Marketers value the proximity with consumers that new age media offers

Media consumption dynamics are changing rapidly. Consumers are flocking to new age media, compelling the marketers to rethink their marketing and advertising strategies. The industry is witnessing a paradigm shift from one-to-many communication that defines traditional media where consumer is a passive receiver. As far as new age media is concerned, social media, search engine optimisation and marketing, and mobile command a high share of time spent by consumers on media. According to a research study by Adby Ventures, Indian digital ad space saw more than 10,000 advertisers this festive season. Almost half of these (5,000 advertisers) were present both on hand held and table top devices.

The reason is simple. Marketers value the proximity with their consumers—current and prospective that new age media offers. Customers are no longer just the buyers of products but also potential brand ambassadors—sharing and recommending brands! Outcome of the new age media is higher brand awareness and conversion rate.

The product improvement, recommendations and customisation suggestions on social media are taken well by brands—leading to better marketing strategies as well as product enhancements. The agility of new age media enables almost real-time promotion management, and nimble and cost-effective content sharing on social media and blogs. 

Micro targeting abilities of these platforms based on demographics, psychographics and location have led to minimising the spillover. Social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter use vast amount of user data to serve communication to the defined TG.

The word of mouth and influencer marketing too have gained momentum. Reshares amplify the message and are more believable,as these are seen more as recommendations than brand promotions. According to a Nielsen study, 92 per cent of consumers believe word of mouth more than traditional advertising. Interestingly, trust on social media platforms is high in India. 39 per cent of connected consumers find content on social media reliable, compared to 32 per cent globally as per a Kantar TNS India study.

Mobile marketing too is gaining momentum due to large user base as well as ease of access. Marketers are optimising content for mobile for easy rendering. eMarketer’s media ad spend forecast report released in October 2017, states that mobile ad spending in India is expected to increase by 85 per cent this year, which will help boost overall digital ad spend to ~8,000 crore.

The evolved marketers are listening attentively not only to what their customers are saying but also to what their competition’s customers are saying. Smart listening enhances their market research and enables quick decision making and action.

Marketing activities are increasingly being driven by analytics. Insights 2.0 are here, marketers are now looking beyond unique visitors, viewers and reach. The first level of insights provide metrics like reach, frequency and consumer engagement, and then comes consumer insights like demographics, psychographics and geographics. Marketer today can fall back upon insights such as conversion rates, loyalty, leads etc to decide on their strategy.

There is an increased realisation that key performance indicators for digital brand and marketing strategy can be different from traditional media and brick and mortar strategy. And secondly, that success on new age media is outcome of continous consumer engagement.