Have you ever called a media platform “dead?” Well, some Marketers, Strategists and Thought leaders have! And with ‘dead’ they refer to the decreasing popularity of platforms like Linear TV, Radio and Organic Social Media. As result, it’s less interesting for Marketers and Advertisers to spend time and money on these platforms…

…But are ‘dead’ platforms really dead?

Why media platforms are considered ‘dead’

The first thing most Marketers do when they analyze a strategy, post or platform, is looking at hard numbers. Metrics such as viewership, likes, engagement rate, and leads give us clarity. They tell us if we get enough return on our investments.

And when looking at numbers, we can see that they are going south: Linear Television is losing market share woldwide, streaming is outperforming radio , and the reach of organic posts on Social Media platforms has been decreasing for years.

Television, radio, and Organic Social all used to be three leading platforms. Now, they aren’t anymore. They’ve been surpassed by newer, more popular, and more innovative platforms. But does that this mean that traditional media are dead?

…And why they’re still more than alive

If media platforms were truly dead, there wouldn’t be money pumped into these platforms anymore. The fact is: Linear Television is still there, and advertisers are paying millions to get a Super Bowl commercial spot. Organic Social Media isn’t dead enough either: The number of daily active Facebook users is still increasing. Brands are still hiring Social Media Marketers to create organic content for platforms like TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Yes, Linear Television viewership numbers have declined and yes, creating well-performing organic social media content is more difficult, thanks to paid media and influencer marketing. But these traditional platforms are still considered too important to be left dead.

We’re just evolving

Our society isn’t necessarily neglecting traditional media platforms. We are just using them differently:

• Linear Television isn’t the most popular platform for audiovisual content anymore. It is just one of the many platforms on which we watch TV-series and movies.
• Creating Organic Social Media isn’t the number one Marketing Strategy anymore. It has become one of the Marketing Strategies.
• We have dozens of music streaming apps, but we still occasionally listen to the radio to discover new songs.

So our interests and behaviours have changed. This means that producers, strategists and marketers should evolve too. And many of them have:

• Television Brands give you multiple options: You can watch a television live, on-demand, on the big screen or on your smartphone.
• Artists see radio as a great means to extend the lifetime value of their songs.
• Marketers understand that they have to put more time and effort into creating valuable and resonating content if they want to stand out from the noise.

Obviously, a media platform can be dead to you when it doesn’t bring in any results for you. But you should always ask yourself why you don’t see any results on a specific platform. Because numbers don’t tell you everything: The reach might have dropped, but the potential value is still there.

Will a media platform ever be dead?

Will a media platform ever become dead? I’m not sure about that. Media developments are just so unpredictable. Remember the QR-code? It made a spectacular comeback. Twice. Who would’ve thought?!

Hey, I regularly share dead organic content!

Hi, I’m Jelle! A 23-year old Marketer who is currently on the job hunt! I’m active on Twitter and LinkedIn to learn from other Marketers and to share my own insights. I also regularly write blogs and I have my own newsletter.

If you want to get in touch with me, follow me on Twitter or Linkedin, contact me at contact@socijel.com or let’s hop on a phone call: +31 614970933.