Media Industry Digital Plans: Opportunities for SMEs

An Introduction to the Importance of Media Industry Digital Plans

The Government has recently released Media industry digital plans in Singapore to uplift the media industry by empowering it with digital skills and solutions to cope with the challenges and intense competition. While such empire focuses on entertainment, it also deals with the storing and communication of data by using different tools like print, broadcasting, video, animation, audio, streaming media, and social media. Overall, the media industry plays a vital role in our life, and we are very much dependent on it for getting and sending information and for entertainment.

In recent years the industry has undergone a lot of transformation because of technological advancements, especially the internet. It has led to the emergence of new forms of communication like websites, blogs, podcasts, and apps. People today seek news or entertainment content online through devices like mobiles and computers. Social media has also significantly impacted the media industry, and people are continually using popular platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Thus, every media industry must have its own media industry digital plans.

About the Media Industry Digital Plans in Singapore

The media industry in Singapore plays a significant role in its economy, and it comprises the sub-sectors like publishing, broadcasting, animation, games, and films. A large part of the total workforce in Singapore is employed in the media industry. Technological advances have led to the emergence of new digital platforms giving the customers more choices than before. The media industry today faces a lot of challenges, like rising costs and continually changing customer needs.

The government realizes that digitalization in the media industry is the only way out for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to thrive and cope with the intense competition. The Infocomm Media Industry Transformation Map (ICM ITM) was launched to empower the media industryā€™s digital plans so that it can be more efficiently implemented.

The Media Industry Digital Plans (IDP) is a part of the SMEs Go Digital program which provides SMEs with guidance and solutions at every stage of their journey to digitalization.

The SMEs Go Digital Plan

  • The Media Industry digital plans that serve as a guide for the solutions and skills required for going digital.
  • Pre-approved solutions to meet business requirements and information about government grants available for support.
  • Advice from experts that can transform your business.
  • Support from project managers for the digitization process.

Digital Roadmap: This is a guide for SMEs to help them on their path to being digitally ready. It consists of these three steps:

Getting Digital Economy Ready

It deals with the digital solutions that SMEs can adopt to improve efficiency and productivity.

  • Management of production and projects in real-time: It will help to monitor factors like resources, schedules, and budget in real-time through devices like the mobile. This will enable better partnering with people involved and improve in the optimum use of resources and increase income and productivity. It will also help in the better management of the risks involved.
  • Management of vendor contract/billing: Streamlining and management of the business contracts and billing of freelancers, vendors, and other staff. You will begin to see the improved control of your billing and contract processes of vendors. Subsequently, it will help in the optimum use of the budget and allow better management of the cash flow.
  • Optimum use of digital media assets and their management: Automating the tagging and indexing processes for the metadata and assets. This will help to perform speedier searches for the required content and also create more openings for earning income.

Growing in the Digital Economy

  • Generating business lead and manage community: Conduct all-round studies and analysis of the customer interactions to understand them better and help to improve their satisfaction levels. Another action would be to make exclusive offers to the customers and use social media for delivering exciting content. This provides a positive impression to the community and enhances the brand presence. Use chatbots to satisfy the queries of the customers. This will also result in an increase in earnings in the long run.
  • Utilize shared creative services from reliable sources: Have access to innovative shared services from reliable sources whenever required. This will help to improve the overall customer experience and also transaction interactions. It will also generate more sales from the new market openings.
  • Utilize predictive analytics: Tools to study and understand the present trends and analyze the contentā€™s possibilities for success. This will lower the risks involved and help in better use of media content.

Leaping Ahead

  • Use Blockchain technology for digital rights control: Utilize blockchain to protect the content from being copied, used, or redistributed in an unauthorized manner. This will provide more security for copyright owners and lessen revenue losses.
  • Create content using AI (Artificial intelligence): Use AI to develop and improve the quality of media content. This will help to enhance the value of the creative work done by media professionals. It will also create new opportunities in media for additional income. The media content can be indexed and categorized with minimum human effort.
  • Create immersive and targeted personalized experiences: Utilize the insights from collected data to create targeted and personalized content using immersive media. The personalized offers will also help in generating more income. It will also augment the customerā€™s experience and keep them interested.

Media Industry Digital Plans: Opportunities for SMEs

Providing Digital Skills for Implementation of Media Industry Digital Plans

As per the media industry digital plans, the staff will be trained about every stage of digitalization. The following are the courses available:

  1. Tech Basics courses: These courses are suitable for digital light users like sales executives or scriptwriters. They also include broad-based digital skills and awareness and also vendor solution-specific training.
  2. Advanced courses: These are for more proficient users like marketing director, film or video broadcast director and will include higher proficiency digital skills.
  3. Tech Specialist courses: This is for the ICM professionals in the media industry (i.e. head of technology and operations or head of analytics or customer insights). They will receive specialist skills in digital and tech.

Support will be present at all stages on the path of making media industry digital plans. They can avail of the Media industry digital plans resource at the official website or scan the QR code for information. In addition, they can visit the Tech depot to buy and implement digital solutions and avail of the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) if they require funding support. They can also receive advice from the Business advisor at the nearest SME centre.