The Impact of Digital Media on Advertising - Essay Example

THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL MEDIA ON ADVERTISING Due: Introduction In this phase of the 21stcentury period, there have emerged new waves of digital media technologies that have had a great impact and more so transformed the many of the society’s aspects. Face book, MySpace, Twitter, YouTube and others have a huge global following and have influenced the political, social and information activities of persons or organisation in the global perspective. However, in the recent times, controversy over the kind of information and the negative impact posted by these new media have sparked responses from other members of the community with regard to the ethics and philosophers in technology (Samaras et al 2006, 5). The advancement of the internet technology as well as the world wide -web has resulted in a dynamic shift regarding the way businesses operate for effective competition in the market place. Modern technology and the World Wide Web have made it easy for organizations, both large and small, to seek clients on a global perspective. Establishment of the web presence has turned out to be a crucial factor for a consistent growth and development for many businesses. However, many companies find it a challenge in transitioning to the world of e-commerce (Alter, 2009). An effective penetration in the world of e-commerce has necessitated a formulation of an efficient solid internet marketing strategy. Business leaders today have either embraced or still figuring out on how to embrace the digital media in this dynamic business environment. This is because; the digital media can be effectively used in evaluating the level of market awareness, and uncovering new insights in business categories. Organizations have found out that consumer conversations can be analyzed through online means at both category and product level (Rindfleisch et al, 2012, 182). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of digital media on advertising. Discussion Positive Impact of Social Media on Marketing and Advertisement Despite the negative impact associated with the digital media, there are also positive attributes that can be related with it. For instance, digital media has enabled companies to relay information to their customers or the public faster than ever. Instead of printing inserts and waiting for local papers to announce their sales, organizations can let the international community know about the extant promotion and services through social network, mail and the internet (Alter, 2009, 11). The development of social media in marketing platforms has been increasingly used by organizations in building social signals that are very crucial in many SEO digital marketing campaigns. Apparently, the emergence of various media platforms has offered internet markers a broader range of marketing opportunities in building brand visibility over the internet. How the company’s website is ranked on the search engine may have a great impact with regard to conversion rate, lead acquisition and customer relations (Anderson, and Evans, 2009, 15). Integration of social media marketing with search engine optimization strategies have proved to be effective in generating a website organic traffic. There have been various social media marketing trends that definitely impact the way digital marketers undertake their search engine optimizations campaigns in boosting their lead generation process as well as the website generation rates (Dewstow, and Kunz, 2004, 1). Majority of online marketers are now viewing the value of social media marketing for their organizations in a new perspective. There has been a significant explosion on the number of socials users as a way of shopping for goods or services, why they need. This is in regard with the various consumer statistics on the use of social media as a platform for shopping. Users of social media have an opportunity of recommending the quality and usefulness of particular to their social circles. This can significantly boost the business marketing which can then boost the brand image and in increasing the number of people who become interested on the particular reputation and therefore, seek out the products or services offered by the company. Baron, and Shaw (2009), explain that word of mouth type of advertising has a tendency of having a higher rating of trust from the customers than the product description that the organization promotes from its websites (95). If a webpage happens to gain more likes and share from the social media circles, then the company benefits from reaching a wider audience. The initiative may also greatly influence the potential customers. Integration of social media to digital marketing campaigns is therefore essential for a company to effectively attain its marketing objectives. From just being a mere luxurious avenue of marketing the business online, social media marketing has become a crucial pillar in SEO. It has therefore, become necessary to integrate it to digital marketing in order to make the businesses competitive. In social perspectives, social media has removed all the interaction and communication barriers. Presently, individuals can communicate their thoughts and perceptions on a variety of topics. Experts and students are able to communicate and share with the likeminded people as well as ask for the opinion and input of a particular topic. Social networking has also united people on a broad platform in order to achieve a specific objective. Organizations can always use this platform in reaching a wider range of audience and potential clients. Because of digital media, business organizations can now choose from various options in promoting their products or interacting with their products. Instead of choosing among radio or TV commercial or print advertisements, there are now able to create media, which combines the visual, audio, interactive, and text media. This mixed type of media may appeal to a larger audience with preferences that are differentiated. However, it be also be considered that keeping up with the ever changing technology may require more enhanced strategies. These also requires new strategists who area able to think and create these digital media (Xingquan 2008, 15). Digital media and the web are enabling people to be more connected than they used to be in the past years. In addition, interactions with other consumers are in most cases more trusted and valued by customers. Consumers respond positively to organizations that seem to care about their needs and understand them through providing excellent customer service. Use of digital media has enabled businesses to become more service oriented concerning their operations and in tailoring what they provide towards meeting the needs of their customers (Dewstow, and Kunz, 2004, 1). Press releases are now uploaded in digital media sites and customers can now chat with government officials online. For instance, Jack Holt, a media director in the US department of deference, established a You Tube Channel specifically to provide information to the American people on the happenings of Iraq. Internet users found it possible to get the up to date happenings in Iraq than it was possible in earlier times. These videos are now famous and there are still regular updates by commanders and generals (.Xingquan; 2008. 