Digital media companies drive the narrative online. They’re also some of the highest revenue-generating companies online. The digital media market is expected to hit over $560 billion in revenue in 2024. It’s a competitor of traditional media with increasing demand for original content leading to market expansion.
Video gaming is the largest segment within digital media. However, you can create a viral digital media company focusing on any segment. If you’re interested in an industry or niche, the chances are that you’re not alone. Categories like sports, financial education, and travel are large segments you can develop a niche within or expand as your company grows.
There are technical bits you have to get right before starting your digital media company. You need an easy-to-navigate WordPress theme and reliable WordPress hosting. That’s just the basics. We’re teaching you how to build a fast-scaling digital media company with a viral website and content that establishes your brand as a thought leader.
What is a Digital Media Company?
A digital media company is an organization that produces digital media. This media can vary between companies, but any sort of content you view online is considered digital media.
Media agencies create content such as:
- Articles and blog posts
- Podcasts
- YouTube Videos
- Livestreaming content
- eBooks and digital guides
We all engage with digital media companies every day. Most of your favorite influencers technically run a digital media company. While digital media can be created specifically for social media platforms, it can also be hosted on websites.
How Do Digital Media Agencies Make Money?
If you’re interested in content creation, you can make a side hustle that you can scale to a full-time income. This guide teaches you how to start a digital media company and take it viral with engaging content that builds a community.
But how do digital media companies earn revenue? Most companies diversify their revenue generation with affiliate marketing, advertising, subscriptions, selling products, and sponsorships. You can scale your digital media company and build a media empire.
Keep reading to find out how to start a successful digital media company and go viral.
10 Steps to Building a Viral Media Company
- Choose a Name for Your Digital Media Company
BuzzFeed. HuffPost. NowThis News. Refinery29. These are just a few digital media companies that dominate their niches. The first step to launching your company is to choose a name. You want one that reflects the purpose of your content and is easy to remember.
Avoid choosing a name that sounds too similar to a competitor or making it too niche specific. Remember, you’ll want to expand your content as your media company grows.
Choose a shortlist of names and test them on your friends to find the catchiest one. Make sure the company name is available for registering in your state and that the matching domain is available. You can think ahead and check if social media handles are also available.
Simple names are the best. You want your company name to be easy to spell and pronounce.
- Develop a Digital Media Company Business Plan
Don’t run headfirst into making content. You’re only wasting your time. The very first step to creating a successful digital media agency is to develop a business plan. Take at least a few weeks to start researching your market niche and creating a business model. Having a roadmap makes building a company feel more achievable, with milestones to keep you on track.
Create an executive summary and company overview. This part of your business plan should set out your company niche and the sort of content you’re going to make. Most content is either educational or for entertainment purposes. Decide who your target demographic is early on. It makes it easier to create engaging content and build an active community.
Research your industry, audience, and competition. You want to monitor trends within your niche to create content accordingly, alongside evergreen content that will continue to convert for years.
Understanding who your audience is can help tailor your affiliate marketing with products and services that your visitors are actively looking for. Doing research will save you time and money as you grow your digital media company. Competitor analysis will give you content ideas and help differentiate your brand to develop a unique voice.
- Do All the Legal Stuff
If you’re serious about starting a legitimate digital media company, you’ll have several legal things to do before you start.
- Register your digital media agency as an LLC
- Register your company for taxation
- Open a business bank account
- Get a business credit card
You don’t need to invest in an office or expensive equipment to get started. The camera on your phone is high enough quality to shoot most video content. You can write, produce, and develop any sort of digital content from your laptop, iPad, or phone.
Reinvest the money you make early on from digital media company on additional equipment, such as podcast microphones, to improve your content quality.
- Build an Accessible Website
Think of your website as your home base. It’s the storefront for your digital media company and should be the driving force behind your organic traffic. While you might create content for YouTube or upload a podcast to Spotify, your website should link to everything your business is doing.
One of the first steps to starting a viral digital media company is to build an accessible and reliable website. WordPress is the most popular platform and one of the easiest to navigate. It powers over 43% of the internet and dominates Google’s search engine result page.
Instead of spending the time building a WordPress website, invest in a theme with accessible navigation and a layout visitors will be familiar with.
Newsy is a viral media WordPress theme that’s been tried and tested by hundreds of other digital media companies. It’s mobile-friendly and easy to navigate with one-click installation.
Viral WordPress Theme
Newsy is the Perfect Viral News & Magazine WordPress Theme that includes all the “buzz” features you need to make a viral content website. Newsy offers 15+ demos for creating a functional and mobile-friendly viral content website. The theme offers one-click demo installation, allowing you to set up the website in no time. Go Viral Today!
Don’t forget about the backend! You need an affordable hosting plan that is easy to use with reliable performance to ensure website security. Bluehost is the most popular hosting plan for WordPress websites and offers everything you need to kickstart your media company. You can also get your website domain included to streamline the process.
