New media is something that everyone is talking about and as it includes video, audio, podcasting and written content as well as infographics, it is easy to understand why it has people’s attention.
For businesses, it offers a whole new strategy to their marketing plans and provides a lot of opportunities online. New Media is fundamentally, forms of media that are native to computers and anything that relies on computers for redistribution. Consider phones, computers, virtual worlds VR and AR, website games, animation and interactive computer tech and you’ll get where we are going with this. The objective of all New Media (in a business sense) is to get consumers to interact with the brands and convert to sales or leads.
Social media
With social media, podcasting, blogs, vlogs and videos each form of New Media offers a diverse experience and it engages audiences. Consumers have access to more information than ever before but equally; businesses have access to more data than before. Consumers use New Media to find out everything they need to know about a business before they make a phone call or send an email – this means businesses need to approach New Media with respect and offer value to their consumers/clients with quality content.
The power of ‘having it all’
New Media has lots of plus points and therefore, it shouldn’t be something businesses are afraid of. With its ability to create online shops, provide chats and networking online as well as its power to reach wider audiences, New Media is a more cost effective then say, renting out a shop, networking (in person) all over the country or advertising in local and national papers. It doesn’t mean you can’t do these things it just means you may not have to depending on your business model. Having a good social media presence and communications strategy is one way to ensure your brands message can get across the line to sales. With Twitter chats, a good UX design, Facebook posts and ads, and email marketing, New Media acts as connector from you to your audience and customers/clients.
Web presence and CRM systems
For some businesses the use of CRM systems is one way to track and understand your customer better. Also, you get your data which helps you target customers and build relationships. As mentioned, social media is vital too with it being one of the first ports of call for consumers before they call or email a business. On social media, you need to listen to your followers and respond to them to build relationships. Web presence isn’t enough anymore as people want a good user experience (UX) and a website should offer creative content as well as a reason to visit the website again. The website should have blogs, videos or podcasts welcoming visitors to the site and keeping them there for longer. The SEO needs to be considered as ranking well will ensure you stay in front of competitors.
New Media matters a lot and if you don’t believe us let’s look at some facts:
- 51% of the world’s population is on the internet Source: Meeker
- Time spent on Mobile beats TV for the first time: source eMarketer
- 88% of Americans use a second device when they watch TV source: Meeker
- In 2018, 58% of site visits were from mobile devices source: Stone Temple
- Smartphone sales are decreasing source: IDC
- 42% of consumers [streaming services] listing “free trial tier” as the most compelling reason for trying a new service. Source: Meeker
- E-commerce accounts for 15% of the share of US retail sales source: Meeker
- Recommendations are very important in getting people to try a new subscription (Stitch Fix attributes that). Source: Meeker
- Customer Satisfaction rises with data and personalisation
- Mobile advertising now accounts for 33% of advertiser’s ad spend Source: Meeker
- Visual Communication on the rise. Images key to storytelling. e.g. 50% of Twitter posts now include media. Source: Meeker
- Insta Stories have exploded with 500 million daily active users. Source: Statista
- Podcasts have doubled in the last 4 years to 70m global listeners. Source: Meeker
- 87% of global web traffic was encrypted, up from 53% just three years ago. Source: Meeker
- Concerns for Security is going down.
- Healthcare is becoming more digitalised. Source: Meeker
- Gaming (Playing, Talking, Watching) growing. Source: Meeker
- Multi-player gaming becoming similar to social networks. Source: Meeker
- Fortnite has 250 million active users. Source: Meeker
- 47 million people have installed Amazon Echoes. Source; Meeker
- On-Demand Workers (US) growing 22% y/y (7MM) Source: Meeker
- Amazon / Snap / Pinterest emerging as places for Ad $ spend. Source: Meeker
- Online Higher-Education is growing, cost offline is becoming untenable Source: Meeker
Combining all this information is important because the statistics are quite clear. Loads more people are online than ever before. Social media is booming and customers are more demanding than ever with the need for instant responses and messaging to them to win business. Customers want to experience what you do before they even meet you and this is challenging but not unmanageable.
Want to learn more about New Media and what you should be doing – get in contact and let us do what we do best!