Now, where have I heard that slogan before? Ah yes, Brexit. Well, clearly, as was proved ten years ago, it has an appeal.
For too long, publishers have ceded control of their destiny to big tech. Some publishers have built their entire businesses on their platforms.
In good times, the revenues flowed, but there was always an underlying vulnerability. We were relying on things that were beyond our control. Big tech never had our best interests at heart; why should they? They were, are and always will be looking after their own interests, their own bottom lines. Exactly as we would be doing if the shoe was on the other foot.
Deep down, publishers have always known about this vulnerability. Writing for InPublishing in 2014 about publishers’ social media strategies, Luke Bilton warned: “the fact you’ve invested time nurturing someone else’s platform rather than your own can seem less smart when Facebook decide to charge you to reach your own fans.”
Writing in the January / February issue of InPublishing, Peter Barr-Watson puts it succinctly: “Relying on an algorithm you cannot control to feed a business model you cannot predict is no longer a viable strategy.”
The rise of AI and, specifically, AI Overviews which has had such a negative impact on search traffic, is a wake-up call, a reminder that we need to bypass the middleman (big tech) and redouble our efforts to connect directly with our audience.
Also in the January / February issue, Sarah Ebner: “Our futures depend on deep, direct and meaningful relationships with our readers.”
While the revenue hit from reduced search traffic is significant and the realisation that to do anything about it will require something of a reset at publishing companies, the new digital landscape is liberating.
Building strategies based on what we can control, rather than having to spend time continuously adapting our strategies to accommodate the business priorities of others, will be empowering. Rather than focusing on activities that nurture and grow someone else’s platform, we can focus solely on activities that strengthen our own.
As Sarah puts it in her piece, the secret is to “doubledown on habits and loyalty, and to offer something distinctive and valuable to make your subscribers return again and again.”
Big tech will remain central to what we do, but more as a tool to be used, rather than a channel to be relied upon. As John Barnes writes in an article in this year’s Publishing Partner Guide, “AI will be the invisible bedrock enabling hyper-personalisation, helping publishers reconnect directly with ‘members’ rather than anonymous ‘users’.”
This article was first published in InPublishing magazine. If you would like to be added to the free mailing list to receive the magazine, please register here.
