Digital media has been shaping the digital marketing landscape for years now. As we have illustrated in one of our previous articles, online media outshines traditional media in so many ways. That proved especially true when observed through the eyes of a marketer. After all, digital media has proven to be more cost-effective, interactive, and data-driven, among other things. One could even say that it has become an indispensable part of many businesses’ marketing strategies.
But today, we’re going to expand upon that knowledge. We’ll be taking a look at the different types, forms, and impacts of digital media on today’s society, as well as how marketers can make use of that. Here’s what we’ll cover in brief:
- What Kinds of Digital Media Are There?
- Types of Digital Media for Marketers
- Paid Media
- Earned Media
- Owned Media
- Overall Impact of Digital Media on Today’s Society
- Digital Media — Is It Worth It?
Without further ado, let’s begin!
What Kinds of Digital Media Are There?
Let us first take a look at some of the many kinds of digital media out there and how they changed the world. With the rapid development of technology that is taking place nowadays, it wouldn’t surprise us if this list got outdated pretty quickly, but here it is!
Audio
This form of digital media encompasses all sorts of digital audio files or music streaming services. This type of media has been gaining a lot of prominence lately, especially with the rise of music streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer. That has led to a decrease in the physical disc and record purchases and an increase in music streaming platform subscriptions.
Photos
Digital photographs opened a whole new world of possibilities for the photography industry. They allow for extremely high-resolution images (up to multiple gigabytes in size) and are easily distributed over the internet. Many online stock photo websites like Shutterstock and Pexels also made high-quality photos available to people all over the world!
Digital Publishing
The shift from paperback to digital books revolutionized the publishing industry. Nowadays, it has never been easier to find quality reading material on sites like Open Library.
Social Media
Social media is probably the most popular and widespread kind of digital media. It brought forth a whole new means of communication and even created an entirely new branch of marketing! Social networks like Facebook and Twitter allow you to communicate with people anywhere in the world and share content and other media online. Aside from that, they are immensely practical, as they can be accessed on the go from your mobile devices.
Videos
Online videos are perhaps one of the most impactful kinds of digital media out there. Not only have they overtaken television in popularity and viewer base with popular video-sharing platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, but they have also made innovations to the content marketing industry. If you’re curious to find out how exactly videos can help your business, check out this article on the power of video in 2020.
Video Games
Video games have found their way to the hearts of the masses as one of the most popular forms of entertainment nowadays! They meet people’s invaluable need for escapism, especially in these turbulent times. However, aside from video games being buckets of fun, the gaming industry is incredibly valuable. So if you’re more interested in the business side of video games, there is room for you too. By 2022, it is predicted that the industry will make $196 billion in revenue!
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality might sound so far-fetched to you, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Companies like Oculus have already made significant advancements in this technology and have been selling VR and AR equipment for years now. Although this type of digital media is still a new one, it is one worth looking out for, as it is bound to be highly lucrative once it gets on its feet.
Now, let’s see how marketers can use some of these types of digital media to their benefit!
Types of Digital Media for Marketers
There are three types of digital media out there that marketers can use to their advantage. However, do note that not all of them are suitable for every marketing strategy. That is why it’s essential to understand that the ones you’ll utilize will entirely depend on your situation and needs. Overall, the optimal solution would be to use a combination of all three when coming up with your marketing plan. That way, you can make the best of all of them.
Paid Media
This type of media mostly refers to digital advertising. It focuses on promoting your created content and helps drive traffic to your website. Some examples of paid media are:
- Digital display ads
- Facebook ads
- Paid search and content promotion
But how does increased traffic help your business? Well, it boosts your brand visibility by promoting your website! And as you’re probably already aware, in this day and age, if you’re an up-and-coming business and are not on the internet, you’re destined to fail.
“But why?” you may ask. Let’s take a look at some numbers to answer that question. According to OptinMonster, it is predicted that by 2023, 91% of the U.S. population will be online shoppers! Even right now, 69% of U.S. citizens have bought products online, while 25% do it monthly.
