THE FUTURE OF MEDIA

The Future of Media: Concepts and Trends for Communication Professionals

Communication is more diverse than ever, whether it’s a personal discussion with friends, family, and colleagues or a large brand’s messages to a consumer base. The mainstream introduction of the internet in the early 1990s brought new and exciting communication methods, including digital media channels that allow users to share messages more quickly and across greater distances.

These advances in technology paved the way for digital media to have a major influence on how businesses and brands create relationships with their customers. They have also impacted traditional communication professions. The result is new job titles and a new landscape for what communication looks like.

The future of media is continuing to turn to digital advances for entertainment, news, and business, which translates to major opportunities for businesses. According to the Pew Research Center, the digital media industry continues to grow, with about 86% of American adults consuming some of their news online. As the audience for online media grows, so do the number of platforms. For businesses, maintaining an online presence that allows them to effectively communicate with their audience is critical.

As specialists who have earned a communication degree look to the future, there are key areas of growth that are likely to shape the communication careers of the future. Social media managers, digital media managers, content strategists, and communication specialists often focus on executing communication strategies through digital means including social media messages, blog posts, landing pages, video, and more.

Future Media Concepts Driving the Job Market

Digital media dominates how Americans receive and share information. As such, key influences are taking shapes that are likely to impact the future of the field. Innovation is the new norm when it comes to media, and that trend isn’t likely to change as we look to future media concepts. Social media, digital advertising, and increased access to the internet through various devices have all shaped trends in media.

The future of digital media will evolve as new tools emerge, consumers make new demands, and the quality and accessibility of the technologies improve. The rise of mobile video, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and the more refined use of data analytics will all influence the future of digital media.

Mobile Video Marketing: The future of media is continuously evolving, and the methodologies that advertisers use to reach consumers need to change alongside it. According to a survey by The Trade Desk, 74% of U.S. households in the 18-34 age group have cut the cable TV cord, are planning to, or have never subscribed. With adults in this age group shifting to streaming services, such as Netflix, Hulu, and Sling, advertisers must develop new strategies to reach them. Each year, more consumers are choosing online video platforms over traditional television, and many are using their mobile devices to do so. This indicates that the future of media, particularly video, requires a mobile-first strategy. This goes beyond advertising on popular streaming channels and requires businesses to evaluate how they appear in the marketplace. With videos now accessed across platforms, having mobile-friendly, accessible video content is key.

Data Analytics and Public Relations

Public relations has embraced the big data realm and incorporated insights gleaned from such data to improve PR tactics. Analytics from online advertising measure more than the success of a specific advertising campaign. They can also detect shifts in the campaign. Data collected can help marketers refine the ad’s message, determine which channels to use, and gain insight into who exactly is listening.

Through data analysis, professionals in PR are creating more effective outreach campaigns. The large amounts of data available today enable communication experts to predict news cycles and interests; discover which outlets cover their industry most; and uncover potential relationships with media channels, other organizations, and influencers. While some of the metrics associated with public relations may seem intangible, data is giving shape to the future of media concepts in PR through its ability to make sense of all the (intangible) noise.

Continued Investment in VR and AR

Through specific software and hardware, VR recreates environments, while AR enhances physical images. These two industries, which have grown up side-by-side, have gained new emphasis in recent years, and each is growing quickly.

According to market research provider Research and Markets, the global VR and AR market is projected to grow to $1.3 trillion by 2030 (from $37 billion in 2019). Many experts envision these technologies will allow customers to have immersive experiences with products before they buy them, helping convert ad dollars to actual customer purchases. These technologies can also help print media integrate with digital, and use real-time data to deliver powerful, personalized experiences to customers.

Future of Digital Media Trends

The use of digital media in personal and professional communication has been accelerating at breakneck speed in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has kept that momentum going. Lockdowns, concerns of infection, and restrictions on in-person commerce have all pushed people to more online use. For example, data from market research firm GlobalWebIndex (GWI) found that 43% of consumers in August 2020 were using social media for longer periods because of the pandemic. Additionally, a RAND American Life Panel Survey reported that about 25% of respondents said they’ve been shopping online more since the start of the pandemic. With the pandemic as the foundation, a host of digital media trends is likely permanently altering the digital landscape in ways communication professionals need to understand. Some of the future digital media trends include the following.

