Marketing is an essential ingredient for a successful business. Reaching customers and promoting your brand can be as important as having a quality product to sell. New media, which combines aspects of the Internet with social networking and online marketing, is a growing field where businesses can find ways to stand out and build a base of customers.
Types
New media includes several different types of websites, digital devices and online activities. Social networking is central to new media, with users connecting to each other and to businesses that make products relevant to their interests. New media also includes the ad-spported content of blogs, vlogs and professional online journalism. Users access new media through personal computers, smart phones, video game consoles and other digital devices such as Internet-enabled toys and cars.
Low Cost
Compared to traditional marketing, new media offers options that are very inexpensive or, in some cases, free. Businesses can create free pages on social networking sites that users can connect to for information about products and have conversations with other customers. Companies can also buy ads on websites that cost less than advertising in a newspaper or magazine.
Broad Audience
New media offers businesses a chance to reach a broad and diverse audience. Unlike local advertising, which reaches only a small portion of a potential market, new media marketing is available instantly and around the world. Users can share information on products, promotions and special events with one another through email, status updates, instant messaging or text messages. Users can also browse one another's stated interests and link to merchant websites or product reviews.
Targeting Customers
New media supplies businesses with demographic data and feedback that helps them improve their online marketing and target specific groups of potential customers. For example, specific websites cater to different types of users, and businesses can choose to advertise where they expect to find the highest percentage of interested readers. A business with a social-networking presence can examine its roster of followers or connected users to identify the average age, gender and geographic location of users.
Tags: different types, digital devices, media offers, online marketing, social networking