Huang Chuxin, Licensing: How mainstream media can deeply integrate with vertical platforms

Author: Huang Chuxin with permission

Source: March 2024 issue of All Media Exploration

Guide

In the process of media platform construction, in the face of the increasingly scattered attention and personalized needs of the audience, vertical products that are deeply engaged in subdivided fields have come into being.

"One centimeter wide, 10,000 meters deep. "Some mainstream media focus on the areas they are good at, stretch the long board, and use fine needles to promote the transformation and expansion of vertical content to vertical products and vertical industries, adding a wonderful stroke to the deep integration of media.

"All-media Exploration" launched a special plan "Vertical Products "Each Beauty" Methodology".

We invited Huang Chuxin, deputy director and secretary general of the New Media Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, researcher and doctoral supervisor of the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and associate professor of the School of Journalism and Communication of Hebei University, to jointly take the pulse and make suggestions on the operation of mainstream media vertical products. This article is the opinion of two experts.

At a time when media convergence is advancing in depth, many mainstream media are trying to deploy content and service resources to deploy vertical industries. In the process of innovating vertical product development and laying out the vertical industry, cooperation with vertical platforms is crucial.

Mainstream media need to adapt to the development trend of the industry, combine content production with diversified services, promote the transformation of vertical content into vertical products and industries, and realize the organic unity of social and economic benefits.

