The usual communication environment of interaction between traditional media, social networks, the blogosphere and the audience, which has developed in the Russian Federation for a decade, is now undergoing a period of transformation. In connection with the increasing influence of prohibitive sanctions in the Russian Federation in relation to the once most popular social networks (Instagram and Facebook), the renewal of national video hosting and the active development of the “Odnoklassniki” and “VKontakte” social networks, the authors of the study identified factors and conditions for the development of work with the target audience of new media. The study made it possible to conclude that the functions of the mass media are undergoing changes at the macro and micro levels within a particular group, organization, community. The article presents a model of effective influence on the audience of Russian media on the example of the social network “Vkontakte” to improve the adaptation of online publications to the conditions of the new media reality. The presented model can be used at the stage of planning the creation of a new community or as part of changing the existing community management model by both federal and regional media in order to attract a new audience, improve community management statistics, and increase income from its monetization.