Unless you’ve been asleep for the past few years, you’re probably aware that the demand for e-books (and e-book readers) has increased tremendously (see infographic from The Next Web). Consumers have been moving towards consuming more and more of their content digitally online and the rise of e-books shows that consumers are also reading books digitally (though not necessarily online at the time of consumption). These trends are very important to understand as a marketer to figure out new ways to interact and engage with consumers. Here are some of my thoughts….
Anyone is a Book Publisher
Just like the Internet let anyone write and publish content, the rise of ebooks means that anyone can write a book. This means that we’re seeing much more information from smaller publishers. While that can mean that the quality may vary, we also get a much wider viewpoint of any topic. From a marketing standpoint, it’s much easier to produce content in book form that can reach a much smaller, niche audience (targeted + quality).
Persistence of Internet Connectivity
Many ebook readers also have some type of internet connectivity with at least a web browser. Some, like Apple’s iPad, also have the ability to run applications that connect to the Internet. Along with smartphones, ebook readers, tablets and other mobile devices mean that people can be connected to the Internet almost everywhere they go. As a marketer, this opens the potential situations and opportunities you have to interact with potential customers. It also means that consumers have the opportunity to share their experiences with products and services at the point of service (customer service is also marketing).
New Ways to Interact with Books
While some ebook readers just display text, most allow a bit more interaction, even if it’s just highlighting and note-taking. Some provide more graphical interaction. As ebook readers evolve or people use ebook readers on other devices, there is an opportunity to create new kinds of content in books. Publishers (and marketers) are no longer forced to try to describe a topic just with words and images.
Decrease in Cost & Requirements
Because the rise of ebooks make it easy for anyone to publisher, it’s much cheaper to produce a “book”. Books also can be much shorter and targeted since they don’t have so much overhead. As marketers this opens the opportunity to create ebooks for different parts of your audience or on topics that might not fill up a traditional book.
The Rise of the Ebook [Infographic]
How do you think ebooks are changing marketing?
(photo by meedanphotos)