Large brands should strive for it. Media is a universal, accessible, and understandable language for communicating with the audience. For now, there are no signs that the situation will change.
Yes, full-fledged media for a small company is too extravagant. But media can mean many different things, such as mailings or Telegram channels.
The main bump in the road to successful media is a lack of understanding of why media is needed and the resources to deal with it. It's not just about money. It's about management and creativity, as well.
The market is highly competitive right now. You can find media addressing any inquiry. Isn't it easier to use alternative ways to attract attention to the product instead of all that fuss?
Yes, the competition is extensive. But all that means is that we need to go better and higher. Things working out on their own is an old scenario that must be left in the past. We need more thorough and well-planned communication.
Still, we don't need to jump into a whole new industry. Invisible (a wine shop) mailing with a wine selection is also brand media. Plus, it's super effective and cheap.
Yes, we have started to call a website a luxury. It requires many resources and two or three years for the project to gain readers. But website-based brand media often establishes stronger relationships with the audience.
Nevertheless, the format depends on your goals and resources. You can start with mailings, add social media, and then switch to a website. If these steps help you meet your business goals and are cost-efficient, then let it be.
Let's assume that a frozen waffle brand decides to go with brand media. Where should it start? Look for a big idea, a budget, and a team? Find a format and define the target audience? First, we have to form business goals. They could be to increase sales, explain why this breakfast is healthy, or explain that people should forget about frozen pancakes and switch to your waffles. Next, it's wise to turn to those who have experience in launching brand media. They will help advance the project's configuration, terms, and budget.
When we calculate the budget, we give an initial vision of the concept — you can't estimate a budget without it. Then, you choose a contractor and align the budget.
The agency will then offer you a publisher, who will gather a team and start to think the project through. It takes us around three months to create website media. Sometimes, it may take up to nine months or a year. In most cases, if it takes that long, it means the team is lacking proficiency. People are unprepared and can't make decisions because they lack experience and expertise. As a result, they spend a lot of extra money.
Let's talk about the team. How many people do you need, and who are they? Where can you find authors? Can the company employees be authors? You need 10 to 15 people to make media:
- A publisher
- An editor
- Authors
- A content manager
- An SMM specialist
- A targeter
- A corrector
- An art director
- A photo editor
- A designer
- Photographers
- Illustrators
If a brand is building its own independent editorial department, it can't hire all these specialists. It will sooner hire one universal employee instead of an SMM-specialist and a targeter, but either creativity or targeting will inevitably suffer. Instead of both an art director and a designer, the company is likely to hire a designer only, but the image quality will suffer. A content manager is the next area to economize on, supposing that an editor can manage all the content-related work, which will increase the cost of the layout.
In general, it's either quality or budget that suffers, and there's no way around it. It's much easier for an agency to deal with multiple projects to guarantee efficiency. We provide the required team participation — if you need 30% of a targeter, you get 30% of a targeter.
Next are authors. Can the company's employees be authors? If an employee has the skills and desire to write text, sure. Why not? But it can't be the basic model or the employee's obligation. Such text will eventually become more expensive — it will take more time and effort from the editorial office, and the employees who write text are usually paid higher than regular staff.
Editor-in-chief vs. the company owner: how can you build relationships, and who can invade whose job?
Brand media isn't mass media, so we can't talk about some independence and non-intervention. Brand media is a part of a company's marketing. If it's complicated to agree on each particular article, then the company needs to agree on an approach, style, and terms.