By Abiola Ayankunbi
Media platforms are the available avenues of reaching the target markets. The platforms are the print and digital or online. Online medium can be but not limited to facebook, twitter, instagram, you tube among others. Furthermore, news presentations in respect of these platforms must defer because they are aimed at different segments of the market.
Abiola Ayankunbi
The print platform refers to a situation whereby the news or information is shared through printed publications. It is physically printed on paper and it includes newspaper, magazine, newsletter, journal, etc. However, digital or online contents are distributed via the internet. Contents are expected to be short, simple and straight to the point and not necessarily sensational or controversial. This involves images and sounds; opportunity to display videos is abound. Real time interactions with readers are assured. Besides, it gives room for instant updates.
Regrettably, most print media firms are finding it difficult to differentiate their print editions from the digital editions. The firm has to decide whether its digital edition is a standalone publication or an online version of the newspaper. What is common these days is setting up websites and upload all what are in the print editions. This is not good enough because characteristics of readers differ.
Similarities in print and digital editions are parts of the problems why print edition no longer sell. Readers now have free access to the digital edition where they can read contents at their own convenient time. No premium is placed before news can be read and this is applicable to virtually all the firms. If any of the media firms places a sort of restriction on its news items in form of a pay wall, readers will just migrate to other websites that have no such restrictions. This is made possible because of similarities in the news items more so, their sources of information are nearly the same.
Abiola Ayankunbi
It amuses when sentiments are attached to the number of readers of an online version news. Media managers have not taken time to analyse the readers of such news as most of them do react to the headlines without reading the full stories. If a media firm is convinced that it has an appreciable number of online readers, it should break the news online and refer its readers to the print edition for the conclusion or details of such breaking news. In many instances, online readers exceed one hundred thousand within an hour; this should encourage the media managers to device means of turning the hits on their websites to revenue.
E copies that could have been marketed in form of subscription are easily and readily available for those who care! The practitioners outdo one another in this exercise; they send to their friends, family members and relations on a daily basis. This writer has access to e copies of most newspapers because he gets them freely from different sources. Maybe, the senders want his comments or remarks on the contents; what is clear is that they are being sent without being requested for.
Revolution must start now; there is a need to re-invent content, re-organise newsroom, re-design formats, re-discover marketing among other things. Good journalism should be seen as a good business and ensures different content for different platform.
Specifically, newspaper should have long narrative; tablet should be depth with experience, mobile should be associated with instant news while internet should be concerned about breaking news, browsing, archiving, aggregating and hyper linking. Journalists are in very strategic and good positions; they should leverage on it appropriately for the benefits of their various companies.
Media managers must learn how to communicate what’s new or different. Why would the reader care about what you have to say? Why is it relevant to them? What are people talking about right now, and how does this tie in with what you do? All these and more should guide the contents’ providers.
Focus on human interest should be considered while creating contents. Once one can put a human face to the story, he has succeeded in creating an emotional connection that will draw readers in and keep them engaged; all things being equal. Meanwhile, journalists must learn how to keep the contents real. Although, journalists often joke about never letting the truth get in the way of a good story, one should never, ever write something he knows is untrue. We all make mistakes, but a mistake is very different from a lie.
In order to move forward, media managers must give priorities to promoting news online, complete it in the print edition, separation of online from print, who are buyers of the print editions and where are they based/located(?), running a newspaper house like a business venture, collective responsibility on decisions reached at management meetings and enabling law against copyright; legal protection of materials as ascription won’t be enough but a sort of royalty based on the “accrued patronage” experienced by the user.
In conclusion, each of the platforms must be uniquely developed, not purely in terms of engineering or techniques, but in terms of design, presentation, packaging, brand image, and all other attributes which together, give readers the anticipated satisfaction they are paying for.
…Ayankunbi is MD/CEO at AbingMO3 Marketing Management Consultancy
0802 305 1315
abiolaayankunbi@yahoo.com
