Marketing Strategies for the Digital World: A Case Study of Malayalam News Channels in Kerala

Traditional marketing strategies cannot satisfy the ever-growing demand of today’s consumers, and it necessitates the importance of the digital world. The fast-growing digital technologies and consumer inclination towards social media platforms enhanced the relevance and urgency of digital marketing strategy implementation across the sectors, especially the media industry. The study aims to understand the major digital marketing strategies adopted by leading news channels in Kerala and how those institutions monitor their effectiveness. This study also intended to explore the challenges and opportunities of news channels in the digital world. The studies on digital marketing in the media industry, especially on news channels in Kerala, are missing, and that is the intention behind this paper. The study is qualitative, and a case study approach is used to understand the topic. A purposive sampling method was used to select the cases and the respondents. Direct observation and semi-structured interviews are the primary data collection methods. Secondary data was collected from related journals, books, newspapers, and the Internet. Thematic analysis is done manually and with the software Atlas ti’. The study analysed that digital presence is essential for news channels to widen their reach to all customer groups, withstand market competition sustainably, and generate income. News channels’ online platforms concentrate on B2B and B2C markets through client and user management. Platform and audience preference-based digital tactics are inevitable in attaining the dominant market position. The channels have a presence on both Google and Meta platforms, and a shift towards Instagram is gradually happening on social media platforms. Channels apply various digital marketing metrics to measure the success of digital content. Understanding the market pulse and executing simultaneous marketing strategies for both B2B and B2C markets ensure the development of digital news channels on digital platforms in Kerala.