SWOT Analysis of Burngreave Messenger - Case Study Example

Introduction The downturn in the sales realised from the print media has led to a frantic search for new ways and means for survival in the industry. In this regard, many newspapers are resorting to the use of social media in communicating with their present and potential customers in addition to providing an interactive platform through which such communication is enhanced. Indeed, this has enabled many newspapers to stay in the market at a time when the demand for commoditised news has reduced drastically (Burngreave Messenger, 2013). In this regard, the Burngreave Messenger can greatly benefit from a great involvement in the social media industry in improving its chances of survival in the market. This can basically be realised through a number of social media platforms which are popular with many people. The print version of the Burngreave Messenger essentially serves a limited geographical area. However, through the use of the social media, this can greatly be increased through the following ways. Twitter Headlines Feeds The newspaper should create a headline handle for its brand in this popular social platform just like other popular dailies such as The Sun and Telegraph have done. It is imperative to realise that some of the most successful world dailies have a huge following in the social media and such a presence largely accounts for their success. The newspaper can then establish various sections like Arts, Entertainment and Books on their Twitter handle. These sub-channels are normally very popular with the public and will therefore provide proper interaction with the advertisers. In the same way, the Burngreave Messenger can seek to create a series of online events in order to increase its readership online. This can greatly be enhanced if the events are carefully selected from those popular with the public. The Burngreave Messenger should establish an online community in which stories and real-time information is easily shared. For instance real time videos, comments and audio postings should be easily shared in the online community. In order to succeed effectively in the social media, the newspaper should come up with an effective strategy to address its online activity. Publication of the contents should be conducted on the big social networks which allow the contents to be easily discovered by millions of people across the world. One important aspect in social media journalism is the need to greatly engage the users by giving commentary and reacting to the comments of the users effectively. It helps to keep the online community much engaged and hence successful to the newspaper. In the same way, it is important for the homepage to easily indicate the link to the social media so that it becomes easy to find. Each page in the newspaper’s website should have the link to the social media sites so that it becomes easy for the people to follow. Many successful world dailies have integrated social media reading capabilities in their websites. For instance, the Washington Post is one such newspaper that a Social Reader which presently has over a million users. Considering that most newspapers are presently resorting to the use of social media, the survival of the traditional newspapers does not only depend on their participation in this community. On the other hand, smaller community papers such as the Shrewsbury Chronicle are also venturing into the social media as a ways of boosting their performance. Rather, it is about the strategies that are put into place in ensuring that the social media works to the benefit of the newspaper. In this regard, Burngreave Messenger can utilise the best strategies in the social media to ensure its growth. Considering the great amount of real-time news reporting that takes place on Facebook and Twitter, there is much opportunity for Burngreave Messenger to utilise the content usually created in relation to this. This would make the content of the newspapers feel more real-time in addition to providing many opportunities for the content developers to make revenue. While the newspaper has tried the aspect of engaging bloggers on its website, it is important to realise that there is still much potential in this respect and much can still be achieved. The Burngreave Messenger should therefore focus on establishing a network of bloggers in different regions to provide news to the people and ensure a continuous activity on the website. Facebook In relation to newspapers, there is always much focus on Twitter given the many opportunities it provides. However, it is now seen that Facebook is also becoming popular with major newspapers and Burngreave Messenger should not therefore limit itself to Twitter. The use of Facebook increases the level of engagement and this provides the perfect opportunity for the newspaper to increases its online readership. The use of Facebook greatly increases the engagement especially on postings with pictures. At the local level as in the case of Burngreave Messenger, success is much possible through innovation. One local newspaper that has a achieved much success in this respect is the Cincinnati Enquirer which recently launched an application which creates an opportunity for the readers to enjoy news in addition to other deals and coupons in the area. It should be realised that in the social media scene, there are no conventional rules and innovation is therefore very important for success. In this case, the Burngreave Messenger should utilise local technologies in creating new experiences in the manner in which news is gathered and delivered to the people. Large circulation papers like the USA Today have made the social media an important part of their futures. Journalists are therefore much encouraged to integrate the social media in their daily gathering and reporting as a way of sharing and informing people. These strategies will definitely put Burngreave Messenger in a proper position and enhance its success. It will keep the residents well informed of the issues around them in less time than presently realised. Considering the number of young people who use the social media, it is certainly a perfect opportunity for the young people to actively partake in the media industry and to enhance the growth of the newspaper. These recommendations will greatly enhance the readership of the Burngreave Messenger both in the locality and beyond. People from the community who reside in other parts of the world