In the early days of the internet, there was print. Whether you were in broadcast or print, publishing text was essentially your only option if you wanted to have a presence on the web. Suddenly radio and TV broadcasters became publishers, too.
But that changed with web 2.0, when mobile and cloud computing made it possible to reliably stream audio and video, which created a multitude of platforms for blogging, webcasts, podcasts, social media, video streaming and mobile apps. Media companies now have more than 60 platforms from which to choose to disseminate content, according to Sandeep Hulsandra, VP, Media Practice at Brightspot.
鈥淭he sheer number of channels, platforms and devices out there makes it incredibly overwhelming to developers. Where you distribute your content is almost as important as the content itself,鈥� Hulsandra said in a recent webinar, Why Personalization Is Media鈥檚 Next Frontier.
Different audiences access information through different channels and platforms. Millennials and post-millennials are more likely to consume content through mobile apps and streaming services, while older users may gravitate to traditional formats such as print and TV-based programming.
Consumers also switch channels depending on the device they鈥檙e using, so media companies need to develop multichannel strategies that deliver an omnichannel experience. This doesn鈥檛 mean every publisher should be on every platform, but rather the ones that make sense based on audience preferences.
Choosing the right CMS platform
Deciding which channels to participate in starts with a key consideration: choosing a publishing platform that integrates with the content channels you intend to use. Without seamless integration, you may end up with separate silos that create a lot of work to share information across multiple channels.
Inevitably, the question of whether to build or buy a content publishing platform will come up. Developing the technology in-house may be more attractive to a company with high customization needs. But it also means hiring and retaining in-house developers with the requisite skills and knowledge to create a platform that meets your needs while keeping up with technology advances.
A platform that cannot absorb new features and functions will put you at a disadvantage against competitors. Currently, there鈥檚 a strong emphasis on employing artificial intelligence (AI) to train algorithms that match content with users. Because AI remains in its infancy, there aren鈥檛 many experts you can recruit to develop AI applications internally.
For most companies, buying a platform is the advisable course of action. Then you have to decide which vendor delivers the best value, functionality, scalability, customization and third-party integration.
You want a platform vendor that shares its technology roadmap so you can plan for future added functionality. The vendor should be open to customer feedback and offer reasonable time to market. These days it shouldn鈥檛 take more than 90 days to migrate to a platform. Any longer, and you risk launching services on technology that鈥檚 already outdated.
Understanding what viewers want
Selecting content channels shouldn鈥檛 be done in a vacuum. You must figure out what types of content your audience is looking for. Viewership data and website usage metrics can clue you in on the types of content your audience wants. If you already use multiple channels, the data also will tell you how your audience prefers to consume your content.
Video is especially popular now. It鈥檚 expected to account for 82% of all IP traffic by 2021, according to a 2017 Cisco report. Pew Research Center has found that prefer to watch their news vs. 34% who prefer reading. If you produce video content, consider whether an over-the-top (OTT) strategy makes sense for some of it, instead of just relying on your website and traditional content providers.
Also, how effective is your social media strategy? Roughly two-thirds of Americans (68%) at least occasionally, according to Pew. And don鈥檛 forget that audio is making a comeback, thanks to digital assistants like Amazon鈥檚 Alexa, Apple鈥檚 Siri and Google Assistant. You also need to think about mobile apps and the types of content your audience likes to access with their mobile devices.
Whichever investments you choose to make, be sure there鈥檚 a large enough audience to support the investment, said Bob Kempf, VP, Digital Services at Boston public broadcaster . Don鈥檛 lose sight of what you are to your audience, he advised.
Speaking at the Why Personalization Is Media鈥檚 Next Frontier webinar, Kempf said that as WGBH looked to upgrade and personalize its digital experience by deploying Brightspot鈥檚 enterprise CMS to modernize its content delivery, it was clear that viewers gravitate to WGBH primarily for video content. Audio and text came in second and third, respectively. Knowing that has helped Kempf and others at the preeminent public broadcaster develop a strategy to optimize channel programming that makes the most sense to its audience.
Finding your perfect CMS platform fit
As media companies and other businesses look ahead to the digital landscape of tomorrow, in order to remain competitive, it鈥檚 crucial they recognize the importance of delivering a personalized, omnichannel experience to their audiences. Identifying a modern CMS is key to achieving that goal.
The following resources can help you determine which solution is the best fit for your business needs:
- 5 Signs You Need a New CMS鈥攁nd 5 Ways You鈥檒l Benefit From an Upgrade
- What Your Business Could Lose Without a Modern CMS
- 6 Trends You Should Know About Before Choosing a CMS
- Looking for the Right CMS? Here's a Checklist
With the Brightspot CMS, migrating to a modern platform can take just a few months, at a lower cost than a pricey, year-long overhaul. To learn more about how this next-gen platform can revolutionize the way you publish content and engage with your consumers, request a demo today.