How can you communicate with your customers?

There are many forms of media that can be used to communicate with your target audience.  

       

 Television

Television is one of the traditional mass media forms of communication that we enjoy in our society.  Although, the history of television is not as old as it may seem to most considering that television only became a popular medium in the 1950’s.  The television viewing audience is quite diverse.  Television programing and advertising target different sectors of the public depending on the timing and geographical area.  Romaniuk, Beal, & Uncles, simplify the matter by saying “Reaching consumers in the target audience with a brand message is the key goal of media placement” (2013).  Studying the history of television one must be reminded of the very successful marketing and advertising strategies of soap operas aptly named because of the target audience of homemakers who buy cleaning materials for the home.  Television advertising is one of the biggest expenses that many companies encounter.   We have all heard about the cost of advertising at prime opportunities like the Super Bowl. 

Print

The media of print is certainly a diverse one and utilizes many platforms for its delivery.  Print has been around as early as the cave drawings in prehistoric times.  Dhanshri M. Patil  talks about how print media has changed and  talks about how the media of print is “…still dramatically changing” (Patil, 2011).  Of course we know that the media of print is one of the most important in conveying our ideas and information to others.  And almost every form of media that is not visual media utilizes print.  The platforms used to deliver media have come a long way and evolved with technology.  We can now read e-books, web pages, blogs, as well as the traditional media of newspapers, magazines, flyers, and other written material.  There has been a big drop in most newspaper circulations and although newspaper advertising is not as expensive as television advertising the potential number of people that will actually encounter your advertisement is limited to the newspaper’s circulation.

Radio

Although we may consider radio a traditional media it is still a valid technology.  Using radio to communicate is somewhat different than pre-television era however; it is still a source of knowledge to many.  If you consider the amount of time that we spend every day just traveling to and from work or running errands the time we spend listening to the radio is significant.  Radio is of course a source of entertainment for music we like but also a source of hearing the news, as well as a legitimate advertising venue.

Internet

  

This leads to another form of media we all know and love which is the wonderful internet where we can find many types of communication.  There is print media, television, social media, and a many other forms to communicate incorporated on the internet.  The internet utilizes such media technologies as social media, rich-media, search, mobile and many more.  According to the US Census in 2011, 71.7% of every household accessed the internet.  Communication on the web allows almost unlimited access to information.  The best thing about this new technological media is that it is a wonderful means of free communication!  The amount of time that the population spends online is astounding if you consider not only are we accessing the web at home on personal computers but we are also accessing the internet at work.  Lastly let’s not forget how many people access the internet on their mobile phones. 

References

Romaniuk, J., Beal, V., & Uncles, M. (2013). Achieving Reach in a Multi-Media Environment How a Marketer's First Step       Provides the Direction for the Second. Journal Of Advertising Research, 53(2), 221-230. doi:10.2501/JAR-53-2-221-230

Patil, D. M. (2011). Recent Trends of Print Media in Development Communication. Global Media Journal: Indian Edition, 2(2), 1-20.

U.S. Census, (May, 2013) Computer and Internet Use in the United States, Retrieved from: http://www.census.gov/hhes/computer/publications/2011.html

Evirtual Branding

Evirtual Branding

Why your business should have an online presence above and beyond your website.

The number one reason that you should have an online presence is that 3 out of 4 people find local business by searching online.  For example if someone is searching for a dentist the chances are high that they will first begin their search by looking on Google.  Not only does having a Google+ page help people to find you it also boost your webpage higher on the search engine. 

 As businesses grow more competitive one of the biggest challenges that they face is growing and building their brand.  Customers need to not only see but to experience this to believe them.  If customers can find you online it offers an extension of your brand.   By setting up a social media platform you can provide valuable information to your clients while building your brand.  This is a great way to build your business brand as well as get to know your customers.   Once you have established an online presence then you can quickly and easily showcase specials and promotions to your clients and new perspective clients as well.  Using social media to promote your business and specials is much more effective than placing an ad in the local newspaper.  Your message can spread from 1 to 1000 in a matter of 24 hours because of the viral-ness of the web.   

Ok, so you get the point your company needs to be online and you already have a website for your customers.  You don’t have the time to update a blog, and social media every day and you don’t want to hire a social media consultant to work full time.  That’s where Evirtual Branding can help.  For less than the cost of running a traditional newspaper ad we can set you up on the major social media sites, and provide weekly updates.  Building your brand through social media and allowing your presence on the web to grow while you run your business.   By hiring Evirtual Branding you don’t have the added expense of hiring a Social Media consultant to take up valuable space in your office.