Industry ecological changes: the possibility of mainstream media cooperation with vertical platforms At present, there is no accurate and highly recognized definition of vertical platforms or vertical media in China. From the perspective of the changes in the social and industrial structure, the integrated development of the media industry and the expansion of the Internet industry, vertical platforms refer to online platforms that are different from mainstream media and focus on a specific industry or field. The emergence of vertical platforms is accompanied by the upgrading of network structure, and its development is synchronized with the innovation of network media forms, and its content structure, product form and user composition all rely on the Internet field. Compared with mainstream media, the advantage of vertical platforms lies in the clear audience pertinence and personalized supply, and they are good at creating content and service products that meet the needs of user groups in specific industries through technical means such as algorithm recommendation and user portraits, and on this basis, they can achieve user agglomeration and business income generation. In terms of positioning, the vertical platform mainly provides industry-specific products, services and marketing to build industry brands, and in terms of operation mode, it mainly focuses on product development, information push, user retention and after-sales service through precise positioning of target audiences. Due to the deep cultivation of a certain industry, such as beauty, sports, games, medical care, real estate, automobiles, technology, etc., the vertical platform has quickly realized market expansion and user agglomeration by virtue of professional market research and accurate industry cognition of the industry, and has cooperated with industry enterprises in data and resources, becoming a value platform for industry brand development and professional knowledge dissemination, and improving the recognition of target users for the industry, enterprises and brands. Especially under the scene creation of social media and personalized media, a number of well-known vertical platforms have emerged in various industries. For example, if you want to know about science and technology business information, the first thing that comes to mind may be Tiger Sniff and Titanium Media; if you want to know about innovation and entrepreneurship information, you may pay attention to service platforms such as 36Kr; if you encounter medical treatment and health problems in your life, you may seek help from consultation platforms such as Dr. Chunyu; when you have travel and tourism needs, you may place orders directly on platforms such as Didi, Huaxiaozhu, Ctrip, etc.; If you want to understand the development report of the subdivided industry and look for data services, you may contact iResearch, 1991T, Baidu Index and other professional platforms focusing on Internet data information, data research, data development, and data services seek help. In the context of the rapid rise of the mobile Internet, the vertical platform provides users with a full range of industry information and accurate personalized services with a professional, personalized, mobile and convenient service model. From this point of view, the vertical platform adapts to the systematic construction of content in the network ecology and the personalized needs of users. For mainstream media, the production of vertical content, the layout of vertical products, and the development of vertical services based on independent and controllable platforms in the deep integration stage are in the same market as the vertical platforms. The difference is that mainstream media are more advantageous in vertical content, and the vertical ecological layout is still in the stage of innovation and improvement. In the era of traditional media, newspapers, radio stations, and television stations serve the development of the industry through advertising; in the era of media integration, the mainstream media carry out business model innovation through "news + government service business", and actively explore cooperation with other industries outside the media system through news publicity, communication planning, brand building, etc.; in the era of intelligent media, the mobile Internet has become the main position of content dissemination and the main scene of user experience, and the mainstream media has begun to use independent platforms—— More often than not, it opens up ports or links on its own mobile clients, carries out vertical services in the form of thematic web pages and special sections, and links to various government affairs platforms and social media platforms, so as to carry out diversified services including government services, business services and social services. However, due to the obvious advantages of verticalization and specialization of the vertical platform, the public chooses to directly enter the mobile client entrance of the vertical platform when seeking services in specific fields, and the client service entrance of mainstream media is not the first choice. This is also an urgent problem that the mainstream media needs to solve in the expansion and innovation of the vertical industry, that is, how to build server-side products with user thinking. Of course, compared with various vertical platforms operated by commercial capital, mainstream media still have obvious advantages in terms of the authority of content supply, the reach rate of regional users, and the link power of government resources. In terms of the authority of content, the mainstream media has cultivated a professional content production team over the years, formed a rigorous content verification mechanism, built extensive social credibility, and has incomparable advantages in fact-checking and value checking. At the same time, no matter what industry it is, its information presentation on the network may face problems such as data distortion, exaggerated propaganda and even AI fraud. With this, there is a wide range of room for cooperation between mainstream media and vertical platforms. Mainstream media make factual and value judgments on the online content of vertical platforms in the form of fact verification and information identification, and then disseminate them to online users on both sides and the wider public on the basis of accurate information. This kind of cooperation is not only conducive to the development of the vertical industry ecology, but also helps to provide high-quality information services for the public. It can be seen that vertical platforms and mainstream media are complementary in many aspects, among which, cooperation in content dissemination can be the first step in the integration and innovation of both parties. Industry structure expansion: the fit between mainstream content and vertical product interaction Content development and product innovation are the core issues faced by all vertical platforms in innovation and development. An important support point for the operation of vertical platforms is the product ecology and operation model. How to effectively transform the content products and service products on the platform into the core competitiveness of the platform development is the common direction of the development of the vertical industry and the needs of multiple users. At the same time, product innovation is also an unavoidable issue for the deep integration and development of mainstream media. Only through product innovation can mainstream media enter the network ecosystem, penetrate into the mobile field, and integrate into vertical scenarios. The products mentioned here are no longer limited to mainstream media news reports, H5 pages or interactive posters, etc., and their scope should be expanded to all-media products that integrate content, technology applications and services for different user groups and the development of different industries. Only by creating and operating products with the thinking of all-media products can they become the focus of the reform of the mainstream media system and mechanism and the optimal allocation of resources. Media products based on Internet technology include content products, technology application products, service products and other levels. From the perspective of the overall construction and system development of the vertical industry ecology, product innovation not only refers to the independent innovation of mainstream media and vertical platforms, but also refers to the promotion of product research and development through cooperation and co-creation between the two, that is, the output of mainstream media content products, the integration of vertical platform application products, and the combination of cooperative and co-created products. In the process of innovating the production of vertical content, laying out vertical products, and exploring the development of vertical industries, the output of content products is the current basic means and methods, and it is also the core competitiveness. Taking China Central Radio and Television Station as an example, relying on the traditional audio-visual superior resources, it has set up vertical channels on the CCTV client of the independent and controllable platform, explored key industries such as finance, literature and art, sports, animation, rule of law, military, and pastoral, and combined radio and television channels with vertical channels of new media platforms to realize the output of high-quality content products to new media platforms and digital media platforms. Similarly, Hubei Radio and Television Yangtze River Cloud Convergence Media Platform expands the non-news "1+N" vertical channel matrix, including health, education, cultural tourism, rural areas, communities, etc., and builds a new vertical content