Are we aware that content is king?

Turkish Internet businesses are thriving both in Turkey and overseas. There is good news coming from all around the globe about mergers or new investments in Turkish firms. However, I have serious doubts that this is sustainable because it seems that our businesses are still lagging behind when it comes to creative content.

The Economist Intelligence Unit recently conducted a global survey of 485 executives in the media and entertainment industry. They were drawn from Europe, North America, Asia/Pacific and Brazil and their companies all have a minimum global revenue of $1 million. All respondents hold management positions, with 48 percent occupying C-suite or board-level positions.

Key findings from the survey revealed that growth is in the digital, but most companies are still searching for the right model. Digital content will be the fastest-growing part of the industry over the next decade and is expected to account for 80 percent of the media we consume by 2020 (up from two-thirds in 2010). Businesses don’t need to shift to a purely digital model but they need to tap into the growing digital market. Only 12 percent of firms polled in our survey already have a digital distribution model that is commercially successful, perhaps because their confidence in the future hasn’t been backed up by concrete action. Although 63 percent view the rise of social media as an opportunity, only 36 percent have undertaken social media and viral content initiatives in the past three years to increase digital revenues.

The revolution has only just begun. Executives in the survey identify a series of trends that have already transformed their industry. Over 63 percent believe advertisers are becoming more informed and demanding, and 53 percent say digital models have made it more difficult to reach consumers in their preferred environment. Over half agree that the media and entertainment industry “is not sustainable in its current form.” The majority think there is plenty of change still to come, with three-quarters saying that “we have so far only experienced a small part of the overall impact that the shift to digital will have on our economy.”

If it’s good enough, people will pay. There has been much debate about whether enough people will be willing to pay for content now that there is so much available online for free. Nearly 69 percent of respondents to the survey think consumers will get used to paying for well-targeted content as digital models mature.

According to this survey, Turkish companies are clueless about the future of Internet business. We don’t have strong content agencies that serve the standards of a demanding netizen. Furthermore, there are no companies who have successfully implemented content management to their core business, not even yemeksepeti.com or hepsiburada.com. I fear that the booming businesses won’t be able to keep on growing without a solid content management strategy and implementation.