There is no doubt that the internet has revolutionised the way we work, the way we access news, the way we interact with each other and increasingly, the way we interact with brands. The introduction of consumer engagement through digital is complex as consumers engage with multiple channels simultaneously, says Myles Wilson.
The benefits of digital media are:
- Measurability: Digital media allows targeting messages to customers at the right time, in the right place, through the appropriate channel.
- Interactive and real-time engagement.
- Targeting: The ability to understand why, when and where customers need a product or service is very compelling.
- Cost: In some instances almost no barriers to entry.
- Agility: Ability to adapt to market needs and changes almost instantly.
- Longevity: Once visible you are there to stay. The key is keeping visitors coming back for more.
While some benefits of traditional media are:
- Wide audience: Traditional media has the ability to reach a large group of viewers and readers at the same time.
- Static message: Ideal if the message is static and directed at a wide audience that doesn’t need to change.
- Creativity: Advertisers often try to tell stories within their ads that have an impact on the audience. Traditional media offers visual and audio elements that arguably have a greater impact on the audience.
Consumers receive messages through numerous media touch points.
A typical scenario may play out like this. A person sees a TV advertisement or billboard for the launch of a new vehicle. It may then lead him or her to visit the company website and then search for luxury sedans in order to compare vehicles.
Once searched for, the user is more likely to be targeted with digital display ads for that product or related products because the way they interacted with media determines how advertisers reach them.
Having visited the company website, the user may be enticed to click on social media links. Perhaps even ‘like’ them on their company Facebook page and ‘follow’ them on Twitter.
Should the person be lured into the brands social media space the challenge then is to persuade them to stick around and connect with your brand and each other (which is what an online community should do).
The problem for marketers comes when analysing channel performance and making a choice in order to achieve maximum ROI (Return on Investment).
There is undeniably a shift to digital media but there is still a place for traditional media.
Marketers should not consider it a direct choice between one or the other but rather determine how best to engage customers and compel them to buy. Digital Media offers an ever-increasing number of tools available to do just that.
Myles Wilson is an Account Manager and Business Development Manager at DigiVox.
