Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) dominate the online media landscape through their various platforms that billions of people use everyday. These two giants have developed sophisticated ways to gather users' data and target them with advertisements, generating billions in profits for the companies every year. But the lines between various forms of media are beginning to blur, with people getting their news through Snapchat (NYSE:SNAP) and Facebook and more and more companies entering and becoming successful in the streaming business, challenging Netflix's dominance. This means that the online media landscape, while still dominated by the two giants of the internet, is quickly changing and to keep pace dynamic companies are developing innovative ways to keep their own share of user's eyeballs.
Instagram and its parent company Facebook are in a fight with Snapchat for dominance in the image-based social media. Despite 60% growth in recent years Snapchat still has significantly fewer daily users than Instragram. But Snapchat users are much more engaged than Facebook users. Nearly 60% of Snapchat users post personal content everyday, much higher than Instagram. In addition, Snapchat's user base is younger and is growing faster globally than Instagram's. In addition Snapchat, which long had trouble attracting older users, is finally showing signs of penetrating those markets. In addition Snapchat this year launched its Snapchat Discover's news additions to significant acclaim.But Snapchat continues to struggle with revenue growth, while Instagram is backed by Facebook, one of the most valuable companies in the world. In addition, Instragram is showing stronger growth in the developing world where billions of the Earth's population's lived.
Another media war going on has to do with Facebook's control of internet media traffic. Much of a websites traffic is driven by what users click on from their Facebook feed. Therefore the ways Facebook manipulates user's feeds is of important to internet media.The media's presence on Facebook is also therefore incredibly important. Last year Facebook launched Instant articles which allowed media companies to post articles directly to Facebook so readers could read them without having to leave the social media site. Websites like Vox and the Washington post were able to massively increase website traffic by improving their Facebook presence. Some analysts are even saying that Facebook pages will be the next websites, as the company becomes so dominant. What this means for media companies, from newspapers like the New York Times to relatively new mostly web companies like Politico is that they have to massively adapt to the new media landscape. Investors should look towards media companies that are aggressively remaking themselves for the digital age.
Investors should realize that the media landscape is going through the same revolution that all industries are going through in our new technological age, and that in fact the media landscape is changing the fastest. It seems likely that in coming years traditional media like newspapers and television will continue to decline. The old media companies that will survive are the ones that will continue to provide value to their users. Innovative companies like the New York Times (NYSE: NYT) has made significant strides in growing digital ad revenue, digital subscription revenue, and has even made forays into VR. What investors should also realize in the long term is that the disruptive innovations which social media companies have created will also in the future possibly endanger them if they don't adapt.