ecology of mainstream media with the integration of traditional radio and television and new media platform content and channels. In these cases, the output of mainstream media content products is mainly based on the channel expansion of new media platforms, actively exploring the application of new media technologies, expanding new content forms and service functions, so as to create new communication models or business models. Although it is to explore the creation of various vertical channels, programs and other products, the content production is still completed on the traditional media platform, but the content resources are transferred to the new media platform. For vertical platforms, the integration of application products is an important feature of their cross-border integration with other social subjects. At present, the content products of vertical platforms are more based on the operation of their own media ecosystem. For example, on audio vertical platforms such as Himalaya, Lychee, and Lazy Listening, its audiobooks, audio social and other content service products are more based on the UGC collaborative production model, with customized production and content payment as the main features. In terms of content cooperation and product integration with mainstream media, there is still a lot of room for exploration and cooperation between the two. For example, as far as the audio vertical platform is concerned, the radio station anchors in the mainstream media have crossed over to become the UP master of the platform, which is a good combination of cooperation between the two. Back to the development logic of product thinking and product innovation in the network ecosystem. The purpose of product innovation is to promote the development of the industry ecology, focusing on how to organically integrate the content of mainstream media with the products of vertical platforms, and realize the integration and innovation of "content + product" and "media + platform". The most critical development model of verticalization in the media ecosystem is to transform scarce, verticalized and personalized content into attention resources, so as to attract users' attention and consumption. From this point of view, the key to the segmentation characteristics of vertical platforms and the success of customized content is still attention, which is missing from mainstream media in the development of online ecological competition and cooperation. Mainstream media has been declining in competition with online media and vertical platforms, which is highlighted by the decline in influence. An important opportunity for the "re-authoritative" or "re-mainstreaming" of mainstream media is to explore how to cater to the attention of Internet users in new product forms and transform content resources into attention resources. Therefore, in the exploration of the development of the vertical industry, the interaction and cooperation between the mainstream media and the vertical platform is the need for the expansion of the industry structure and the real environment. Industry value persistence: the necessity of balancing mainstream value and business value From the perspective of the cooperation prospects between mainstream media and vertical platforms, there are two key points to achieve the ultimate content and the best service. To achieve the ultimate in content means that the mainstream media should give full play to its advantages of authoritative information, official sources, in-depth explanation, and value guidance, and make the news content exclusive. At the same time, it is also necessary to expand news content into content products, deeply integrate content with technology, platform, and media forms, make good use of visualization, intelligence, digitalization and other presentation forms, launch application products that adapt to the network ecology and meet user needs, and realize the transformation of content products into application products. To achieve the best service, for the mainstream media, it is necessary to truly understand the function and social value of the service, efficiently combine the operation model of "news + government service business" with the vertical industry, and embed the operation model innovation of the mainstream media into the industrial chain of industry development. The cooperation between mainstream media and vertical platforms should focus on transforming a single news production into content co-creation. In the digital era of resource sharing and data integration, the news content of mainstream media is no longer something that media organizations can complete independently. Although the authority of the media cannot be shaken, the UGC model that adapts to the online communication environment is also an important way to expand the influence of mainstream media. From the perspective of vertical industry ecology, the news content production of mainstream media should carefully study the UGC operation model, not only pay attention to users as information recipients, but also pay attention to users who participate in information production and self-expression, and aggregate users in various industries and fields such as government affairs, education, health, medical care, sports, entertainment, agriculture, science and technology, etc., because these vertical subdivided industries have a large number of network experts and platform bloggers, and they all have strong content production and dissemination capabilities. Mainstream media should fully stimulate the creativity of content production entities in vertical industries, organically combine professional content production with user content production, promote the co-creation of multiple subjects in content production, and fully release the vitality of mainstream media content production. At present, many prefecture-level and county-level financial media have made full use of the opportunity of institutional and mechanism innovation to explore different forms of studio models, which have become an important strategic fulcrum for the development of vertical industries. This studio model focuses on a certain field or industry, breaks the inherent barriers of human and resource allocation within the media, sets up an innovative team that adapts to the development of the Internet and the industry, focuses on the product operation of vertical fields based on mainstream media content production, and realizes the connection between media and social resources and multiple industries with all-media integrated services. In the process of connecting different industries such as education, animation, medical care, cultural tourism, performing arts, and events, the studio's content planning team and creative marketing team continue to try new forms of project development and cooperation to promote new product innovation. However, in the long run, if the mainstream media wants to truly seize the dividends of vertical industry development, it also needs to expand the creation of vertical products to the development of vertical industries, and build the ecosystem of vertical industries with market strategies. On the basis of realizing the co-creation of content with multiple production subjects, the mainstream media should further realize the product co-construction with the main body of vertical industry enterprises, and gradually become an effective hub for information resources in emerging industries, an effective subject for emerging industry model innovation, and a participating force in the formulation of emerging industry standards. It should be noted that no matter how the mainstream media expands the vertical market and how the vertical platform integrates into the media innovation model, this innovative cooperation belongs to the scope of the news and communication industry, and its development will inevitably involve the relationship between the social and economic benefits of the media, and the mainstream value and commercial value. We have seen that some mainstream media have carried out vertical brand building in the form of enterprise operations, and entered vertical fields such as e-commerce, technology, data, and finance. For example, Mango TV's Xiaomang App has created a trendy domestic content e-commerce platform to achieve product sales and income generation; Metropolis Express's "Orange Persimmon Interactive" project explores a new consumption model that integrates urban big data, e-commerce, and intra-city social networking, and integrates social governance and social services...... These innovative vertical products have opened up new production methods and operation models, and are all new attempts to promote cross-border integration with mainstream media as the main body. Its primary task is still to adhere to the priority of social benefits, realize social value, and balance the relationship between mainstream value and commercial value must be grasped at all times. Its development should be matched with the social value of mainstream media, the guidance of mainstream public opinion, and the responsibility of social service supply, and should not blindly pursue economic benefits and capital operation because of the layout of emerging vertical industries such as technology, e-commerce, and data. (Author: Huang Chuxin, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the New Media Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Researcher and Doctoral Supervisor of the Institute of Journalism and Communication, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; License: Associate Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, Hebei University) This article was originally published in the March 2024 issue of Omnimedia Exploration, with the original title "New Ecology of Media Convergence: Innovative Cooperation between Mainstream Media and Vertical Platforms".