Substack or Medium? Crisis of information intermediation and opportunities for professional communication.

News consumption has undergone a radical transformation driven by the emergence of digital platforms, social networks and multimedia formats. The beginning of this transformation process is a long way off, but it is important to be aware that this process is not yet complete.

The media that have historically played the role of information reference for society are no longer guaranteed the public’s attention. For the media, recovering a certain position of relevance will require important adaptation efforts in terms of formats, as well as in the articulation of an effective presence in the main content distribution spaces. We have seen attempts of all kinds, some more successful than others, and we will continue to see them in the coming years.

According to recent data, digital platforms have overtaken traditional media as the main sources of information.. It is a fact that is taking shape globally but is very visible among young audiences. Particularly in Latin America, TikTok and Instagram are leading this trend, with notable growth in countries such as Peru, where TikTok reached 33% of users who consult news on this platform.. Likewise, and in another geographical context, the BBC itself, which was initially reluctant to have a presence on TikTok, was forced to boost its profiles on this social network , considering that ignoring this channel would mean losing relevance among the younger audience.

What is the information intermediation crisis?

It is a key phenomenon for understanding the current communication ecosystem and has profound implications for all types of actors involved in it, from news agencies to finalist media and all types of companies that aim to communicate with audiences. In short, for communication purposes it has altered everything and will continue to do so for years to come.

It can also be defined as the weakening of the added value traditionally provided by news agencies and the media in the information distribution chain. This crisis is mainly due to the following factors:

• Technological disintermediation understood as the ability of individuals to have direct access to primary sources of content (governments, companies, non-profit organizations, etc.) or to viralized content (content creators, influencers, users, etc.) without the need for a traditional media to filter or verify the information and without the need for it to come from a journalistic source.

• The rise of technological platforms (such as Google, Meta, X, TikTok or Youtube), which have become the main distributors of news and information, has led to distributors of news, displacing theThe rise of technology platforms (e.g. Google, Meta, X, TikTok or Youtube), which have become the main distributors of news, displacing the media as gateways to information content.

• The fragmentation of consumption, understood as the fact that the public no longer primarily follows

The current audience consumes news suggested by algorithms, receives links in chats, follows Whatsapp or Telegram groups, receives personalized newsletters or prefers to consume analysis content on specialized channels on YouTube or other streaming platforms. Today’s audience consumes a mix of content coming from multiple sources that do not necessarily have to be related to each other.

Just as the intermediation crisis in the music market was brought under control with the emergence of platforms such as Spotify or Apple Music, which emptied the exchange of tracks in .MP3 format on P2P platforms, no stable alternative model has emerged at the information level that would lead us to believe that the crisis of intermediation in the information sphere could give way to a context too different from the one we know today. Therefore, we must find a strategy within the destructuring and iterate it with agility according to the needs that arise, many of them surely related to the evolution of the digital ecosystem itself.

Currently, any person, company or institution can communicate directly with an audience through social networks, blogs and all kinds of digital channels. This fact has weakened the traditional intermediation scheme and has generated a new communication scenario in which each business actor can take the initiative and communicate directly with whomever is most convenient for them, without going through intermediaries of any kind.

At the same time, the concentration of distribution in technological platforms has generated a context in which there has been a disintermediation of the classic mediators, but also a re-intermediation around the digital platforms themselves, which operate on a global scale and determine to a large extent the journalistic content that will reach the final audiences.

Therefore, we know that the intermediation space has shifted with respect to the value chain, attenuating very clearly between sources and media to move to the point located between the media themselves and the final audiences.

Some resources at the service of B2B communication

This is not an entirely new, but constantly evolving scenario. The fact is that it has not yet been assimilated by the general public in all its magnitude and complexity. In the collective imagination, the image of the major newspapers and broadcasters is one that overestimates their real capacity for influence and reach.

We know that digitalization has disrupted a large number of economic sectors and markets, but in order to operate communication strategies it is really important to be aware of the current scope of the various channels we have at our disposal. And of course, to contrast them with each other and to study as objectively as possible the return that each one has. This can be done directly or by seeking expert support.

Beyond those resources that are more obvious, such as corporate websites or the possibility of working on the different social networks that we have at our disposal today, here are two tools that can be applied to B2B communication and that have the potential to exceed in reach and return to actions carried out in traditional media:

• Substack: A blogging and newsletter platform launched in 2017 in Silicon Valley, it works by promoting content subscription models that materialize directly between creators and their audience. Substack ‘s value proposition is the disintermediation of opinion and analysis journalism. This “direct-to-reader” model has proven to be attractive to prominent names in the journalistic, intellectual or professional scene. But, in addition, the contents in Substack can be offered free of charge and the platform itself has a halo of professionalism and respectability that is very convenient for certain contents. At least at the professional level, it is a great platform from which to disseminate professional and corporate content.

• Medium: It is a content publishing platform created in 2012. It is considered an archetypal example of the “platformization” of journalism and digital essay writing. Similar to Substack, it offers a space where anyone can write content and distribute it among a community of readers, generally amplified by internal recommendation algorithms. Other initiatives such as Ghost o Bulletin are variations on the trend, partly driven by Medium, of facilitating self-publishing and direct monetization without corporate intermediaries. Similar to the previous tool, they offer a very powerful platform for sharing professional content.

In terms of corporate communication, the intermediation crisis is not in itself a threat, but a reconfiguration of the playing field that is still taking place on a daily basis. Companies, within their possibilities and adjusting to their objectives, have the opportunity to fill communication gaps. Today, those who have technical knowledge, analytical skills and the ability to narrate clearly also have the potential to become a primary source of authority.

Substack or Medium?

These are two very interesting tools, but it’s time to get down to business. Substack offers a credibility-enhanced environment. It is also ideal for publishing technical newsletters, market analysis or thematic series. Medium, on the other hand, has an algorithm that allows amplifying the reach beyond the most immediate circle and therefore has a certain potential to connect in unexpected places.

Today, the preferred option would be to opt for Substack. With exceptions and nuances, but it has advanced editing and dissemination options (such as the automatic generation of creative pieces to disseminate content on social networks) which, combined with its performance measurement functions, make it the more attractive option of the two.