The media landscape is becoming more and more curious – here’s how to make sense of it all.
Changes to the media landscape are occurring at record pace, largely thanks to rapid technological advances. The following provides a snapshot of trends we expect to see in the (not-too-distant) future:

The New Media
Evolution impacts significantly upon the effectiveness of traditional marketing methods. As media consumers exercise greater control over what they will consider, new ways to reach target audiences are developing.

We’ve already seen a response to the decreasing penetration of television advertising in the upsurge of product placement. By approximately 2010, television audiences will no longer bear the interruption of commercials, simply skipping all ads at the touch of a button.

Podcasting is also an avenue that can be utilised by savvy marketers. Sponsoring, or advertising within a specific podcast presents an invaluable opportunity to reach a niche target market, whilst creating the branded content itself can also be beneficial.

The rise of podcasting as an alternative to radio seems inevitable. Podcasting describes audio content created and posted on the Internet, by everyday people with specialist knowledge and interests. By subscribing to content feeds, you can plug your music device into your computer overnight and download new content while you sleep. Podcasting enables media consumers to select the information they want to listen to, when and where they want. Traditional radio cannot compete with this level of convenience or range of content.

So, what does all this mean for your business?

Keeping abreast of changes in technology and trends is essential. One of the simplest ways is to use the rise of the internet to your advantage – your company website must become your most powerful marketing tool.

Search Engine Optimisation
At Connecting Images, we’re just ‘nerdy’ enough to be excited about the science of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – basically, customising your website to achieve a high ranking on search engines such as Google.

This is achieved in a number of ways, including identifying and targeting the most relevant keywords, ensuring effective site, page and content design, and generating links to and from your website.
When you consider that over 85 per cent of all traffic on the net is referred from a search engine, and that 90 per cent of people don’t look past the first 30 search results, it is easy to understand how important prominent positioning is.

The First Crucial Step
A crucial first step is achieving business-to-business recognition – that is, making sure your site is visible on Google (in Australia) when potential clients search by your company name. As an example, test the theory on these two websites that we’ve worked on.

Profitable Hospitality offers educational seminars, management systems, as well as online sales and support designed to make hospitality management more efficient and profitable.

The STOPline provides an independent and confidential hotline for the receipt of disclosures relating to corrupt or fraudulent activity, criminality and serious misconduct (whistleblowing services), to businesses committed to transparent corporate governance.

Both these websites have achieved phenomenal positioning. Each is also currently implementing more sophisticated keyword optimisation.

Ultimately, as the media sector becomes more complex and consumer demands and habits change, the ability to navigate through this changing landscape will become even more crucial.