It’s 5 a.m., and as the morning sun crests up over the horizon, sun rays glisten off the dew-covered grass, and the rooster digs deep to bellow out that rise and shine crow. You sit up in bed, slide your feet out and into a nice cozy pair of sleepers, and head down the hall to the kitchen to put that morning coffee on and grab a newspaper.
Wait what? Hold on a minute! It isn’t 1960 anymore, so who am I trying to kid?
Nobody under the age of forty-five is grabbing a newspaper or waking up to a rooster crowing. Today, we all have about five annoyingly loud and obnoxious alarms set on our mobile phones to wake us from our peaceful slumbers. And, well, for some of us, we may be checking social media and app notifications before we even turn them off to get out of bed. I know my first five minutes after those alarms are spent checking my personal and work emails as I like to know of any important messages or announcements that may impact my day. I’ll return to emails a little later; for now, let me put that pot of coffee on, ask Google about the weather, and open the Fox News app on Roku. As the coffee brews, I prepare for the day by checking the weather via Google; this helps me dress my children appropriately and tends to be just as accurate as the local weatherman, which isn’t always positive but, on the upside, I don’t have to wait for the local weather report, nor do I have to watch any pesky commercials. Nope, Google gets straight to the point and provides me with the info I need now rather than in a minute. Fox News provides me with what’s happening in the world and political news, but I mainly use it for background noise as I prepare my kids for school.
Oh, that cup of coffee!
Almost forgot with all the hustle and bustle going on here. Ah! Coffee! That’s nice; Sports let me open up the ESPN app and see what highlights I may have missed. Wait, the Cowboys traded for Trey Lance, OK? How are those Yankees doing? Ugh! Never mind, hey Facebook, I have five minutes. What have my friends and family been up to? My cousin had her baby, that’s great. Let me congratulate her. Wait a minute, is that such and such with such and such at such and such’s dinner party? Why didn’t my family get invited? Hmm, now I feel bummed and excluded. Over it! I think. Scrolling, ad, ad, don’t care, like, like, love, ad, ad. Another dinner party photo! Ugh, ok, Facebook, you hurt my feelings. Kids, it’s time to go!
Wow, what a morning! I haven’t barely even started my day yet. But I am sure you get the point.
Digital media has flipped the way we get news, social, and entertainment pretty much on its head, and it doesn’t end there. We are constantly looking at digital media, whether for work, education, entertainment, or just to socialize. Digital has taken over almost everything, offering something for just about anyone. They can also provide users with positive and negative reactions, as seen throughout my interactions with Digital this morning. Others I find more valuable than others. I am not looking to get lost aimlessly scrolling, so I have no use for Tik Tok or Instagram outside of marketing. I try to make the most of my time and use it as efficiently as possible. Therefore, I try to use Digital to my advantage whenever possible. For example, I am a forever learner and although I covered many forms of digital media throughout my morning. I left my most popular digital media out. What is it? It’s YouTube, of course! YouTube provides me with relevant content based on my search terms and filters out anything irrelevant. The platform also gives me access to education through instructional videos and tutorials, allowing me to develop new skill sets.
Do you remember those emails I checked before getting out of bed?
I sure do! No one could forget about that struggle to keep it organized and cleaned up from spam and email marketing newsletters or promotional offers. All of which I’m sure I willfully signed up for, knowing they’re coming. While there are a lot of these that I immediately delete or finally decide to unsubscribe from, there are some I find helpful. The useful ones always seem to be those offering me industry articles or articles discussing industry trends and tools. If I cannot identify what the email is about or if it is of value to me through the subject line. DELETE! Straight to the trash they go.
So, what does digital media have to do with marketing?
I mentioned earlier that digital media has taken over almost everything and has something to offer for just about anyone. Digital media is not going anywhere and continues to grow and find more uses every day. More and more people migrate to digital forms of media, and marketers know this and want to be able to reach those individuals. What better way than being able to target those individuals through the media they use? They are already there, so why shouldn’t your marketing efforts? Not only are they already there, but these forms of media provide somewhat segmented audiences or the ability to segment and target specific audiences along with other various troves of data. It allows marketers to tailor their marketing experiences to a more personal level. Enabling organizations to engage with and build loyal customer bases. Providing a more efficient and humanistic way of marketing.
How does digital media fit into your daily life? In what ways does digital impact you negatively and positively?
Let us know in the comments!
