Construction World July 2016

COMMENT

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A business-to-business magazine has the function of being a vehicle for a specific industry to share something newsworthy or add to the knowledge base within that industry. At the same time, it is a way in which products or services can be advertised to a specific audience – and the inference is that there is little wastage as the message will reach only those who have a vested interest. This applies to both editorial and advertising.

up-to-date news snippets and sector news. Our weekly newsletter reaches some 6 000 people every week – it is short and to the point. The industry that Construction World has served for 33 years is slowly but surely realising that social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.) can enhance brands, create awareness of what is offered and can direct recipients to paid products. Construction World has a healthy Twitter and growing Facebook following. Newsworthy items are retweeted and reposted – the number of Twitter followers indicates to me that Construction World is seen as a source of infor- mation – people and companies want to follow it. In addition, my LinkedIn profile has created a growing construction community of 3 600. It is vividly clear that it is no longer only about the print magazine. It is almost like a spiral – the community that it serves and informs is getting bigger and bigger – not limited by who receives a physical copy of the magazine. At the same time advertisers can reach a potentially bigger market.

A year ago I referred to this as the 360° offering. In the past, the benefit of business-to-business print publishing was that it served a specific, but ring fenced audience. This audience is growing – no longer limited by geograph- ical factors. It gives advertisers (especially) in ConstructionWorld a great opportunity towiden the reach of their message. This is the symbiotic relationship I referred to earlier: print will always be vital in a busi- ness-to-business context, but it must have a significant online presence too.

In the past few years there has been a rapid change in the publishing landscape. This has varied wildly and is magazine-type specific: in extreme cases, online publications have replaced print publications completely, while in others print and online publishing co-exist in a symbiotic relationship. Sadly, many (and busi- ness-to-business publications are big culprits), traditional print publications are clinging onto ‘how it was done in the past’ for dear life and have done little to nothing in terms of an online offering. The matter is further complicated: it is no longer a case of a mere online offering that conveys content to an audience via electronic media. I am referring to social media – here busi- ness-to-business publications often lack sorely.

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Wilhelm du Plessis Editor

Our offering to the construction world

• Best Projects 2016 is now open for entries. Please see the overview of the awards and entry requirements on page 16. • Sustainable Construction World will be published in October. This will be our second sustainable supplement. Support this supplement with advertising or editorial.

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EDITOR & DEPUTY PUBLISHER Wilhelm du Plessis constr@crown.co.za ADVERTISING MANAGER Erna Oosthuizen ernao@crown.co.za LAYOUT & DESIGN Lesley Testa CIRCULATION Karen Smith

PUBLISHER Karen Grant PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY Crown Publications cc P O Box 140 BEDFORDVIEW, 2008 Tel: 27 11-622-4770 • Fax: 27 11-615-6108

TOTAL CIRCULATION: (First Quarter ’16) 4 734

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The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JULY 2016