The Rise of Social Movements

Social media is increasingly among the most important tools for social activists and everyday citizens to spread the word about important issues and persuade others to join their cause. The Black Lives Matter movement, for example, dominated social media for much of the summer of 2020. These activists and consumers, particularly younger ones, often expect the businesses they patronize to be part of the conversation. Organizations that decide to speak out on important topics must understand how to communicate in ways that burnish rather than tarnish their brands and reputations.

Social Media Scrutiny

Momentum has been building for holding Facebook, Twitter, and other social media organizations accountable for some of the content that is disseminated through their platforms. In 2020, that momentum reached critical mass. The boiling point involved misinformation and extreme rhetoric around the coronavirus and presidential election.

Political leaders have put a spotlight on social media companies through congressional hearings and proposed legislation. In addition, some consumers and even employees have expressed their dissatisfaction with how these social media giants have responded so far. Going forward, these companies will likely need to implement stricter internal regulations on the content or deal with government regulations.

The Power of Influencers

Social media influencers often have tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of followers. Perhaps not surprisingly, a recent study by marketing agency Amra & Elma found that pandemic-related spikes in social media usage led to an increase in influencer engagement. According to its findings, at the start of the pandemic, influencers experienced a 67% jump in likes and a 51% jump in comments.

What’s also notable is that despite the upticks in their engagement rates, influencers’ pricing for their posts increased by just 3.1%. “A slight increase in pricing means that brands are now likely to receive significantly more reach for the same budget as they would have pre-pandemic,” the survey reports. The report also revealed that engagement surges, coupled with modest upticks in the cost for influencer-sponsored posts, means that brands can take advantage of a lower cost per impression.

Preparing for the Future of Digital Media

As students and current industry professionals consider the future of media, it’s clear that new technology innovations will provide new business and career opportunities. Mobile video marketing can provide big rewards for businesses. The study of data will provide key insights and make business more competitive. The continued exploration of emerging technologies such as VR and AR will change how we as humans interact with the digital landscape.

As you consider your own future in media, discover how an online communication degree can prepare you for the exciting innovations to come in the field. Such a degree typically provides an understanding of emerging and social media platforms, data analytics, visual communication, content creation, and beyond.

The trends discussed here, along with others, mark a shift in how we consume media and how companies interact with consumers. If you’re excited by the prospect of leveraging new, cutting-edge technology to reach a young, tech-savvy audience, consider an online degree in communication, such as a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Maryville University. You’ll emerge prepared for the modern world of marketing and ready to make an impact. Apply today and begin your digital media journey.

At the most fundamental level, we are a neoteric species, born with an instinct to learn throughout our lives. So it makes sense that at work we are constantly looking for ways to do things better; indeed, the growth-mindset movement is based on this human need. And whereas recruitment is an expensive, zero-sum game (if company A gets the star, company B does not), learning is a rising tide that lifts all boats. Yet the urgency of work invariably trumps the luxury of learning. A study we recently ran with LinkedIn found that employees waste one-third of their day on emails that have little or nothing to do with their jobs. The traditional corporate learning portal (the learning management system) is rarely used (other than for mandatory compliance training) and it often takes many clicks to find what you need. Learning, therefore, ends up being relegated — consciously and subconsciously — to the important but not urgent quadrant of Eisenhower’s 2×2 matrix. On average, knowledge workers carve out just five minutes for formal learning each day. We’re all just too caught up in the inexorable flow of work.

So, the question becomes: How can we make learning part of the powerful current of the daily workflow? We believe there is a way, a new paradigm, which Josh coined “learning in the flow of work”.

What exactly is the flow of work?

