Digital vs Traditional Media - Essay Example

Digital Media versus Traditional Media al Affiliation) Digital versus Traditional Media Traditional media has been around for some time. With the introduction of internet, digital media grew at a tremendous rate to replace most of the traditional media. Traditional media uses a mass media system whereby the message is sent to a large group of people using offline type of system like television broadcasts, newspapers and radios. On the other hand, digital media sends a message to a single person or to a group of people using an online type of system, for example, e-mails and other social media. The difference here is the number of people getting the message (Nightingale 2007). Digital media is replacing traditional media at a fast rate since it connects people throughout the World making the world a global village. The internet has made it simple for two people half way around the world to communicate face to face with the introduction of video call and text chatting. One is able to stream live videos and send them with a click of a button. Digital media has become the core of information transformation throughout the world. More people especially the youth spend most of their time on social media like Facebook, twitter, Skype and so many others. Online games have become the order of young children. This has led to community social break drown as people are more engaged to the internet than they do in the real social life. People can do virtually everything on the internet. For example, they can shop, talk to relatives abroad, research on different topics and even date. Different government institutions have turned digital media for their day to day running. To understand exactly how these two media have their differences and how they can work hand in hand for better yields, a look at the marketing sector using these two types of media is necessary (Kawamoto 2003). Since 2011 more and more companies have used digital media to advertise their goods as compared to other traditional media other than the television. Marketers are increasing digitalizing their way of marketing and more money is being spent each day to make this a reality. Marketers have had a task to determine what proportion of advertising is to be allocated to digital media as to other traditional media like televisions and newspaper. Research has shown that in America, companies using 20% of their advertising budget on online videos, its campaign rises by 5% unlike when using 100% of the budget on traditional media like television (Olsson 2009). It was also shown that complementing traditional media advertisements with digital media advertisement increased the consumer interests. The companies have used traditional media as a way to redirect their consumers to the digital media. This has been made successful by actively engaging the consumer and interacting with them to give them the clear uniqueness of the companies’ products. These consumers research further using their smart phones on products they see on traditional media which offline hence complimenting the traditional source (Nightingale 2007). Complimenting traditional media can be tricky and the type of digital media to compliment it should be chosen carefully. This should come in when the traditional media way of advertising has reached a saturation point in the market, that is, there is no change in response of the market towards this type of advertisement. The digital type of media is chosen by considering the amount of time the target audience spends on this media and how comfortable they would be while using them. Consideration on how effective these digital reach the target audience also comes in handy (Nwammuo 2011). Comparing traditional and digital media, it would be true to say that the lifespan of a traditional advertisement is short as compare to a digital one because, the traditional advertisement remains in the mind of a target audience for a short while after seeing or reading it. This can only be improved by constantly providing this information in the traditional media for them to remain in the mind of the consumer. This may be expensive to advertise as the advertising media will continue changing them the same rates as before. On the other hand, digital advertisement will reach so many people once it is properly advertised and maintained and the advertisement will move far and wide as the network of social media grows (Staiger 2009). For example, a company may twitter to market their product. The more the followers they have the more people they get to view their product and the chain grows. Therefore, the value of the product grows more with time. We can term the traditional advertisement as having a single life span while the digital one having a longer shelf life with multiple life spans. However, the digital advertisement takes more time to establish as one has to look for channels and network that would be best suiting for the growth of the advertisement. Traditional media does not use many insights or various opinions in decision making this is because it lacks various sources of information while the digital media uses many insights or opinions to help in making decisions example using the television to get the views and opinions of the public which will eventually aid in decision making. Traditional media aims at mass awareness creation while the digital media aims at a specific group in this case the traditional media is not specific while the digital media is specific targeting a specific depending on the type of information or need. Traditional media is monologue while the digital media is dialogue. Traditional media is bulk and tiresome, while the digital media is simple easy and takes a small space this is due to digital creativity. The digital media is used in many fields compared to traditional media