Content providers need to cloud up or lose billions in the battle for user and subscriber growth

Driving growth is going to be a huge challenge for social media platforms, content providers, and media companies in 2024 and beyond. Amid consumers’ changing habits, perceived decay in the quality and integrity of social media, over-saturation and fierce competition as well as economic headwinds, the content industry is set for rough seas in its search for new opportunities. While it has explored various ways to increase business value over the past few years, one undeniable truth remains: subscriber gains and increased user numbers are the bedrock of confidence. And the only way to win in the new era of media will be getting to the next billion untapped users first.

Why 2024 is signaling the ‘unlike’ era for media companies

Though the number of social media users worldwide increased by 320 million people over the last year, growth rates are set for a huge slowdown due to the sheer number of people who already use social media. User attention is also stretched to its limits across a myriad of platforms with the average person using seven different social networks each month. The perception that the quality of social media platforms is degenerating is also set to drive 50% of consumers to abandon or significantly limit their interactions with social media by 2025, with concerns around mis- and disinformation, toxic user bases, and the anticipated impact of generative AI as key drivers.

Unfortunately, the outlook for the entertainment, media and telecommunications industries is also fraught. Subscription numbers are down and with more streaming options, the churn rate among streaming video has had a threefold increase over the past four years. In 2023, there were a total of 164.7 million new SVOD sign-ups with 140.5 million subscription cancellations, resulting in a net gain of 24.2 million new subscribers, less than half the previous year. This leaves some of the biggest names in entertainment, from Disney to Paramount, grappling to figure out what investors want since the narrative of subscription streaming video growth is changing. Rate cuts and regulatory concerns are also set to push back many transformative deals until 2025, meaning that if media or technology companies want to acquire large assets but are cash strapped, they may need to wait for a better capital market.

A bright spot seems to be that digital and online advertising spend appears to be bouncing back, but the spoils are not being evenly shared. Recent results from big players like Alphabet, Meta and Amazon are showing an upswing but smaller players like Snap have reported an increase of just 5% year-over-year, its sixth straight quarter of single-digit growth or a decline in sales. Though TikTok has been the fastest-growing platform with a staggering 100% user growth rate in the last few years, the looming threat of a US ban could put a spanner in the works for the superstar platform’s future growth.

The next frontier for growth is getting the next billion users online

It’s an undeniably doomy picture. Yet there is cause for optimism. An estimated 3.4 billion people are still without internet access. Hope for the industry’s future growth lies in the market potential that connecting these people presents. Getting them online would not just provide access to critical information, entertainment and essential services — it could potentially add US$6.7 trillion to global economic output.

This untapped market could be critical for more sustainable growth strategies as acquiring and retaining existing internet and social media users is a costly game that often yields low returns. In more mature and saturated markets user conversion is hugely challenging and much more costly when consumers are spoiled for choice while also trying to limit their digital time. It can cost four to five times more to retain customers in this environment and projected spend on global loyalty management is set to grow $6.47 billion in 2023 to $28.65 billion by 2030.

While every business needs to find the right balance between customer retention and acquisition, customer acquisition in untapped markets holds huge growth and loyalty potential. By focusing on the next wave of users, content providers can increase their chances of acquiring more valuable customers instead of retaining average ones with less brand loyalty for their investments. Being an individual’s first entry point to all that the internet has to offer can deepen their connection with a content provider or media brand if it becomes the place from which they learn about and engage with social media for the first time, ultimately becoming their main point of reference and shaping their habits.

The battle for new users will be won with Cloud Phone technology

With many of the world’s unconnected living in rural areas with no broadband connection, the route to increasing access is through 4G wireless connectivity. Bridging this digital divide relies on A) connectivity + B) affordable devices with compelling applications. While governments, technology and social media companies have made strides in addressing connectivity, many of the cheapest smartphones still cost around US $150 — still far from affordable for people in much of the developing world. Additionally, more accessible traditional feature phones face technical limitations, hindering their ability to access internet services and run apps effectively.

CloudMosa’s Cloud Phone technology is set to close the B-Gap in the equation by revolutionizing feature phones through a virtual browser that acts as an operating system.

In other words, ‘dumb’ phones are set to become a thing of the past. The technology enables handsets as cheap as US$10 to serve as a platform to connect users to key web applications like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok through a cloud-based engine, ensuring seamless access to app content through Cloud Phone widgets. Making internet and access to the app ecosystem more affordable for the last billion people offers huge opportunities for content providers to grow their user and subscriber bases. And more users means more growth, increased advertising spend and opportunities for new products and revenue streams.

With the promise of seamless connectivity and enhanced accessibility, Cloud Phone technology offers a gateway to untapped audiences, propelling content providers towards a new era of expansion and profitability. Embracing this technology could reshape the growth trajectory and narrative for content providers and solidify their positions in the battleground of digital content consumption. But reaching these users first by making content available through Cloud Phone widgets will be a critical factor in deciding who the winners and losers will be, and companies that choose to ignore this opportunity will be leaving billions of potential users on the table for competition to snap up.