Have Smartphones Killed Traditional Marketing Tactics?
Yes…well, not yet!
Over the past few decades we have seen an extraordinary jump from traditional marketing tactics like billboards, pamphlets, mailers, magazine advertisements make the move to a more efficient and direct digital marketing techniques. Through blogs, websites and social media, digital marketing practices have helped skyrocket businesses and brands because of the reach it has on people who are influenced by technology in their everyday lives.
It has been over 50 years since Tim Berners-Lee created the world wide web in 1969, and the impact has been felt all over the world. Computers are integral parts of our lives and the way we receive and produce information will never be the same. Many job fields have had to drastically change over the past 30 years or so to keep up with the worlds adaptation to technology. The fields of advertising and marketing are no exceptions.
In the United states, there were 171 million smartphone users according to statista and even that number is expected to jump over the next 5 years. There are around 371 million people in the US total according to google’s data which means that just under half of all Americans are capable of being reached via digital marketing techniques every day just through the phone in their hands.
Out of pure curiosity I decided to look into how long the typical American is on their phone a day, and the answer was a whopping 4.7 hours. That’s 1/3 of our time awake! No longer do marketers need to beg and plead for the eyes and attention of consumers. Technology users are drawn to the internet because they can find information more efficiently. Thanks to smartphones and other technologies, gaining exposure is as simple as creating great content and promoting it through the best possible social media channels to reach it’s intended audience.
Ok– so maybe I’m being a little harsh stating that traditional marketing is being killed by smartphones, but the numbers don’t lie! Just Imagine the cost of sending out information to 171 million people, or placing a costly advertisement in a magazine. Not only is digital marketing able to reach more people with less effort, but it is also much more cost effective!
