Before the internet and the social media came, people relied on the media broadcasting and publishing companies for information. With the introduction of the social media, the way people accessed and consumed news started changing, resulting to the decline in the newspaper readership. The circulation of the sprinted media materials including magazines has reduced since the social media was first introduced during the late 1990s. Should media companies be worried about Facebook and other social media companies? It depends on how one looks at it because there are opportunities and risks for these companies.
The print media is not as popular as it used to be two decades ago because the increase in the number of social media users had led to more people relying on the social sites for information. These sites enable people to freely access information either from the pages of the news companies, or from friends. This has resulted to a situation, in which social media users are constantly up to date with current affairs, and for some people, Facebook and Twitter are ideal sources of information and news. Given the entertainment aspects of the social media, people spend a significant amount of time on social media. This leaves them with limited time to even go through the newspapers.
On the flip side, the social media seems to have brought news companies closer to consumers of information. Three decades ago, it was a challenge to for the media companies to engage with those who consumed their content. The social media has eased how mainstream media companies can interact with their clients given that the social sites allow readers and viewers of the news content to share their thoughts about how news are reported. This feedback is helping businesses in the news industry to improve their news reporting. Users can follow the news companies by liking the social media pages of these companies. With the social media, still, media companies can receive live update of information and report it.
On one hand, the social media is killing newspapers and driving down sales, but on the other hand, it is contributing to the growth in the popularity of the news reporting companies. To fully benefit from the social media, the media companies should take advantage of new opportunities that come with these social platforms. For example, they can add ads in between videos to generate extra revenue. This will compensate for the revenue lost due to low viewership or readership of news.