Everyone’s experience at work differs of course, but there are some broad commonalities among knowledge workers: There are 780 million of them, and they sit in front of a computer for 6.5 hours every day. In particular, they spend 28% of their time on email, 19% of their time gathering information (searching for data), and 14% of their time communicating internally (in formal and informal meetings). Those three activities combined constitute 61% of the total time at work for this vast population.

Learning in the flow of work is a new idea: it recognizes that for learning to really happen, it must fit around and align itself to working days and working lives. Rather than think of corporate learning as a destination, it’s now becoming something that comes to us. Through good design thinking and cutting-edge technology, we can build solutions and experiences that make learning almost invisible in our jobs. One could argue that Google and YouTube are two of the earliest “learning in the flow” platforms, which we now take for granted.

So, how can we use the flow of work to drive learning? We’ll first look at this from the perspective of the individual (bottom-up) and then from the perspective of the corporate (top-down).

Bottom-Up Learning

What might you as an individual with an appetite for learning do to learn in the flow of work? Here are some practical measures you could implement today:

Practice met cognition and mindfulness. Be aware and be present as you go about your daily job. There are many benefits to this, one of which is an increased ability to learn and develop. For example, don’t just sit in on that negotiation with a procurement expert; notice and learn her tactics and techniques as you engage with her. Ask product managers about product features; ask salespeople about the industry

Trends; ask peers for feedback on your presentation skills. These kinds of inquiries are learning experiences and most peers love to tell you what they know.

Maintain a to-learn list. You experience many learning opportunities every day, and with a degree of met cognition, you’ll notice more of them. You often have to let them pass at the moment because you’re busy doing something else. But that doesn’t mean you should waste the opportunity. Write down a list of concepts, thoughts, practices, and vocabulary you want to explore, bookmark them in your browser and add them to your list. You can later explore them when you have a few moments to reflect. In my case (Josh), I’m constantly bookmarking things I want to learn, and as soon as I find a spare moment (often late in the day when I’m tired), I read the article, explore the demo, or just poke around and play with something I’ve always wanted to do better. It’s a personal and rewarding experience, and we all have times (including commutes) when it just feels like the right thing to do.

Use tech-enabled tips as you work. Technical tips from the likes of Google’s Explore within Google Docs can help with context-relevant research or suggestions for formatting or analysis. This type of inline advice has improved significantly since the first days of the infamous Microsoft Office assistant, the animated paper clip, “Clippies”. But you need to be open to such recommendations to learn anything from them. There are many more coming, as tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack become more common at work. Calendarize dedicated learning time into your work schedule. Let colleagues know how important learning is to you. Agree on a sensible proportion of your work week that can be devoted to learning (an hour, say) with your manager. Then time boxes it and sticks to it.

Subscribe to a small number of high-quality, hyper-relevant newsletters. Choose them with care, to suit your role, industry, and personality. There won’t be many, in the end that is both excellent and relevant. Unsubscribe from the rest. Contribute actively, expertly, and kindly to a learning channel where work actually happens. Work happens in different places for different companies, but the examples we hear most are from people using SharePoint, Slack, and Teams. If your company doesn’t have a learning channel, create one. When you share something new and interesting with colleagues on these platforms, don’t just paste a url. Help people understand why you’re sharing it, unpacking the what-it’s-about and why-it-matters aspects of a content piece. The who-it-for is even more important: tag those and only those who will really derive benefit from your share. This not only helps others, and benefits your company; it will also accelerate your own learning.

Top-Down Learning

When you ask HR leaders how they plan to build new skills for the future, almost two-thirds say they will go out and recruit for the new skills they need. This is costly: one of our clients found it is six times less expensive to build technical skills internally than it is to go hire them from the job market. So how can corporations better make use of the flow of work to develop the skills of their workforce? Of course, many of the characteristics of big companies inhibit learning, but others can be used to catalyze it. This section is especially for business leaders who are willing to change systems, processes, and culture in order to lift the capability of their workforce.

