Facebookand Publishing

October 23, 2017

Print publishing has slowly been circling the drain as revenue drops (at least depending on what type of publishing you are in).  Some publishers have tried going totally digital, hoping that online subscriptions and ads would pay the bills, but Google and Facebook are siphoning off the source.  The Next Web shares more of how publishers are struggling in the article, “Publishers Need To Learn From Mega Platforms Like Facebook.”

Like many smart companies, publishers have joined social media and hoped to build their brand image on them.  Publishers, however, have learned that Facebook and other social media platforms keep changing their requirements.  The article compares it to a type of Darwinian survival of the fittest.  The publishing companies with deep pockets are surviving by investments and smart digital upgrades.

Jeff Bezos is used as an example because he has turned video streaming as one of Amazon’s main profit generators.  The suggestion is that publishers follow suit with video and then live video streams.  The comments sections in these videos create an ongoing dialogue with viewers (while at the same time allowing trolls).  It turns out that commoditized content on social media is not the way to go.

Publishers need to instead concentrate on building their own platform apparently:

This is the perfect time for publishers to take control of their platforms and the video streams that will drive the next phase of the digital content revolution. With advances in live video programming and the speed with which original content can be created, publishers can greatly enhance what they already do and know, and monetize it through changes in advertising models that fuel online media platforms as well as live-streaming video platforms.

The Internet is more than video, however.  Podcasts and articles are still viable content too.  It might be time to double think your career if you are a social media manager.

Whitney Grace, October 23, 2017

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