
Traditional or digital, it’s all news to me
“Tell me how I deal with this new media?”
Oh how I wish I had a dollar for every time I have been asked that question, well maybe a $100.
My response every time is that there no such thing as old or new media, it’s all media, only the delivery mechanisms have changed.
The question you should be asking yourself is, who is the audience I want to talk to and where do they get their media from?
Being straight forward, if you want to talk to under 25s, well then the traditional ways of reaching an audience, such as print, TV or radio is not the place you should be.
This is the ‘here and now’ generation who won’t wait until midday on a Monday to watch ‘Game of Thrones’ so will pirate the copy so they can watch it when they want in the manner they want to.
Yes they may love Waleed Ali, and who doesn’t the guy is brilliant, yet will wait to download his latest editorial piece from The Project via YouTube, as they won’t watch through segments they do not care about, to get to what they do.
For this generation, forget the TV and radio, its hand held devices, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
So does this mean the death of traditional mediums, if the next generation does not watch TV or listen to the radio?
The answer is simple, no it does not, as what we see as generation’s mature and life gets busy, think kids, people suddenly finding the time to surf through the online to find exactly what they want gets a little complicated and the TV reappears has they head into their 30s.
Next thing their back on board with Carrie or Karl and even Kochie!
So with such diverse options for seeking information, how do you communicate your message in the right way to the right people?
Firstly, remember the number one rule it’s all media, so the same rules apply as it always has, be clear on your message and stay on it, do not change it to suit the medium.
I like to think of it this way. Your message is the constant and the story is merely the dressing, or the teaser, that is wrapped around the message.
The power to generate change comes only through constant repetition, so if your message keeps shifting, your ability to shift thinking will be greatly diminished.
What you change is the story connected to the medium. So if you are going to tackle digital, remember it’s a two way street, so if you take your message to that world learn their rules and present in a way that the audience can interact with you.
The best advice I can give is to be clear on your message, know whom you are delivering it to and do so in a way that engages with that audience. If you’re not sure how do that, well get some expert advice.
If you would like advice on how to tackle changing media world, then book a consultation with Randal today.