Make sure corporate knowledge systems are accurate and easy to use. Your employees are constantly looking for information, and they’ll most likely go to Google and YouTube looking for answers. Accept that this is reality, but also spend some time curating and fixing the internal systems you have to make them faster and more useful. If you have an old, cluttered website of poorly arranged information, it’s simply costing your company money, and building a corporate portal is easier than ever. Search results must be useful — this is easily said but rarely done — which requires that your content be well tagged and maintained. Initiate a project with IT to clean it up and you’ll be surprised how quickly it becomes useful again.

Share content internally. It’s now possible to use technology to harness organic learning that’s happening in one part of the company, and scale the benefits within the wider organization. For example, an article about negotiating complex commercial contracts that was shared between two account managers on one platform could be algorithmically spotted, tagged, and redistributed to a broader sales population.

Leverage APIs to bring content to the workplace. Integrating into the flow of work has never been easier, thanks to the advent of the API economy. Most software is now built with interoperability in mind, which is often delivered through APIs. Slack, Teams, and Atlassian, to name just a few platforms, have open APIs. This means that relevant learning content can be seeded into employees’ days by using integrative technologies such as Zapper, IFTTT or learning-oriented APIs.

Devote a channel in your corporate communications software to learning. Create a dedicated online space for learning and promote it with meaningful contributions from business leaders. Encourage naturally active sharers and influencers to post and promote new content. If those contributions come right from the top of your organization, the message that learning is indispensable will ring louder and clearer. Consider a conversational or chat interface. Adding a chat layer on top of primary workflow software is a straightforward, effective way to pair learning with work. The more intelligent the Chabot — i.e. the more relevant it is to what’s actually happening there and then in the workflow — the less intrusive it will feel and the more useful it will be. Place learning in the inbox. Email is still a major component of the knowledge worker’s day, and one of the only common currencies for external communications. So, although it’s an unglamorous solution, the sparing use of personalized emails may be the most efficient, effective way to sprinkle learning into your staff’s working days. 94% of business executives get news via email — more than any other format. Why should learning be any different? As regulations around privacy tightens, such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — inboxes will become less cluttered, and individual e-mails will become proportionately more valuable.

What Corporate Learning Leaders Think

The concept of learning in the flow of work has resonated with chief learning officers around the world. The $360 billion corporate learning industry has typically walked in the shadows of other more “glamorous” aspects of doing business, largely because proving the impact of specific learning programs is difficult (although the benefits of training in general for individuals and society are beyond doubt). But that may be about to change as companies start to take employee engagement and well-being more seriously. Here are three views from learning leaders who are breaking the mold:

Ann Schulte, Chief Learning Officer at Procter & Gamble (P&G), explains why learning is more important in 2019 than ever, and how the firm’s strategy reflects this: “At P&G, we believe that the ‘fastest learner wins’ because we see in uncertain and changing markets that experimentation, rapid-cycle feedback, and the ability to adapt are competitive imperatives — and all require learning. To help our people learn faster, we are disrupting how we manage learning and development to focus more on the immediate business context and personalized needs by providing easy access to information, performance support aids, and carefully curate training that is relevant and can be directly applied to work.”

Helen Smyth, Group Digital Learning and Design Manager at Sainsbury’s, underlines the importance of design thinking in formulating the right corporate learning solution: “Too often, learning opportunities and technology deployments are developed based on what centralized groups think would be useful, or on what is possible, rather than on what would actually enable someone to do something better or differently at work. To overcome this, it’s important that we spend more of our time as learning professionals understanding the practical realities of daily work for people, and ensuring that our products and services are in tune with those realities.”

Elisabeth Galle, Global Head of Knowledge, Development & Talent Management at Bunco Santander, suggests that corporations should look at consumer software for inspiration: “Employees use social media and search in their spare time to satisfy their curiosity, right when they need it. It should be exactly the same at work. We must create corporate learning experiences to match consumer-grade experiences. This is our vision: to create a learning-in-the-flow-of-work ecosystem and become a learning organization, whose workforce is unskilled in real-time.”

Learning in the flow of work is one of the most powerful levers available to business leaders today. We believe every organization can benefit from this new paradigm. It’s an exciting next wave of innovation, which has been a long time coming. Make sure that you and your company are on the crest of it.