As you can see, due to the practicality and accessibility of the internet, most business transactions are gradually moving to the online space. So don’t hesitate to get on the digital advertising bandwagon! Even though it might appear pricey at times, it is well worth the investment since the revenue you’ll make will undoubtedly cover your marketing expenses.
Earned Media
Earned media can, in essence, be seen as free advertising done by your customers. It encompasses things like SEO rankings gained through organic traffic, mentions on social media platforms, testimonials, customer reviews, etc. The most useful of the aforementioned are undoubtedly customer testimonials and reviews. But why? Did you know that 92% of consumers consult an online review of a product before making a purchase? Well, now you do!
Not only that, but customers are also more likely to trust your business if they get a word-of-mouth recommendation from their friends, family, or some of the prominent influencers out there. These might be even more valuable than public customer reviews. But if you handle your brand’s image carefully, you should have no issues achieving these whatsoever!
Perhaps the best part of earned media is that it is entirely free! But only in the financial sense. And what do we mean by that? Namely, building your reputation from the ground up as a business will require a lot of time and dedication, as well as quality PR tactics. On top of that, there are also plenty of challenges you will have to face, so it won’t be a walk in the park.
The thing you might have the hardest time coming to terms with will probably be that you don’t have much control over public opinion. Yes, you can do your best to please your customers and invest a lot of money into PR, but we all know people are fickle little things; for all we know, your years-long PR efforts could come crashing down overnight — all it takes is a single misstep on your part.
Finally, you might not always have the favor of investors and stakeholders, so remain vigilant! After all, nobody said it would be easy.
Owned Media
This final type of media is anything that your brand directly owns or controls, such as the company’s social media profiles, website, blog, ebooks, infographics, and similar. Essentially, your website and its content are the backbones of all of your owned media. It is through them that you attract and engage your audience.
We’ve already addressed the importance of brand awareness and website traffic for your success as a business. But how can you influence that in regard to owned media? Through high-quality content, of course! After all, your online ads are only temporary, while engaging and well-optimized content will continually drive traffic.
“But how do I know what types of content work best?” you may ask. Well, many marketers would unanimously agree that videos are one of the most effective types of online content. According to HubSpot, 80% of people are likely to check out a video, while a mere 20% are willing to read written content. Aside from that, as much as 87% of marketers use video content in their marketing endeavors!
Who are we to disagree with the experts? That is why videos made it on our list of top content trends for 2020 too!
As for the most prominent downside of owned media, it is probably that there are no guarantees. You might have the best content out there but still not gain a significant traffic increase. So always be prepared for disappointment.
With all that’s been said, the only thing left to inspect is how digital technology and media affect our everyday lives.
Overall Impact of Digital Media on Today’s Society
It is no secret that the rise of digital media has led to cases of overexposure and unhealthy amounts of consumption. The fact that over half of U.S. children under 11 already own a smartphone is a justifiable concern. However, the benefits that digital media include for common folk and business alike are also undeniable. But what does the data say?
Well, according to a survey conducted across five countries, the responses of the 5,000 participants were overwhelmingly positive. Over half of the participants deemed that digital media enhanced their lives.
The positive responses were most abundant in the business sphere. The examinees claimed that digital media made it possible for them to build stronger relationships with coworkers, hone their professional skills, and open new possibilities, such as working remotely.
On the other hand, the negative replies primarily congregated in the personal sphere. Some respondents deemed that digital media negatively impacted their health, love life, long-term memory, and similar.
Digital Media — Is It Worth It?
So what can we conclude from everything that we’ve mentioned? Well, it’s safe to say that digital media is a trend that is here to stay and that we’ll all have to adapt to, whether we like it or not. It has both its pros and cons, but, as we’ve shown you, the benefits outweigh the negatives by a wide margin!
However, one thing is sure — if you’re a business owner or a marketer, you’d be crippling yourself by not utilizing digital media to its fullest! After all, you’ve seen how bright the future is for social media, videos, digital publishing, video games, and others. So why not start today?
If you’re looking to get into video content marketing or creation, we at Brid.TV can help you out! Our white-label video platform offers easy monetization solutions for all types of video content. The same applies to all your live stream needs! So if you’re interested in either, hit us up.
Don’t waste a single moment and go digital! You know there’s no escaping it!
