As recently as one year ago, it would have been laughable to discuss a "Facebook strategy" for legacy news media companies.
As of early 2010 Facebook became, by membership, equivalent to the fourth-largest country in the world. Mainstream media aren't laughing anymore.
In April, Facebook rolled out a new set of social plug-in tools. These widgets offer media companies the chance to deliver their news "where the audience is".
One example is this embeddable "LIKE" box, which can be placed on a news web site and used to encourage visitors to "like" the media company. Why does a media company care? Once someone on Facebook "likes" your content, you can then post news stories to your company's Facebook page and those stories will be automatically "published" onto the page of every single person who is a "fan" of or likes your news site.
For example, KGW.com in Portland Oregon now has more than 3,500 'fans.' Every news story published onto the site's Facebook page is instantly added into the feed of those 3,500 fans. Each one of them has anywhere from 100 to 300 friends with whom they can choose to "share" the story. Those 3,500 can exponentially turn into 350,000 simply by a station's "fans" assigning value to the content.
That is the power of using social media not merely as a marketing platform but also as a news publishing platform.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
The Mobility of News
There was a time when the news came once a day. It landed on your doorstep, in your driveway, or through the mailbox. After the morning paper arrived, you'd have to wait until the next morning for the next round of news.
Radio meant no waiting for news. TV meant seeing the news. And getting it more often: Mornings, noon, at dinner and late night. Miss a newscast? No problem. There will be another in 3-5 hours.
The internet changed all that. Anyone at a computer with an internet connection could get the news in real time.
Mobile technology is poised to complete this transformation by enabling access to and consumption of news anywhere, anytime - for everyone.
A recent study of (web-enabled) "smart phone" users found they would rather lose their car keys, wallet or purse...than lose their smart phone. For most owners, the smart phone has quickly become the single most indispensable piece of technology in their lives. What's shocking is the speed of penetration of this latest disruptive innovation.
The implications of ubiquitous "smart phones" for legacy media are profound. The web-enabled mobile device is both the greatest threat, and the greatest opportunity, for legacy media companies.
The threat is already visible. Newspaper and TV companies who've already seen their core news product cannibalized by migration to the web now must face the fact that even their own web sites will be diluted by migration to mobile. Each time the screen shrinks - for example from TV to TV station web site to TV station mobile site - so do the ad dollars. That is the threat.
Mobility is also opportunity. Someone must create the content that will populate these mobile devices. Today, legacy media outlets have an advantage: They are already creating vast quantities of daily, fresh news content that is trusted in their markets. Any new entrants must compete with their strong existing brand, established processes for finding and reporting news, and the volume of content they generate. In many ways, legacy media outlets are in the lead position to own the news space on mobile. As news consumers migrate from more traditional platforms to their new smart phones, they are likely to take with them the trusted brands from those bigger "screens".
The only question is: Will legacy media companies have the courage to take the plunge and invest in their mobile news platform before they lose their head start?
Radio meant no waiting for news. TV meant seeing the news. And getting it more often: Mornings, noon, at dinner and late night. Miss a newscast? No problem. There will be another in 3-5 hours.
The internet changed all that. Anyone at a computer with an internet connection could get the news in real time.
Mobile technology is poised to complete this transformation by enabling access to and consumption of news anywhere, anytime - for everyone.
A recent study of (web-enabled) "smart phone" users found they would rather lose their car keys, wallet or purse...than lose their smart phone. For most owners, the smart phone has quickly become the single most indispensable piece of technology in their lives. What's shocking is the speed of penetration of this latest disruptive innovation.
The implications of ubiquitous "smart phones" for legacy media are profound. The web-enabled mobile device is both the greatest threat, and the greatest opportunity, for legacy media companies.
The threat is already visible. Newspaper and TV companies who've already seen their core news product cannibalized by migration to the web now must face the fact that even their own web sites will be diluted by migration to mobile. Each time the screen shrinks - for example from TV to TV station web site to TV station mobile site - so do the ad dollars. That is the threat.
Mobility is also opportunity. Someone must create the content that will populate these mobile devices. Today, legacy media outlets have an advantage: They are already creating vast quantities of daily, fresh news content that is trusted in their markets. Any new entrants must compete with their strong existing brand, established processes for finding and reporting news, and the volume of content they generate. In many ways, legacy media outlets are in the lead position to own the news space on mobile. As news consumers migrate from more traditional platforms to their new smart phones, they are likely to take with them the trusted brands from those bigger "screens".
The only question is: Will legacy media companies have the courage to take the plunge and invest in their mobile news platform before they lose their head start?
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