The media landscape is more fragmented than ever. A few decades ago, many people in a given geographical area consumed the same handful of sources, such as local morning TV and radio newscasts, nightly national newscasts, and their regional daily newspaper.
Those same information sources exist today, of course, but they’re fewer in number and their audiences are smaller. They’ve been joined by a vast set of newer information sources, both “official” and crowdsourced: social media apps, niche blogs, YouTube channels, and interest groups on platforms like Reddit and Discord, to name just a few.
In this environment, leaders must work harder — and more creatively — to achieve the same audience reach. This requires an open-minded approach leveraging new technologies and platforms, including many we might not be personally familiar with. If deployed effectively, these seven strategies can help.
1. Consider a TV Network or Video Channel
Launching a new television network is no small feat, but it’s certainly feasible for larger organizations willing to make the investment. For example, David Miscavige, leader of the Scientology religion, launched a television network that shares his organization’s message with its vast membership while reaching new audiences.
If a TV network is too daunting for your team at the moment, consider instead a video channel on YouTube or TikTok (or both). These platforms have lower barriers to entry while enabling impressive scale; the world’s top YouTube and TikTok influencers have tens of millions of followers and receive hundreds of millions of unique monthly impressions.
2. Develop a Strong Social Media Presence Across the Major Platforms
A strong and diverse social media presence can complement and draw more attention to your TV or video presence. Create accounts on major platforms like Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, and other platforms as appropriate, guided by a data-driven understanding of where your audience spends its time online. Then, hire a professional social media manager — perhaps an entire team, depending on your organization’s capacity and content-development plans — to professionalize and scale each one.
3. Cultivate an Audience on Niche Social Platforms and Communities
Don’t ignore smaller or lesser-known social platforms and communities. Some have surprisingly large and loyal followings. Additionally, some communities’ most active users may spend little, if any, time on “mainstream” platforms.
The need to “follow the audience” compels major media outlets like Bloomberg to branch out into more niche social communities like Discord and draw in new audience members they might otherwise miss. If your organization has limited resources, survey the landscape to see which communities its direct competitors are targeting, and prioritize accordingly.
4. Develop a Feature-Rich Mobile App (If It Adds Value)
However, many seldom-used smartphone apps are “junk apps” that add little value for the user. A compelling, feature-rich app, in contrast, can enhance your audience members’ relationship with your organization, with potential benefits on both sides. For your organization, these include more time spent within your electronic ecosystem and thus more opportunities to engage productively; for audience members, these include more useful information and experiences with attendant improvements in sentiment.
5. Drive Email Signups (But Don’t Bother Them Too Much)
“Email has an ability many channels don’t [which is] creating valuable, personal touches at scale,” says bestselling author and marketing expert David Newman.
Many organizations take Newman’s advice seriously and place email outreach at the heart of their audience-building efforts. However, given the incredible volume of email most people receive, it’s important to take a light touch with your email list. Your emails should be relatively infrequent — no more than once a week — and emphasize informational value over marketing appeals. If an email isn’t likely to teach your audience something new, don’t bother sending it.
6. Create a Newsletter or Regular Magazine
Email is the ideal vector for an informational newsletter or digital magazine, either of which can enhance your credibility with new and existing audiences when executed effectively. You can use your newsletter or magazine to provide:
- Updates about your organization and the wider ecosystem in which it operates
- Inspiring stories from your employees, audience members or other stakeholders
- Informative content about problems your organization is well-placed to solve (or the solutions it’s working on)
7. Embrace New Social Environments, Like the Metaverse
Dynamic organizations tend to be open to new platforms and communities. They recognize the potential long-term value of these places’ growing audiences and are willing to put up with a bit of a learning curve to reach them.
One example of an emerging social environment that may become very important in the future is the metaverse. Despite slower-than-expected adoption, improvements in virtual and augmented reality technology will nudge users toward the metaverse over time. Like popular niche communities such as Discord, the metaverse may eventually become too big to ignore.
Broaden Your Outreach
If done consistently and executed effectively, these seven innovative strategies can broaden your organization’s audience reach and improve engagement.
Some, such as launching a TV network or video channel of your own, may require expertise that your organization doesn’t yet have in-house. To pursue them, you may need to hire new staff or partner with trusted outside vendors.
What’s more, you may find that your organization’s culture or competencies fit better with some of these strategies more than others. For example, if you run a software or technology company, developing a compelling mobile app likely aligns well with your team’s skill set. Likewise, media or information technology firms tend to be adept at producing insightful and helpful content that reinforces their messaging and nudges audiences toward the solutions they offer.
This being the case, don’t feel as if you have to do too much, too soon, or that you absolutely must try out all 10 of these ideas. A narrower approach that meets or exceeds your objectives is better than a broader one that doesn’t do any single thing well.