in that in digitalized media it conveys information for businesses, schools and even programs educating the public. Digital media is wider in scope than the traditional media because, the digital media is able to link various countries and pass information to the various countries while the traditional media is narrow since it is impossible to link several countries. Digital media can be used in different forms or adjusted to suit different groups of people involved while the traditional media is not able to do so. Digital media can be presented in different media while the traditional media uses only a specific presentation mode. Digital media provide diversity in passing information hence one can be able to choose the most suitable way to pass information, while the traditional media is not able to provide any diverse means of passing information. Digital media have more advantages than the traditional media. Digital media is fast than the traditional media in this case the message conveyed in digital media reaches to a large group at a small period of time while the traditional media takes a long time. Digital media provide reference of information which gives room for easy tracking and understanding of a given message while traditional media lacks reference since it has no good means of back up. Traditional media is not as effective as the digital media simply because in order to meet the customers the traditional media has to talk on one on one basis while the digital media reaches to a large group at a time hence it is effective in delivering information or even goods in business. Digital media is not tiresome compared to traditional media because it is digitalized such that, one can pass information sitting down in his or her office and goes to a large group of people in far places too while the traditional media is tiring in that the one conveying information has to go all the way to meeting the targeted group of people due to its analogue nature, for example, the newspapers. Digital media is cheap compared to traditional media; the cost is cut due to ease in conveying information than the traditional media. Flexibility is another advantage of the digital media, whereby the digital media can be used easily in different fields like television advertisements or programs that pass educational messages or even parts of school syllabus. On the other hand, the traditional media is not flexible at all because it uses the only one on one system in conveying the information. Traditional media is advantageous also because it enhances better growth of children and youth since it does not pass bad information to the young like pornographic films in the digital media. Digital media is open to diversity this is the most advantageous part superposing the traditional media. Digital media provides comprehensive information since one can read same information in the internet, books and dictionaries. The digital media provides reference of given information which is advantageous to students and teachers, other than the traditional media which does not provide that. Digital media provide greater engagement by various groups since it can be easily accessed by individuals involved. This provides understanding and faster circulation of information (Nwammuo 2011). Digital media has played a major role in different sectors and has changed the lives of many people. It has made more people aware of its power to connect the world and make it a global village. In the field of marketing, it has helped marketers reach more consumers in a new and easier way. However, it is important to note that digital media cannot succeed without the help of traditional media. The two need each other to complement each other thus improving the effectiveness of transfer of information. The digital media can complement the traditional media in providing more sources of further research by the audience while traditional media can complement the digital media by a more natural and active representation. It is best to know the right combination of traditional and digital media for the best results. The company should pump in the right amount of funding to the digital media for it to stay in competition with the other competing companies. Therefore, Traditional media has been around for some time. With the introduction of internet, digital media grew at a tremendous rate to replace most of the traditional media. Digital media is replacing traditional media at a fast rate since it connects people throughout the World making the world a global village. Digital media has become the core of information transformation throughout the world. More people especially the youth spend most of their time on social media like Facebook, twitter, Skype and so many others. Online games have become the order of young children. The companies have used traditional media as a way to redirect their consumers to the digital media. This has been made successful by actively engaging the consumer and interacting with them to give them the clear uniqueness of the companies’ products. References Nightingale, V. (2007). New media worlds: Challenges for convergence. South Melbourne, Vic.: Oxford University Press. Kawamoto, K. (2003). Digital journalism: Emerging media and the changing horizons of journalism. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield. Staiger, J. (2009). Convergence media history. New York: Routledge. Olsson, E. (2009). Media Crisis Management in Traditional and Digital Newsrooms. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, 446-461. Nwammuo, A. (2011). Mediamorphosis: Analyzing the Convergence of Digital Media Forms alongside African Traditional Media. African Research Review. The fusion marketing bible: Fuse traditional media, social media, and digital media to maximize marketing. (n.d.). Choice Reviews Online, 50-5695. Read More