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People around the world are spending substantially more time with media. Most media time is now spent online and much less time reading and viewing traditional media. Researchers predict the trend will continue.
In the last five years, the amount of time people spent using the Internet nearly doubled from an average of 59.6 to 109.5 minutes a day, while time allocated to more traditional media shrank from 402.2 to 375.8 minutes, according to new research from ZenithOptimedia. Mobile technology in particular has created new opportunities to consume media, by allowing people to access the internet while out and about.
The consumption of newspapers, magazines, television, radio and cinema – in fact, all traditional media except outdoor advertising – will continue falling due online competition for the foreseeable future, the researchers say.
ZenithOptimedia predicts that between 2014 and 2017, the amount of time spent consuming media around the world will increase by an average 1.4 percent a year while internet consumption will grow by 9.8 percent a year. The internet’s share of overall media consumption will rise from 12.9 percent in 2010 and 22.6 percent in 2014 to 28.6 percent in 2017.
“The average person already spends half their waking life consuming media,” said Jonathan Barnard, ZenithOptimedia’s head of forecasting. “But people around the world are clearly hungry for even more opportunities to discover information, enjoy entertainment and communicate with each other, and new technology is supplying these opportunities. Technology also enables brands to communicate with and learn from consumers in new ways.”
A New World for Public Relations
Although the downfall of newspapers and magazines curtails many media relations opportunities, the media consumption trends open enormous new opportunities for public relations. Corporate journalism is replacing traditional journalism. The rise of web-based publishing and brand journalism allows PR professionals to become their own reporters.
To meet public demand for more online information, companies are striving to create content for their own websites and to market content to third-party websites and blogs. Whether working with agencies or in-house personnel, companies and other organizations can publish their content on websites they control, and then promote the publications through social media and content marketing. The proliferation of websites and blogs, some with large audiences, has created extraordinary opportunities for content marketing.
Led Odden, CEO of TopRank Online Marketing, notes that 10 years ago about 25 percent of his firm’s consulting work involved content creation. Now almost its work involves creating content such as blog posts, case studies, contributed articles, video and audio as well as press releases.
Though the marketing department may create some of the content for publication, PR professionals have other valuable skills besides content creation, he says. They are uniquely positioned to pitch the content to third-parties like online news sources , niche bloggers or websites owned by major media firms. Top PR pros are skilled in storytelling, creating narratives that engage, inspire and connect with customers on an emotional level.
“Public Relations pros that are skilled in messaging, content planning, social media and promotion have an excellent base to become better content marketers than many of the opportunists now calling themselves ‘content marketing experts’” Odden states. “The main area of opportunity is in measurement, because marketers are accountable for performance and business outcomes in ways that most people in the PR world aren’t.”
Bottom Line: People are spending more time consuming information online and less time reading or viewing traditional media, especially newspapers. Rather than bemoaning the demise of earned media prospects, PR can take advantage of new opportunities presented by owned media and content marketing in social media.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
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