The Marketing insight to learn from the rise of Niche media

Right Person, Right Time, Wrong Message

For a significant portion of the 2000s, the holy grail of marketing has been the 'Right Message, Right Person at Right Time.' That is all right, but we still need to get it right especially regarding the message or content. Audiences are more open to participation, yet marketers must create content that incentivizes and invites engagement. Brands have more power today as consumers identify with brand values and try to align themselves. Global brands are uniting forces for cultures and communities. Marketers have a reserve of potential to tap into.

What is the right content? The right content is what matters and interests your target. Unless you are a newbie brand, the market is likely familiar with your product. Spending precious ad time and social posts just showcasing products is a waste. If you are wondering how to do that, the answer is niche content. We can take a little nugget of wisdom from media ruling the media landscape. The significant marketing moment of 2023 was the Barbie movie marketing. The marketers targeted the female audience and incentivized them to participate by creating niche content. Another great example is Red Bull, whose social media page is dedicated to athletes, sports, and daredevils. Their niche content not only attracts people of similar interests but piques the curiosity of the general audience as well. If you wanna champion niche content, there isn't anyone who does it better than niche media.

If you drive around a quaint neighborhood, you will likely see a newspaper lying outside homes long forgotten. A few decades ago, when we still relied on mass media for our news and information, this would have been an unlikely sight, but for better or worse, gone are the days of mass media like newspapers, lobbies, and television networks. Thousands of niche media companies proliferating digital outlets are taking over the giant vacancy in the media landscape from the decline of mass media.

Niche Media is not new. Even as far back as the 1800's, US Media had Germans and Italians selling newspapers in their language. So, niche media has always been part of most cultures but has become mainstream and is driving the media landscape. Black Entertainment Television has empowered the Afro-American community for 40 years by nurturing talents and creating content. Viacom was wise enough to foresee its value and acquired BET for a whopping 3 Billion in 2000 ( If you think about it, Meta acquired Instagram in 2012 for 1 billion). The Juggernaut, another niche media for the South Asian Diaspora, was launched in 2019. The founder, Singdha Sur, started it as a newsletter and later on was accepted and funded by Y Combinator, who funded Airbnb and Substack. The media landscape is more diverse and exciting than ever, and with the rise of multiculturalism, niche media is here to stay. 

Reasons for the rise of Niche Media

Lack of trust in giant networks

These days, people no longer trust giant networks. The mainstream mass media most of us grew up with is becoming increasingly obscure. Gen Z and younger millennials prefer websites, podcasts, and social media for their news. When people think of network giants or mass media companies, they associate them with the ruthlessness and narcissism of characters like Logan Roy ( millionaire media conglomerate )or agenda-driven content from the popular HBO show Succession.

Migration 

People are traveling more than ever, especially after Covid. Immigration has been the highest in the past couple of decades. Today, communities are no longer contained and connected by geography but through the internet. Niche media serve as a unifying platform for disconnected communities and diasporas. They are of great value to second and third-generation immigrants as they inform and share stories of what is relevant in their respective cultures. 

Diversity&Represenatation

Culture has become more open and diverse in the last ten years. There are many exciting voices from previously underprivileged communities, who creating their spaces, sharing stories, and making culture more and more exciting. Cultural values like representation have made communities open and interested in exploring cultures outside them through food, fashion, art, and media. All of this means that there is greater demand for niche media content than ever before.

Community & Culture.

With all its pros, social media has led to a decline in our mental health. People are isolated and stressed out. More than ever, people need the comfort and social connection a community provides, and this is precisely what niche media do: develop a sense of community among their consumers. This is an essential lesson for all marketers out there.