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How do I Choose the Best Media Platform?

Kevin P. Hanson
Kevin P. Hanson

Similar to a text highlighter, a media platform spotlights information, giving it more prominence and visibility. In order to choose the best media platform, decisions will have to be made regarding the individual’s or company’s desired image. It is said that perception is reality. In this context, issues like whether to create and maintain a social networking page or if it’s necessary to supply video footage become a crucial part of how the entity is perceived.

Media is simply any means of communication designed to reach and influence a large number of people, such as television, the Internet, and magazines. A good way to begin establishing which multimedia content forms have the characteristics to best make up the individual’s or company’s media platform is to write down and discuss, debate, and determine all of the reasons for wanting to add these features. At the same time, consider the projected benefits and potential costs of multimedia services individually as compared to a packaged platform. Tailoring a media platform to an individual or company is generally a matter of deciding how much or how little of the available technology to use. For instance, a news organization will most likely want to include video in its media platform but for a freelance writer’s website, video content might not be necessary.

A famous person who lives in the spotlight has a media platform due to the attention they receive.
A famous person who lives in the spotlight has a media platform due to the attention they receive.

Think of a media platform as a kind of network. In order to construct this network, one takes a collection of multiple media or multimedia content forms, such as text, audio, images, animation, and social media, and joins them together. By doing so, one is able to maximize each of the separate information content forms’ potential performance by directing them to work in concert with one another. This combo platter of media features, properly blended, can provide a powerful and effective platform on which to elevate and showcase one’s products and services, advertising and marketing solutions, and philosophical ideas. Each company or individual will have different and unique solutions.

The use of social media can be a highly targeted and low-cost method of advertising that works similarly to word-of-mouth.
The use of social media can be a highly targeted and low-cost method of advertising that works similarly to word-of-mouth.

Consider the example of the Windows Media® Platform. It includes the Windows Media® 9 Series audio and video codecs, Windows Media® Player 10, Windows Media® Encoder 9 Series, Windows Media® Services 9 Series, Windows Media® Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Windows Media® Software Development Kits (SDKs). An individual or company must decide if all of these components are necessary to build a comprehensive and personalized media platform.

Discussion Comments

donasmrs

@burcinc-- Thanks for answering. You really clarified it for me. I didn't realize that choosing a media platform requires so many considerations and steps. But it makes sense to me now.

I actually have a small online business where I sell handmade soap. I'm trying to figure out if I should open social media accounts or advertise through papers and other websites. But I think I first need to figure out what my customer base is like. The majority are women I know that. But I might run a poll or something to find out age groups, their other interests, hobbies, etc.

burcinc

@donasmrs-- You're asking the right questions.

One of the major things that a company ought to consider is what they're trying to achieve by using media platforms. The answer is almost always the same-- reach out to more people, expand customer base. Basically, the company wants to get its name out there and gain more customers.

But how do they decide which media platform to use? The answer is simple but the process does require some work. The company basically needs to use media market analyses. What this means is that they need to find out what type of people use which media platforms and determine what their customer base correlates to.

So let's say that a cosmetic business' customers are mostly females between the ages of 17 and 25. They should naturally use media platforms used by this age group if they want to expand their customer base. The media market analyses gives the company this information. After this step, it's up to the business to decide whether the costs are worth it, how much they should spend, how long they should use the media platform for, etc.

donasmrs

I understand that companies have to decide which media platforms to use but how do they decide. Let's leave out things lie cost, what major factors influence their decision? How do they think about it?

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    • A famous person who lives in the spotlight has a media platform due to the attention they receive.
      By: Konstantin Yuganov
      A famous person who lives in the spotlight has a media platform due to the attention they receive.
    • The use of social media can be a highly targeted and low-cost method of advertising that works similarly to word-of-mouth.
      By: auremar
      The use of social media can be a highly targeted and low-cost method of advertising that works similarly to word-of-mouth.