4. Laura Santhanam, Amy Mitchell, and Kenny Olmstead, “Audio: Digital Drives Listener Experience,” The State of the News Media 2013: An Annual Report on American Journalism, Pew Research Center, http://stateofthemedia.org/2013/audio-digital-drives-listener-experience/.
5. See Podcast Alley, www.podcastalley.com/index.
6. Stephanie Ciccarelli, “History of Podcasting,” Voices.com, accessed August 6, 2013, http://www.voices.com/resources/articles/podcasting/history-of-podcasting.
Chapter 21
Other Audience Channels: More? You Want More?!?
Believe it or not, I have only scratched the surface of all the channels where your company can build and engage proprietary audiences today. As the Internet matures globally, an increasing number of language- or region-specific channels may factor into your Proprietary Audience Development efforts if you hope to communicate with local consumers.
The good news is that The Audience Imperative is a global mandate built upon the universal nature of SEEKERS, AMPLIFIERS, and JOINERS. The names of the channels and players may differ from country to country, but the principles and goals remain the same: Seek to build bigger, more engaged, and more valuable proprietary audiences than your competition.
With that, here are some very quick snapshots of 20 proprietary audience channels you may not have ever considered.
1. Baidu. Baidu.com is China’s top search engine with around 70 percent of the market. Other major Chinese search players include Soso.com, Sogou.com, Qihoo.com, and Google China.1 All are places to capture SEEKERS and drive them to your website through organic and paid means. Many also have social features that may entice AMPLIFIERS.
2. Bebo. Bebo.com is a social network that AOL acquired in 2008 for $850 million, only to sell it back to its founders for $1 million in 2013.2 The site combines email inbox and social network functionality, so it can be a place to engage SEEKERS, AMPLIFIERS, and JOINERS. However, its small size and uncertain future makes predicting its usefulness difficult.
3. Bing. Bing.com is the Microsoft-owned search engine that holds second place in the U.S. market. Its strong integration with Microsoft products makes it an important place to source SEARCHERS outside of Google.
4. Foursquare. Foursquare is the leading location-based mobile app in the United States with an estimated 33 million users worldwide.3 Users check in to locations; leave comments, tips, and reviews; and see friends who are nearby. The service has begun testing different paid advertising models and has long offered the ability for stores to offer check-in discounts. Foursquare is therefore a good place to convert SEEKERS to immediate CUSTOMERS.
5. Kakao Talk. (South Korea), Line (Japan), WeChat (China), WhatsApp (United States). These four OTT messaging apps enable peer-to-peer chatting—and in some cases, video calls—without cellular fees. As of July 2013, Kakao Talk had over 100 million registered users, Line had over 150 million, WeChat had over 300 million, and WhatsApp had over 250 million. As such, each is a way to potentially build SUBSCRIBERS. With their plans to develop more social experiences, each also may become a place to build FANS and FOLLOWERS as well.4
6. Medium. Medium.com (@Medium) is a publishing platform launched by Blogger and Twitter co-founder Ev Williams (@ev). Touted as the next evolution of blogging, it is effectively a new collaborative publishing platform with the potential to attract SEEKERS to your writing.5
7. Myspace. Myspace.com (@Myspace) relaunched in 2013 thanks to an investment from Justin Timberlake. The completely rebuilt site now focuses on connecting people with the musicians and other creative people they love.6 As such, it is a place to attract SEEKERS and FANS for those in a creative industry. How and whether it will expand remains to be seen.
8. Path. Path (@Path) is a private OTT messaging and photo sharing service for mobile devices. The service had over 10 million users in April 2013, and its unique selling point is that users can maintain no more than 150 friend connections. So, Path is really more for consumers to foster relationships; however, it is a place where companies may find AMPLIFIERS.7
9. Print Magazines. With the rise of Content Marketing, brand magazines are experiencing a resurgence. Red Bull has its Red Bulletin (www.RedBulletin.com), Ford has its MyFord Magazine (www.MyFordMag.com), and consumer review website Angie’s List (@AngiesList) publishes a monthly magazine for members with helpful household tips, advice, and coupons. Each demonstrates that print can be a great way to cut through the clutter and build more tactile relationships with print SUBSCRIBERS and CUSTOMERS.
10. Proprietary Communities. Lady Gaga made headlines in 2012 when she parlayed her celebrity into a proprietary community of her own: www.LittleMonsters.com. Powered by Backplane (@backplane), the site offers FANS an even more intimate and direct way to connect with the singer than Facebook—and lets Lady Gaga monetize her FAN relationships more directly.