Digital Media: The FUTURE or the NOW?

business man holding technology graphics including laptop, smartphone, tablet

By Ryan Gindlesperger, Managing Partner, 1st Team Advertising

As businesses and major brands alike roll through 2015, marketers within these organizations continue to put a greater emphasis on digital media.  In an article by AdWeek in January of 2015, Salesforce released a “State of Marketing” report that concluded the following:

  • 71% of marketers said mobile marketing is core to their business.
  • 68% have integrated mobile into their larger marketing strategy.
  • 58% have a dedicated mobile team.
  • 73% think email is core to their business.
  • 66% believe social media is core to their business.
  • 66% have a dedicated social media team.
  • 56% said their corporate websites are their most effective digital technologies.

 

These numbers speak for themselves and they certainly cannot be denied.  One of the major reasons this shift has occurred is the increased number of users on digital media platforms like Facebook.  According to the Pew Research Center, the amount of Facebook users between the ages of 50-64 increased by 3 percent from 2013 to 2014.  The biggest statistical change was the increase in the amount of Facebook users over the age of 65.  This number increased a whopping 11 percent in just a single year (2013 to 2014).

The rise of smart phones over the past decade has also played a significant role in the way marketers use digital and mobile media.  The introduction of Apple’s iPhone in 2007 paved the way for other smart phone manufacturers.  The smart phones that we know and use today put multiple forms connectivity in palm of most individuals throughout the United States and many parts of the world.  Want to check your Twitter feed?  Use your phone.  Want to update your Facebook status?  Use your phone.  Want to check your email, send your wife a text about dinner plans, or surf the Web for hotel deals for that vacation you are planning in August?  Use your phone.  These devices and the digital media technologies on them, have provided marketers with the ability to accurately profile and target consumers based on their gender, age, geographic region in which they live, education level, marital status… the list goes on and on.

If you know your target audience or ideal consumer of your product, service, or brand, then you are undoubtedly using digital media in some capacity.  If you’re not using digital media, and you don’t plan to, then be prepared to find yourself left in the dust of your competitors.  The digital space is continuously changing and evolving.

Just recently, on April 21st, Google changed their search algorithm to favor websites that are mobile-friendly.  According to a recent article by the Wall Street Journal, this is considered by some experts to be the most significant change to the Google algorithm in years.  Is your website mobile-friendly?  If not, do a Google search for companies in your industry.  You might be surprised to find that you don’t rank as high in organic search as you once did.

The bottom line is this; digital media is not just the future of marketing and advertising, it is the NOW of marketing and advertising.  If your business or organization is leveraging digital media, good job; keep it up and keep adding more touch points.  If your business or organization is not using digital media to reach consumers, it’s never too late to start.  The future of your business might depend on it, literally.

 

Ryan Gindlesperger is the Managing Partner of 1st Team Advertising, a full-service marketing and advertising agency specializing is digital media.  For more information on this article or the services offered by 1st Team Advertising, call 1(800) 799-2040 or email info@1stTeamLLC.com.