DTC #106: It's actually a media business
DTC #106: It's actually a media business
TikTok, Reels, YouTube - media. Social posts - media (social media🤯). SEO blogs - media. Livestream - media. Celebrity endorsement - media. Do you get my point? DTC is a media business.
👋 Hola! Welcome to Out of Singapore. I am Shan. I am a business operator. I dream. I dream big. This blog is part of my dream of building large businesses, one at a time.
Life has unfolded over the past 2 years. I valued “work life balance”, ““gentle demeanour”, “kindness” and “giving benefit of doubt”. No more.
On work life balance - Work is part of life. Embracing it is the first step towards balancing life. 🤗
For a business (aka startup) to work out, ruthlessness is key. Kindness is the reason businesses close down. Some find it “bossy”, “demanding”, and “toxic”. It is what it is. 🤷
No more benefit of doubt, I trust my own instinct. It has been right right 90% time. I am okay being wrong 10%. 🤐
Okay, I won’t be obnoxious for the rest of the write up😆. It is a good Sunday morning and noon today here at Singapore. Morning was cool, afternoon has been sunny. However, it doesn’t matter behind these glass walls at One-North. It has become my favourite spot to write on Sundays. It is not crowded, quiet, plenty of space to sit, work and read, great toilets and always breezy.
Moving on, I have realised that consumer business is in essence a media business. How? We will explore this today. Here are the key topics
What is media business?
Why is media important?
What happens when you treat a consumer business as media business?
Converting media business to consumer brand?
Let’s get started.
#1 What is a media business?
This question would be better answered by ChatGPT. So here is what ChatGPT thinks about the question (slightly edited).
The media business refers to the industry involved in the creation, production, distribution, and consumption of various forms of media content, including but not limited to:
Print Media: Newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and other publications.
Broadcast Media: Television and radio broadcasting, including both traditional over-the-air channels and newer digital platforms.
Digital Media: Content produced specifically for online platforms, such as websites, blogs, social media, podcasts, and streaming services.
Film Industry: Production, distribution, and exhibition of motion pictures, including feature films, documentaries, and short films.
Music Industry: Production, distribution, and sale of recorded music, as well as live performances and music publishing.
Advertising and Marketing: Creating and disseminating promotional content across various media channels to reach target audiences.
Gaming Industry: Development and distribution of video games and related content.
News Agencies and Wire Services: Organizations that gather and disseminate news and information to other media outlets.
The media business encompasses a wide range of players, including content creators, publishers, broadcasters, advertisers, distributors, and platforms, all working together to produce and deliver content to audiences around the world.
In short, media business is content production and distribution. I argued few months back that all marketing is content marketing. I said that marketing is all content. Today I say that the entire business is content (or media).
#2 Why is media important?
Simple answer - Media helps you tell stories. Stories sell product and services.
Now the long answer. Let’s go through it.
It helps build awareness - imagine celebrities talking a brand, product or service on their social media, news publication or simply sharing among their close circle. People get to know about a brand (which could be a product or service) from media (aka content).
It helps build trust - Faces, writing and public mentions builds trust among prospective buyers.
It helps the consumer use the product or service better - You know how hard it may be to use a coffee machine without proper training or a YouTube video? Or how to leverage cold plunge for health benefits? You don’t want to die in ice cold water in Singapore (a hot country). It would be a shame.
It gives a face (personality) to the brand - People like to relate to everything they use or consume. Faces help them relate and understand if it is for them.
It shows possibilities - Imagine building your Lego creations. One mind (the customer) can only think so much. But when you bring in a community of users to make videos on making Legos, the creativity explodes.
It gives assurance - We are risk averse, each one of us. We need assurances that what we are doing is right, and isn’t causing any form of losses. Media helps. Why do you think so many blogs on benefits of smoking and alcohol exists?
It answers questions - Users always needs answers to things we assume basic. We sell supplements which very clearly says how many capsules and what time to buy. Yet, 15% of my customers ask this question.
#3 Treat a consumer business as media business - what happens?
First, what do I mean by -”treat a consumer business as media business”.
Once you have
Finalised a product
Found decent traction (initial product market fit)
Set up operations
Streamlined production
Then, the most important to do is create content everyday. Create content everyday, everywhere - on Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, website, affiliates, publications and offline events.
What happens next is predictable (and unpredictable).
Key opinion leaders (KOLs) aka influencers and people with voice in the society get to know about you. They form an opinion about you. They start talking to their friends and colleagues. You have unlocked word of mouth.
Affiliates jump on the bandwagon and start talking about you.
Suddenly “big influencers” start responding to your few months old reach out. Some of them wish to work with you, for free.
Publications wish to cover your story. Sometimes for free.
YouTube collaborations get more views. Users see your products across multiple media during their purchase journey. Assurance builds up.
Now media channels start firing - collaborators start reaching out, potential distributors reach out, retailers reach out.
Finally, you will see your revenue dashboard popping higher numbers on a daily basis. Seems like a dream? It is not.
During this phase, consistently analyse the business metrics while the media game plays out. You will be able to increase your profits, lower your costs or do both together - essentially sailing towards profitability at peak speed.
When you treat your consumer business like a media business, you scale at a low cost of marketing. The ROI will easily be upwards of 5. You can push that to 10+ ROI with more content.
What else? Old customers come back and buy even more. You acquire cheap and retain cheap (dream of all marketeers).
#4 What transforms a media business into a consumer business?
Here are the stages
Create media (aka content). Lots of media. Across all channels.
Call to action (aka CTA - learn more, read more, buy now, add to cart)
Shop front to make a purchase (aka Shopify, Amazon, TikTok, Robinhood)
In simple, direct the users to make the purchase.
You know what is the other name of this business - “trading”. You are trading value of media with a tangible paid service or product.
Okay that’s it for today.
Thank you so much for your consistent support for this publication. I am humbled and honored. Please like and share within your network. The power of referral is immense.
This scene from Jisoo’s flower music video will be a legendary scene.
Goodbye for a few days! Will see you again next Sunday. Have a great week ahead 😍