Over the past ten years, the way we consume media has changed dramatically. Once upon a time, television and radio were the gateways to instantly reaching an audience of millions with one advertisement. However, it’s now far more convenient and cost effective to reach your audience through the internet. But don’t just take our word for it, let’s explore the facts!
U.S. marketing firm Nielsen claims that adults now spend 10 hours and 39 minutes consuming media every day and that of the new technologies, smartphones have the largest reach. CNN reports that 81% of adults have a smart phone and this accounts for 1 hour and 39 minutes of their daily attention. Across the pond, UK communications experts Ofcom notes that tablet use has doubled in the last five years, and that 27% of people are watching television shows on the internet. This figure goes up to 39% when looking at the 16-24 demographic.
When the costs of advertising on traditional platforms such as television come at such an extravagant fee, it makes far more sense to explore digital advertising. And, no one can argue the amount of consumers’ attention on social media networks. Thinking longer term, it’s very likely that the internet will continue to erode television viewing figures and play an even larger part of our lives. Starting to market your business digitally is the savvy thing to do to stay ahead of the competition.
SocialMediaToday estimates that people spend 7 years and 8 months of their lives simply watching TV, which is impressive. The most common daily activity after that is browsing social media. Breaking that down further, 40 minutes a day is spent watching YouTube. That’s why when you’re on YouTube, you’ll see advertisements from the biggest brands with advertising campaigns that you’ll also likely see on TV.
Facebook is only shortly behind with 35 minutes, but the cost to advertise here is a fraction of the price. Any small business owner can set up an advertising campaign and target Facebook users within their local area for as little as $1 a day. The ability to target specific locations and demographics provide return on investment that no other platform can rival.
Snapchat and Instagram follow with 25 minutes and 15 minutes, which still makes up a significant amount of time over a week and month. These are great story telling platforms that enable you to develop relationships with your audience and easily interact with them.
Every day you or an external marketing agency should be creating and uploading content and try to win part of that daily window and establish your brand as top of mind.
With the rise of social, the power is shifting and the playing field is leveling out. Many big brands are still churning through their huge advertising budgets via traditional media and smaller businesses have the agility to outmaneuver them with engaging content. Meaningful relationships are developed on social media that allow you the opportunity to better understand your customer’s needs and win a greater share of their wallet. All you need to do is invest the time.