18). Organization leaders have found social media has simplifying engagements and social networking with the clients. Further, social network and media can be a good platform to fight negative publicity from the government’s enemies and as an avenue for measuring public feelings and strategize on how to respond to them accordingly. Many digital marketers have been lured towards social media advertising because of the current trend on consumer’s behaviour. Surveys on the use of social media indicates that a large percentage of consumers spend an average of 40 minutes on daily basis on popular media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. On the other hand, more than 10% of the internet users are spent on social media sites. These points out the high potential gain which social media is accepted to offer its online marketers (Dewar, 2008. 45). At the end of 2013, approximately 53% of digital marketers have already positioned their brands to social media markets. The rise of social media advertising has also continued to be observed in 2014. Businesses that have not yet embraced this form of marketing have been greatly disadvantaged from their competitors who have taken advanced steps with large and better opportunities to play. Users of social media have become more engaged in sharing and liking images. This presents good opportunities for internet marketers in growing the social signals, which will provide their brands with better search ranks. Image content may be very appealing among social media users and will therefore, offer an effective online exposure of the particular brand. For instance, the image centric content has increasingly become one of the social media marketing trends which have been embraced by Atlanta’s social media marketing organizations. These images are similarly integrated in their search engine optimization campaigns under the concept that images have been known to boost a company’s exposure to users of search engines (Kaltenbach, 2013, 245). Negative Impact of Digital Media on Advertising The advent, and consistent development of technology have brought with it security issues related to storage and transformation of company information on the internet. It has become logical that terrorists, hackers, criminals, and even competitors may exploit any weakness areas to either commit felonies, still sensitive information or copy a company’s strategy in gaining a more competitive advantage. This mandates organizational leaders to plan, prevent, respond, and recover after a particular security incident. Further, organizational leaders should regularly adapt to novel circumstances as a priority in their business concerns. Development of effective security measures has itself been a challenge since the trend has been dynamic, and new measures have to be sought on a regular basis (Coulson, 2011). In essence, many organizational leaders in operational management may not understand the requirement of time and effort in establishing and maintaining a website for the purpose of e-commerce. Such aspects as content generation, site optimization, email marketing, creation of templates, and installation of shopping cart necessitates a considerable amount of professional resources (zerniawska, and Potter, 2009). In spite of the many conveniences of digital media, it should be considered there are many goods and services, which cannot be shopped online. Most of these goods are in the category of “odd sized” or perishable products. For instance, it may not be possible to order a Popsicle also referred as an ice pop, dining table set. Although such items may well be ordered, the inconveniences of obtaining them are immense. For example, the Popsicle will have to be transported in refrigerated containers. Unless the seller is willing to make a large loss, the cost of shipping such an item may far exceed its production costs. A similar case can be related to items such as dining tables. In general, digital media can inconvenience some marketers and sellers. Concern for Cultural Managers in the Use of Social Media Business leaders today have either embraced or still figuring out on how to embrace social media in this dynamic business and social environment. This is because; digital media and in particular social media can be effectively used in evaluating the level of market education, and uncovering new insights in business categories. These leaders have found that consumer conversations can be analyzed through online means at both category and product level (Copeland, 2008. 3). The world of e-commerce has necessitated that business leaders be trained on information technology handling. This is to make them capable of using the various software, and hardware components as well executing of e-commerce management strategies. Since the e-commerce world is dynamic, training and exposition in IT technology should be on a regular basis. This is to acquaint the leaders with knowledge on the changing technological trends. Since not having adequate skills in information technology, Baron, and Shaw (2009), explains that all personnel will have to be exposed on the use of IT. The need of having to undergo training becomes a challenge to these leaders. Effective management policy in the world of e -commerce also necessitates a possession of sufficient computer hardware, and software. These aspects are essential in meeting business requirements. Without such systems, such operation management activities in the field of e-commerce will not be effectively run, and this will become a challenge to leaders in operation management. Further absence of this system will hamper effective business operation and even profitability of these firms in the e-commerce market. Organizations with inadequate computer hardware and software will therefore, find it challenging to effective implement e-commerce strategies (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2010). Cultural change or the process of change management is