188: Publishers need to think outside the webpage

There’s a new dinosaur in town.

The old dinosaur was the publisher who tried to hang on to print. “Get with it,” the hip kids would say. “The world is turning digital.” Which is largely true, but that’s not the subject for today.

The new dinosaur has made an idol out of the web page.

What gets measured gets done, and most of our measurement tools involve what happens on our websites. It’s like the old “if the only tool you have is a hammer” problem.

For example, when I see articles about increasing engagement, it’s usually restricted to stuff you can do on your website.

The problem is that content is no longer limited to websites. It never really was, but now more than ever we need to think outside that box. Content consumption – even digital content consumption – is fractured beyond belief.

I’ve collected some estimates on how many hours per day U.S. consumers spend in different types of media. I don’t put too much credence in these numbers, but let’s pretend it’s something like this.

“Browsing the internet” – 6.75 to 8 hours
TV – 3 to 5 hours
Audio
- Music is 2.75 to 3.75 hours
- Podcasts 0.5 to 1.25 hours
Social media – 1.5 to 2 hours
Gaming 2 hours
TikTok – 1 hour
YouTube – 0.5 to 0.75 hours
Reading – 0.25 hours

I don’t want to imply that you should be in all these places, or that you’re competing in all these places. I think it’s a big mistake to think that way. People have different expectations and goals for different forms of media.

However, to the extent that you can legitimately compete in these other areas, why aren’t you?

Don’t allow “the web” to become the same sort of trap that “the magazine” or “the newspaper” has been for publishers in the past.

Think of ways to move your content into new mediums. That will almost certainly require a new production workflow, new talent, different revenue models, and other changes to your business model.

But what’s the alternative? Are you going to stay with the web page as it continues to decline?