For regional magazines and niche publishers, video monetization is even more of a priority
Video monetization represents one of the great opportunities of the next five years for digital publishers, but success isn’t going to come easily, as the industry is still wrapping its head around it. As with many aspects of business for media companies, building audience is of foremost concern, but how do you go about doing it?
Of course, technology is just as much a key concern, and as we’re seeing more and more, tech can separate the haves from the have nots as publishers try to catch up on the development curve.
And then there’s distribution. Multiplaftorm publishers, especially those who use the Mequoda Method, know how to do this, but video takes things to a new level.
TheMediaBriefing.com has some insights into video monetization. Let’s see what they have to say!
[text_ad]
Steps to Making Video Monetization a Reality
TheMediaBriefing.com primer on video monetization includes seven tips: Get management backing, create the right content, use the right treatment, devise the right marketing strategy, determine the right distribution strategy, be sure to experiment, and know your audience.
“It may seem obvious to say, but success in any business is predicated on knowing your customers, and specifically their needs, as well as their wants. However sometimes this can be forgotten in the chase for ‘viral’ video plays and the temptation to create content which can lead to a sizeable but transient audience,” Sumant Bhatia writes.
“Brands and advertisers seem much more willing to work with publishers who deliver a committed and loyal audience: the business site Quartz is a good example of a publication which executes this well and has seen its revenues and visitors flourish. New and more sustainable business models can flow from knowing your audience like trusted friends, including native advertising, content marketing, affiliate marketing and e-commerce opportunities.”
How Regional Magazines Can Benefit From Video Monetization
Readers want useful, relevant video content, so what better place to find it than in their own back yard with local and regional magazines? A recent TheMediaBriefing.com article discusses how important it is for such publishers to embrace video monetization.
“Here comes the difficult part. As we are only too well aware, the media industry is in transition. Business models have not fully developed, to simply step from one to the next. The legacy press continues to have expensive production costs – but they are needed because traditional advertising revenue is still way ahead of digital. This is where the importance of video comes in. Advertisers go where the audience is and the audience is in video. We are still very much in the infancy of monetising video through social platforms but it’s beginning to happen and definitely worth investing in,” David Hayward writes.
[text_ad]
“Let’s be clear print is not dead yet. It is sustainable in the short term but for how long? In a recent speech, Ashley Highfield, the chief executive of Johnston Press, told the Westminster Media Forum that the industry was far from ‘in crisis’, that migration to digital is moving forward and a valuable collaboration with the BBC had been agreed in principle. But the regional press is certainly in need of radical change. That needs to happen now and creative online distributed video needs to be at the heart of it.”
Should Digital Publishers Completely Block Ad Blockers?
And now, speaking of publisher monetization, back to the ad blocking debate. Interesting piece at TheMediaBriefing.com pitting a proponent of cutting off content completely to users of ad blocking programs against an ad block provider.
“As an industry, we’ve raised users’ expectations by giving them a lot for free in the past – we shouldn’t be surprised they’re now getting sassy about the idea of giving something in return. But they’re going to have to get used to paying for it somehow. And until someone has a better idea, our inelegantly-named-but-surprisingly-effective ad-blocker blocker will remain in situ,” City A.M. Digital Editor Emma Haslett writes.
But AdBlock developer Eyeo’s Ben Williams disagrees.
“Apart from the fact that this approach is possibly illegal, there are of course fundamental concerns publishers must grapple with regarding how they choose to engage with their readers. Most are well aware of the risks involved in forcing users into a corner, but can justify the potential pitfalls by the experimental, short-term goals they are setting. But what if the audiences are permanently disaffected because of the experiment? What if those that have left never revisit?”
Have any tips to add about video monetization? Tell us what’s working for you in the comments!
To read more about video monetization and other industry news, visit TheMediaBriefing.com.