concerned about people. In essence, this is a process of unfreezing old values, traditions and beliefs. These must occur at a departmental, individual or organizational level. In an attempt to shaping culture, cultural managers or organizational leaders have to develop a clear strategic vision, modelling the cultural change by “walking the talk”, regularly repeating the vision and reinforcing the change through modification of organizational structures, procedures, and policies in a manner that supports “the new way of performing things”. Many cultural managers have come to adapt digital media as an ideal mechanism in facilitating change since much of these change management boils down to regular and consistent dialogue within an organization (Anderson, and Evans, 2010, 11). In essence, many organizational leaders in operational management may not understand the requirement of time and effort in establishing and maintaining a website for the purpose of e-commerce. Such aspects as content generation, site optimization, email marketing, creation of templates, and installation of shopping cart necessitates a considerable amount of professional resources (Kaltenbach, 2013, 13). If an operation manager or personnel would want to generate traffic through article marketing or social media campaigns, such efforts require the specific knowledge in the related tactical approaches to gain the trust and interest of customers. This kind of a challenge may hamper the efficiency of an organization’s e-commerce website. The understanding and knowledge of these aspects is fundamental for organizational leaders in addressing the improvement of opportunities. Organization leaders in the context of e-commerce need to be well versed with the marketing techniques aimed at improving traffic, site ranking, rate of conversations and product branding. This requires substantial time in training at the expense of their work time. They therefore, have to sacrifice themselves in these aspects. Presently, social networks are rampart in the web. More are also coming up on a consistent basis. A business will need to venture into social networks as a means of establishing a web presence. Flickr and YouTube can be used as platforms for displaying photos and videos. On the other hand, Twitter and Facebook will facilitate conversations with potential clients or likeminded individuals. These will need skills of using and managing social networks to ensure that the relations and communications through these platforms are professional (Basu, and Muylle, 2007). There is a need for personnel to operate these social networks in order to create an effective online presence. These personnel will be responsible for commenting on blogs, which appear interesting. Searching for people on social media who happen to have similar interests and leaving comments among other things. Prior to venturing into any online marketing activities, a business firm need to fully optimize its website for search engines. A fully optimized and quality website will show up in search engines. This will make it easier for customers to find the company online. After completing an optimization of the company web for search engines, the business entity can now ready itself for web marketing and promotional activities. Web marketing in simple terms is marketing a website on the web in creating a strong online presence. This activity is essential in attracting visitors to the website. Web marketing activities may include URL Submission, where the company’s website is indexed faster with the main search engines if the URL is submitted to them, and inclusion of links to related websites. Other promotional activities also include presenting Articles, newsletters, and Press Releases (Baron, and Shaw, 2009, 234). Conclusion Modern technology has coherently reversed the way people interact with each other. Majority of people today use gadgets such as the internet, cell phones and so on to seek or transmit information. Social networking services such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and so on have been increasingly utilized by business leaders as marketing platforms. It has changed the way marketers perform their businesses. The scope of communication and public relations in many businesses at present cannot be compared to earlier times. The significance of public communication and marketing becomes more clear each day and aligning to the trends of the changing society. In general, the business leaders in the new wave of globalization cannot avoid the use of digital media in advertising or interacting with their customers. Rather, it is here to stay and have to be embraced by these leaders. If these leaders cannot embrace it, then it will become a threat to their organizations or the management. Though social media is not a cure all with regard to the government’s communication and PR issues; they nonetheless supplement or enhance business activities and communication. Integration of social media to digital marketing campaigns is therefore essential for a company to effectively attain its marketing objectives. From just being a mere luxurious avenue of marketing the business online, social media marketing has become a crucial pillar in SEO. It has therefore, become necessary to integrate it to digital marketing in order to make the businesses competitive. However, there are many concerns, which organization leaders face especially in the world of e-commerce. An effective penetration in the world of e-commerce necessitates a formulation of an efficient solid strategy for the digital media. Apart from the requirement to be knowledgeable on technological trends, these leaders are also expected to consider how to create a usable site that is appealing to the targeted and potential customer. Leaders in operation management should be in consistent readiness in addressing the dynamic and ever changing nature of the internet and e-commerce. Further, these leaders must create emergent strategies to regularly monitor, and adapt online innovations and maintain usability of the sites. In doing so, they should be able to deploy special tools that provide site maintenance, and analytics to maintain a competitive advantage. Reference List Alter, S., 2009, ‘When E- commerce isn’t a Bargain’, Communications of the Association for Information Systems, Volume 2, Article 22. Anderson, D.R., & Evans, M.K. 2009, ‘Perils and potential of new media’ Three, 22(2), 10-16. 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ISBN 978-1-59904-252-7 Zerniawska, F., and Potter, G., (2009), Business in a Virtual World: Exploiting information for competitive advantage, MACMILLAN PRESS LTD, London Read More