Bluehost WordPress Hosting
Get WordPress hosting that fits your ambitions. Blog, website or online store, we’ve got a plan that fits perfectly. It’s one reason we’ve been recommended by WordPress since 2005.
You can install this viral WordPress theme and start your Bluehost plan for less than $60. That’s a tiny investment to start a viral digital media agency.
- Launch Your Social Media Profiles
Once your website is up and running, you need a presence on every social media platform. Keep your username and graphics consistent across each platform. Don’t forget to link back to your website and add your social media links to your website. Social media will help you drive organic traffic to your website and keep your audience engaged.
We recommend creating a profile on:
- Twitter/X
- YouTube
- TikTok
As you expand your digital media company, consider including WhatsApp, Telegram, Reddit, Discord, and Twitch. However, not every digital media company will need these accounts.
- Outsource Content to Freelancers
Once you’ve built your website, it’s time to start making content. In the beginning, you’ll probably be doing most of the content creation yourself. If you have a larger budget, you can start outsourcing right away. Alternatively, wait until your digital media website starts generating revenue and re-invest in outsourcing.
Stay clear of relying on AI software like ChatGPT to write your content. While these programs sound good, they lack the human quality that develops your brand’s voice and builds a community.
Google’s recent algorithm changes have been implemented to address low-quality content that it describes as ‘spammy’. AI-generated content often falls into this category. You’re more likely to go viral with talented writers and content creators who understand your company’s mission.
Why You Should Outsource Content Creation
Outsourcing your content to freelancers on platforms like Fiverr lets you focus on strategy and networking to build your digital media agency. If you dream of building a multi-platform media company, you’ll need to create a team that can run it all in the background.
Look out for Fiverr Pro freelancers who are vetted by the platform and specialists in their field. You can outsource everything from blog post writing to graphic design and adding subtitles to your videos. Freeing up your time and working with experts is worth the investment – and cheaper than hiring employees!
- Drive Traffic to Your Website
Your marketing strategy should focus on creating engaging content, building a community, and driving traffic to your website. You can choose between organic vs. paid traffic to scale your digital media company. We recommend doing a mixture of these to keep your marketing affordable and maximize your return.
Incorporate strategies like search engine optimization and guest blogging to drive organic traffic and help your website start ranking in search engines. Specialist freelancers can help with paid and organic traffic.
Utilizing social media to market your digital media website is one of the most affordable ways to drive traffic. Create content that stops users from scrolling and grabs their attention. Make sure to include a call to action (CTA) that directs them to your website with links in your profile or click-through links in your videos.
- Become a Thought Leader with a Podcast
Most digital media companies have multiple podcasts that target specific niches within their market segment. For example, a digital media company focusing on sports might have a Formula One podcast and another talking about women’s football.
Start with a ‘catch-all’ podcast covering all the branches of your media company. You can identify what specific content does best and launch additional podcasts as your company grows. It’s easy to launch a podcast with lots of affordable equipment on Amazon, or you can start by recording on your phone.
Don’t forget to capture video while you’re recording your podcast. You can easily repurpose your content onto TikTok and Instagram to drive traffic to your podcast.
The number one rule to creating a viral digital media company is creating content you can repurpose across multiple platforms. Monetize your podcast once you start getting consistent engagement. Podcast advertising spending is projected to hit $4 billion in 2024. You can get a slice of the pie.
- Build Brand Awareness on YouTube
Successful digital media companies diversify their content and distribute it across multiple platforms. Don’t overlook YouTube. It’s the home of long-form content, and YouTube videos are easy to integrate into your website.
You can upload your Podcasts onto YouTube in video format or create direct-to-camera content. YouTube is the second most popular social media platform, with almost 2.5 billion monthly logged-in users.
YouTube is the perfect way to put a face to your brand. Depending on your niche, you can create faceless content, such as unboxing videos and documentaries using other footage.
The best content to upload to YouTube:
- Explainer videos
- Video game walkthroughs
- Behind-the-scenes content
- Product reviews and comparisons
- Unboxing videos, especially for new products
- Educational videos, including how-to guides
- Take Advantage of Live Video and Streaming
Don’t overlook live-streaming! Once you’ve built your community and you’re starting to create viral content, take advantage of live video and streaming. These tools are easier to incorporate in certain niches, such as educational content and product reviews, but any digital media company can use live-streaming.
Broadcasting live is a chance to build a deeper connection with your audience and direct traffic to certain assets. You can promote your podcast or start a discussion around your latest news post. TikTok is one of the easiest platforms to live-stream on and can help new audiences find your content.
Platforms like Twitch are ideal for digital media companies specializing in commentary-style content. Almost 40% of social media users find live video the most engaging content.
The global live-streaming market is expected to grow to over $3.2 billion by 2027. Now is the perfect time to start building your presence on these platforms.
Take Your Digital Media Company Viral
Launch your media agency and take it viral with this in-depth guide on launching a digital media company. Who knows, your website might be the next Buzzfeed!
Start your digital media company for less than $60 using our go-to viral WordPress theme and Bluehost plan.
