7 Reasons Businesses Are the Future of Publishing

How people consume news and information is fundamentally changing. In a week that saw Twitter celebrate its fifth birthday and LinkedIn welcome its 100 millionth member, we take a look at the shifting information landscape and its implications for marketers.

With major innovation come marketing changes, and the Internet is no different. During periods of innovation some things become commodities and others become scarce resources. Understanding the commoditization of information in this new age of publishing is critical for marketers.

7 Signs of Changing Information Consumption Habits

It is easy to notice that information consumption habits are changing. But how can we confirm this and, more importantly, how fast are they changing? Here are seven statistics that will shed some light on the future of information consumption.

1. In 10 Years Newspaper Classified Revenue Has Fallen 92% - Classified advertising was long a major money maker for the newspaper industry. But since 2000, the floor has dropped out of the classified advertising market. See chart below:



2. Adults Don't Pay for News On Tablets and Mobile Devices - The graphic below illustrates the disconnect between adults that are currently paying for news and the growth of news consumption on mobile devices. This data shows that payment for news and information isn't keeping pace with consumption. (Original full size chart here)

3. 47% of American Adults Get Local News On a Mobile Device - Nearly half of all American adults (47%) report that they get at least some local news and information on their cellphone or tablet computer. (This data comes from a recent Pew Internet Study available here.)

4. Americans Say They'd Feel Little or No Impact If Newspapers Closed - 39% of people surveyed said they would feel no impact if their local newspapers shut down. 30% said it would have a minor impact, but only 28% said the impact would be major. (This data comes from a recent Pew Internet Study available here.)

5. 75% of U.S. Adults Unwilling to Pay For Online News - About three-quarters of respondents to the survey of 2,251 U.S. adults said they wouldn't be willing to pay anything for online news if their newspapers failed to survive. (This data comes from a recent Pew Internet Study available here.)

6. 65% of Mobile Connected American Adults Feel It Is Easier to Keep Up With News - 65% feel that today it is easier to keep up with information about their community than it was five years ago (vs. 47% of nonmobile connectors) (This data comes from a recent Pew Internet Study available here.)

7. 47% of American Adults Use Their Cellphones and Tablet Computers to Get Local News and Information - (This data comes from a recent Pew Internet Study available here.)

Marketing Takeaway

This newest data continues to illustrate not only the rise of online media consumption, but also highlights its ubiquity thanks to mobile devices like smart phones and tablet computers. However, in a time when information is becoming an omnipresent commodity, something becomes scarce. In today's online information age, attention is the new scarce resource. With news always around us, it is easy for people to experience an information overload. This scarce resource introduces new challenges and problems for marketers.

To face these challenges, marketers should continue to adopt inbound marketing tactics like search engine optimization, social media marketing and blogging. Businesses need to become content creators in ways that demonstrate their industry expertise. By producing relevant content, companies create more opportunities to get found by potential customers through social media and search engines. Getting found in relevant ways enables businesses to capture the very limited attention of their prospects and convert some of them into leads.

Information consumption habits are clearly shifting. How is your business adjusting its marketing to meet the new expectations of today's information consumers?

Photo Credit: moriza

Posted by Kipp Bodnar on Fri, Mar 25, 2011 @ 10:00 AM