will have the perfect opportunity to share in the real-time news and engagement with their community. SWOT Analysis of Burngreave Messenger Indeed, the SWOT Analysis for the Burngreave Messenger reveals a myriad opportunities and strengths for the newspaper. Strengths It should realised that given that the Burngreave Messenger is basically produced through voluntary contribution from the local population it does not really sell its or charge for the delivery of the paper to the readers. This is certainly a major strength for the newspaper as it has already created a kind of brand which can effectively be utilised. The free delivery is also made possible through the voluntary actions of the locals. In addition, the focus of the newspaper is not really making profits but offering the best services to the locals. In this case, all the strategies to be adopted are always the best since the aspect of profits is not really factored. The members of staff are basically volunteers who commit themselves to the duty. Considering this important factor, the newspaper has a leap in that it can easily obtain labor from the local community who are ready to volunteer. In the same way, the voluntary nature of the staff offers a kind of flexible staffing which creates a proper working relationship within the organisation.It is further important to note the fact that the local community greatly recognises the duty of the Burngreave Messenger in increasing the awareness on the various happenings in the community and beyond. Weaknesses On the other hand, Burngreave Messenger is bedeviled with a number of challenges which might pose a challenge to the realisation of its objectives. One major issue is the lack of resources for the newspaper considering that much of the work and support is mostly from the volunteers. This is not a proper position since the volunteers might lack the commitment that is necessary for daily success. In addition, volunteers are less bound by responsibilities and this might therefore affect the smooth operations of the newspaper. Another major challenge is the fact that the production of Burngreave Messenger occurs only six times in a year. This is a limited number and is therefore a major issue it terms of coordination and continuous operations. Another major weakness realised is the low capacity to improve the performance of the newspaper. The lack of resources and staff creates a very limited opportunity in terms of growth and improvement. It is further seen that the Burngreave Messenger largely depends upon the skills of the people in its activities. Such skills are always varied and might not really match up to the required standards. However given that it is basically voluntary work, it creates a lot of mixed situations in the production process as people might have different approaches on different things. While the paper depends upon the services of volunteers, it is not always easy to get the volunteers. Some of these volunteers might not really be versed in the basic areas of newspaper production like editing and hence cannot be helpful in the production process. Opportunities There are a myriad opportunities for the growth and success of the Burngreave Messenger. Much of these opportunities exist in the social media which is becoming a common trend in the industry. The use of Twitter and Facebook create many opportunities for the locals to actively engage in the daily operations of the newspaper through sharing. Advancement in technology can make it possible for many people outside the community to take part in this form of engagement. As an external opportunity, the paper enjoys much readership in the community and this offers a perfect chance for growth. The real-time nature of such engagement will ensure proper communication between the various parties. In order to realise success out of the social media, the Burngreave Messenger should become very innovative and create new applications on weather and shopping that can easily suite its customers. In addition, the newspaper should actively participate in all the major social sites like Facebook and Twitter. Another major opportunity in relation to the social media is the fact that such media provide free means of sharing information and this would definitely be a perfect opportunity for Burngreave Messenger. The costs involved in printing and publishing are therefore greatly reduced when the newspaper adopts the social media platforms. While the voluntary nature of the staff of Burngreave Messenger might be considered a weakness, it should be seen that there are always a large number of the locals who are willing to volunteer their services for the success of the newspaper. These people can therefore be utilised effectively to provide much labour. Threats A number of threats presently pose a challenge for the very existence of the Burngreave Messenger. Large circulation newspapers like the Star and the Telegraph have well established systems and online presence and are therefore much preferred. In this case, they pose very stiff competition to the local papers like the Burngreave Messenger. Such papers have large resources and can therefore develop their services better and to the taste of the people. The economic recession currently realised across Europe is a major challenge for most businesses and many sectors are greatly affected. The paper industry is much affected as costs have risen while many people might also regard such papers as luxury. In this case, the readership greatly reduces. The Burngreave Messenger largely depends upon volunteers for its operations to proceed. However, such voluntary activity might always end when the volunteers chose to give up it is therefore seen that the paper might have a very uncertain future depending on the wishes of the volunteers. The big competition posed by many newspapers already in existence in the area is another major challenge that might actually drive Burngreave Messenger out of business. While many opportunities actually exist for the success of the Burngreave Messenger, it is important to note that the lack of ability in taking up these opportunities is a great challenge and can spell threats. The voluntary staff and the periodic nature of the operations makes it hard to take up these opportunities. References Burngreave Messenger:About us : Organisational Background . (n.d.).Burngreave Messenger . Retrieved March 9, 2013, from http://www.burngreavemessenger.org/about-us/organisational-background/ Read More