shifted the way companies advertise. Now, rather than paying for ad placements, more and more companies are creating and distributing their own content to gain access to prospective customers. The content they are generating is not focused on selling products or services. Rather, it closely resembles the content being created by the traditional media companies. It is designed to entertain and inform, and thus gain access to a receptive audience of consumers.

What does this mean for traditional media companies, namely magazine publishers?

First and foremost, it means that the competition for audiences is greater than ever before, simply because there are more players in the game. It also means that the ways the industry monetizes its content are going to change. In fact, they already are changing.

Take a look at these sponsored content statistics. We know that companies that distribute branded content are doing so online, where a large percentage of media engagement occurs. Engagement rates are particularly high on mobile phones and tablets. This is the kind of content you want to create: sponsors value your content's ability to spread far and wide via the internet and, more precisely, mobile devices.

But you already knew that. Here's the challenge: how do you do it? You might still rely heavily on print advertising revenues and don't want to risk losing them by creating a digital version that cannibalizes your print readership. However, you can see where the market is heading, and know that you will ultimately need move with it. How do you balance these short- and long-term needs?

At PixelEdge, we believe the answer is straightforward: generate content that is unique for each platform.

'Going digital' does not imply that you are abandoning your print editions. It also doesn't mean that your digital edition should be a replica of your print editions. To put it simply, people don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for the latest digital devices if these devices are just doing the same things that pieces of paper can. Having a branded app enables you to frequently target vertical segments of your readership with content that is specific to their interests. By following this strategy, you not only avoid cannibalizing your print readership, you also increase the value of your brand by giving your readers a compelling reason to download your app and engage with your content online. Perhaps most importantly, sponsors value access to these targeted verticals of readers and are interested in having their brand associated with this highly targeted content. If you're interested in learning more, check out this blog post.

At PixelEdge, we believe that magazines are not going away. They have access to something that will always be of tremendous value: a loyal and engaged audience. But the manner in which audiences consume content is changing, and the magazines which continue to be successful will have to change with them. Helping magazines to make this change is the core of our business.