Unlock Reports:
Industry-wide studies on consumer behavior from the Cohley Insights team.
If the first two decades are any indication, it’s safe to say that the 21st century will provide some massive changes to the media landscape. We’ve already seen some incredible shifts in media throughout the past few years. And with even more exciting possibilities on the horizon, brands need to be prepared.
Understanding the impact of new media vs. old media can go a long way toward forming your brand’s marketing plan. Read on to learn more about making the transition to digital marketing!
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The age of the internet has opened up countless new doors of marketing possibilities. The digital landscape provides advertisers with so many new ways to get in front of an audience, with recent data from Statista predicting that U.S. digital ad spending will rise to a whopping $298.4 billion in 2024.
Why have digital marketing and new media become so popular? Here are some of the pros and cons of both new media and old media.
New media is described as any media that can be produced and distributed by anyone with an Internet connection. Because of new media, people can communicate and interact with each other instantaneously and without the need for a "middleman” such as a publisher.
The lack of a middleman is one of the main reasons that new media is so popular. It was just a few years ago when only the elite and wealthy had access to channels that could send information out to the masses. Now, with the internet and social media, anybody can get their message out there regardless of their wealth or social status. This gives every person, brand, and business a chance to communicate with their audience.
Speaking of niches, that’s another major benefit to the age of new media—users and consumers can find a home online. The internet provides an endless amount of subcultures where people can go to find their community—regardless of what that may be. Representation like this matters, and it leads to a more engaged and enthusiastic audience.
How do you read this audience? With the instantaneous feedback that new media provides you, it won’t be that hard. Whether it’s via comments on a social media post, instant analytics tracking on a digital marketing campaign, or even a full-on response from users, there’s no shortage of feedback with new media.
This can be used to the marketer's advantage as they get a real-time look at how people are responding to their campaigns. As a result, they can make adjustments on the fly and create a better experience for their audience.
Although it's more antiquated than newer forms of media, old media (such as radio, television, and newspapers) still have a broad reach. Despite its popularity, there are still people out there that aren’t actively using the internet as often as others are, which is why old media is still a viable option for reaching those audiences.
While the lack of a middleman is a benefit for new media, the presence of this middleman can benefit the older forms of media. These gatekeepers put information and content through a system of editors and producers to determine accuracy and validity. In theory, this will lead to more honest messaging and hopefully build a trusting sense of community and cohesion.
On the contrary, new media can sometimes struggle with building a trustworthy reputation. Since anybody can post without a publisher or company barring them access, it can lead to an influx of misinformation. When you pair that with the viral nature and instant sharing ability that new media provides, it’s easy to see how misinformation can spread so quickly.
This phenomenon has also led to ideological “bubbles” or niche markets that allow us to only consume the media that we want to consume. This can create polarization and people reinforcing their personal views rather than seeking out new information.
Unfortunately, these bubbles don't provide an opportunity for a brand to create a loyal audience. It also makes it tougher to convert a new audience member who may have preconceived notions about your brand.
It’s no walk in the park to build a brand online right now. The competition is fierce and the market is crowded with all sorts of new information, sources, and brands for all sorts of niches.
How can a brand combat this? By being fresh and coming up with a new idea that stands out amongst the crowd and gets people to notice you.
Compared to the instant feedback provided within new media, the feedback process for old media is a much slower, clunkier experience. Broadcasted or printed information has no way of receiving direct and immediate feedback, which means they aren’t able to pivot as quickly as can be done on new media.
Old media also provides a barrier of entry to any small business, brand, or person who is looking to get a message across. You have to go through a channel or publication to get your message out there. If you don’t have the money or resources to make this happen, then you can’t get on the airwaves and spread your message, no matter how good it is.
Reasons like this are why people are starting to make the shift towards consuming and creating more new media than old media. The numbers for old media continue to go down, and this shift has forced traditional media companies to adapt and find new ways to reach an audience.
If multi-billion dollar media companies are looking for ways to get their brand involved in new media, then odds are that your brand should be involved in digital media as well. It's estimated that there are 4.95 billion internet users worldwide, and as that number continues to grow, so do the opportunities.
It’s important to incorporate digital media into your marketing plans because, to be quite frank, it isn’t going anywhere. More people are flooding the internet and finding new ways to use it to cover their daily needs. If you can’t find a way to get involved, you may miss out.
As you create your media budget, it's important to be realistic about what you can spend, while simultaneously setting clear goals so you can keep track of your marketing initiatives.
Online advertising is a fairly new concept in the zeitgeist of marketing, which is why many brands and business owners are skeptical to try it out. However, once they realize the effectiveness of a well-created online advertising campaign, their doubts are quickly cast aside.
Whether you’re running a paid search campaign, a paid social campaign, or just want to build up your brand organically online, you would be surprised by how many eyeballs you can get on your brand or business and what that new exposure can do for you.
What makes online advertising most effective? As mentioned earlier, it’s the fact that you can test your campaigns as they happen, make adjustments and see new results come in. This allows you to not only make changes to your advertising campaign but also to the way you market your product or service in general.
Despite the massive popularity of new media, there’s still room for old media in your marketing plan. At times, new media can be handcuffed by the brevity of a digital user’s attention span. If you want to get a message across to somebody, you have to do it within seconds before they scroll on to the next thing.
With old media, you have a bit more leverage with the viewer’s attention and can use this to put out a longer message. And as a marketer, you can use this to your advantage.
Do you have a longer video that you want to put out for people to see? Maybe it would fare better as a television commercial rather than as an Instagram post. Has your design team put together a beautiful ad? Don’t just put it on Facebook—put it in a magazine.
There are plenty of ways to incorporate traditional media into your marketing plan. It’s all about finding the right platform for each project.
The more testing you can do with your advertising, the more insights you'll uncover and the more your advertising will improve. While there aren’t as many direct ways to test your traditional media as there are for new media, you can still use the two to put together a better picture of how your message is being received.
There are plenty of insights you can gather from testing content online. The more content you put out there, the more you can learn about what your audience reacts to. For example, are there certain messaging strategies that your audience responds well to?
You can use these insights in your full marketing plan and even incorporate them into your old media advertising. These online insights are a direct look into what your audience is reacting to, so use them to your advantage!
Thanks to the impact of new media on old media, it’s clear that the new forms of media are here to stay, yet many people and businesses have trouble throwing their hats into the ring and participating in these newer media forms.