Stakeholders in the communication and media industry have emphasized the importance of connecting with consumers through the use of engaging contents and distribution channels.
The practitioners disclosed that the above are some of the things that would shape the future of the industry. They made this known at the Blanche Aigle Communications Media Roundtable held recently. It is noteworthy that Blanche Aigle communications is a public relations agency located in Lagos.
Interestingly, media has evolved over the years and has existed as long as information needed to be passed. In the olden days, information was passed through Group heads, Town criers and Messenger. This evolved over time into the Print newspaper system which operated successfully albeit with its geographical barriers. The world was thereafter introduced to the era of radio and television and subsequently witnessed the emergence of the Internet which changed the whole game till date.
Charles Odii, Founder SME 100 Africa disclosed that the future of media is content and distribution while video and live streaming is the present day future of media.
He explained that businesses need to seek better ways of engaging with their customers through the right contents, adding that most businesses need to position themselves as a media outfit as it regards to content generation. He stated that companies like Netflix, Amazon and Apple are already investing heavily on original contents.
Moreover, he said distribution is also important for the success of every business, stating that no matter how good a product or brand is, if it is not well distributed through a good channel, it would not reach the right target market. In the case of media, distribution whether traditional media or new media is equally important.
Amazingly, with the birth of new media, the world has seen the advancement from the regular television adverts, radio jingles and billboard adverts to include other media marketing forms such as: Influencer marketing, content marketing, YouTube and Google adverts, Mobile adverts amongst others.
On this note, Lehle Balde, Senior Associate Innovation Strategy & Partnerships, Business Day Media urged media houses to think outside the box and evolve with time especially with emergence of new media.
She added that communication and media companies need to engage with their audience or readers and truly understand what they want. This she said would make the organisation remain relevant in the contemporary changing world.
In the same vein, David Adeleke, Editor Business Insider SSA said it important for media outfits to find sustainable business model of operation. This he pointed can be achieved by investing great content generation, investing in training and retraining of staff, taking data seriously, collaborating with other stakeholders and embarking on merger with other firms in order to make the media industry bigger and better.