It’s 2023. You Need Digital Media

Still on the fence about whether your business needs a vibrant digital media presence with which to broadcast your message? If you’re still not convinced that a digital platform is a vital and essential tool, maybe you’re also committed to the coal fired steam engine and baking your own bread each day?

Don’t get me wrong. I am a guy who splits his firewood, repairs anything I can, and I still love to read a printed newspaper. But even I have had to come to terms with a staggering reality:

Retail print’s influence is 20 percent of what it used to be, at best.

I came to this shocking realization just recently as I was advising a friend in politics. I was about to lecture him on the importance of maintaining a great relationship with your local newspaper. You know, the kind printed on paper.

Sure, it’s still solid advice. I believe in journalism and that most journalists are hard working people and looking for honesty. Newspapers still exist and people like me still read them.

But what’s changed drastically is the power of newsprint - ink on paper - which not too long ago was the single most important way to get your message out. Now, so much of the information we consume is digital, delivered continually through smart phones, tablets, laptops and even our watches.

For example, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner, co-founder of the influential publication, said recording artists once depended almost exclusively on magazine reporters to get their message to the public. Then, they’d have to wait for the reporter to write the story and for the magazine to publish. Add more time for delivery — either through mail or newsstand sales — into the hands of the intended audience.

Today, Wenner said, musicians speak directly to people — and in far greater numbers — using tools like Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, and they can do it in real time.

It may seem contradictory to write about digital media in a print magazine. Rest assured, print’s not dead — you may be holding a magazine in your hand right now — but digital media has collapsed the paradigm and print is no longer enough. On the Level is a quarterly publication, and a great one. However, it’s also posted online to the CCA’s website in order to reach even more readers, and the CCA has been on Facebook for several years.

So how does this shift affect your organization’s advertising, informational, and messaging strategies?

HERE ARE FOUR KEY WAYS YOU CAN REAP THE BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND DIGITAL MARKETING: CONTROL

We once depended on our friendly newspaper advertising representative to provide readership and coverage data. They’d tell us, “This paper is read by X number of people and we print X number of copies.”

Truth is that information was often estimated, so it was impossible to tell precisely how many people truly read the paper, who they were, and how much time they spent looking at your advertisement or article. Did they read it? Did they linger on your ad? Almost impossible to know.

Digital marketing empowers you to target your audience with precision, and analytics enable you to track and measure the benefits.

And instead of having someone else tell your story — and adding their own spin — your message is direct and uncorrupted, without the middle person.

Also, no more waiting for the local paper’s print schedule to fall in line with the message you need to get out. Want to recognize an employee? Give them a shout-out on your socials. Have a job opening? Post the job today, right from the construction site. Offering a new service? You can tell your customers instantly.

Connection

Digital media can keep you up-to-date with colleagues and make you a more effective networker. Follow your colleagues and engage with their accounts. Yes, you’ll still get to go to chamber breakfasts (they are great) but when you see folks there not only will you immediately recognize them - after all, you’ve seen their headshot on LinkedIn, or their family on Facebook - you’ll also know a little bit about their life and company.

Remember, personal relationships improve business partnerships and friendships. When clients connect with you via social media and see you as a relatable, good human, it can take the sting out of challenges you may face in doing business together.

The ability to collect payments online is also a great option for many businesses. Yes, it may cost a few bucks on percentages, but it’s great customer service, one many people say they prefer instead of mailing a check. We live in the age of debit cards and credit cards. Get your payments guaranteed on the front end.

Agility

In November, Orange Ulster BOCES needed help encouraging voter support of a $159 million capital project, which would create great local construction jobs and vastly enhance the school facilities where students prepare for careers in the building trades.

The day of the vote arrived. In the old days we’d work the phones and pass out flyers, and other work intensive yet somewhat effective tools. Instead, I called the CCA and within an hour we created a short video featuring Local 17’s Dean Tamburri and I stressing the vote’s importance. It was quickly posted to the CCA Facebook page, where it was viewed and shared by an audience that clearly cares about construction projects in the Hudson Valley, and education.

Cost

If you ever purchased space in the local paper you know how costly it can be, even for a small advertisement or classified ad. But ten, even five years ago, everyone read the paper, so you needed to place those ads.

Today, print newspaper readership has dropped and so has coverage, so newspaper advertising isn’t nearly as effective as it used to be. Meanwhile, creating a digital presence such as a Facebook or Twitter page is free, and you probably already have a website.

You may still need to pay for advertisements, but digital advertising on digital news sites is typically far less costly than the print counterparts, and offer the added benefit of analytics enabling you to assess precisely who those ads have reached. You can also link these ads directly to your social media posts or web page.

Ultimately the bond passed by fewer than 100 votes. Dean and I like to think we had a little something to do with that.

Just the other day a member of the CCA told me that he didn’t believe everyone knew about his companies’ offerings and services. We then talked about how to fix that. In a few minutes the answer was clear: increase awareness on social media, target your audience and make some videos that tell your customers what you do. We even talked about adding a QR code to the company business cards linking directly to its website.

As you look to build your company’s future, I encourage you to really and sincerely talk to your staff and leadership team about digital marketing and social media and ask, are we taking true advantage of the new wave of opportunities?

Want to talk more? Please reach out.

I’m happy to guide you to a couple of professionals who really get it.