Are you following attention?
What Brands Need to Know in the Wake of Youth Media Shutdowns
Some of the biggest publications in youth media globally have recently shut down –– but what does this mean for brands? It might be tempting to sweep this under a broad generalisation when really, it is more a reflection of the changing landscape, a response to new market realities, and in alignment with how audiences are engaging with content today.
Here are some ways the landscape has evolved:
Shifting attention – Brands need to be focused on attention and where attention lies today. Content once lived mainly on publications' websites and, over time, was syndicated towards social channels to help broaden their reach.
💥What does this mean? 💥
Today, brand is built on social, which also means that content is made for social FIRST. Not last, not “based on what is left of our pockets”, not as a last resort for reach –– but first.
Shifting definitions – What is “quality”? Youth audiences are consuming news, finding entertainment, connecting with peers, and even creating content themselves on these social platforms.
💥What does this mean? 💥
Where polished, on-brand visuals were once considered the holy grail of “quality”, advertisers now need to redefine their expectations of the word, and instead, focus on producing relevant content that is platform-native.
Power to the creators – As users’ attention and past engagement habits shift from publication-styled content towards more UGC-styled and influencer content, social platforms, too, are now prioritising introducing platform features to enable better and faster content creation. So much so that amateur creators are capitalising on this and capturing more attention than ever before, willingly giving their content away for free.
💥What does this mean? 💥
These nano / micro creators are becoming advisors with their hyper-relevant content, garnering significant levels of trust from their followers! Brands need to tap into these opportunities and shift from more traditional advertising mindsets.
This shift in attention to social platforms has highlighted the revenue challenges faced by more traditional media publications, and advertisers evidently have and must continue to focus on where their audiences’ attention lies, and respectively shift their advertising dollars there. This is an important turning point for the media and advertising landscape –– for brands, publishers and content creators alike to evolve together with their audiences and where they are shifting their attention to.
It’s evident that the remuneration of content creators is changing. The question is how will traditional publishers adapt to this new landscape? Alternatively, will the emergence of an entirely new, attention-grabbing platform help resolve these publishing challenges?
