On the sidelines of my participation at the Social Media Marketing World in San Diego.

The virtual and the real are becoming more interconnected and intertwined than ever before. The line between offline and online is becoming blurred. Smart organizations understand this fact and take advantage of it to create a better presence for themselves in a fiercely competition marketplace.

Every business needs to get their message out there to impact the choice of consumers. With LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms making major moves to enable social selling with original brand content, businesses will have to deepen and expand their messages were they to successfully influence the masses. Businesses have realized that they cannot achieve the sought business reach without digital media.

The following facts have been gleaned from observing the marketplace:

• Salespeople who use social media outsell those who do not
• Peer recommendations are a main contributor to making a purchase
• The vendor’s digital media content has an impact on the final purchase decision

Rising above the noise of the busy virtual and physical market is indispensable, and creating authenticity and excitement among consumers is crucial. Businesses are using digital media to echo compelling and original voices in order to standout.

Internet technology is accessible to people of different generations. However, Generation Z, the main current and potential target of businesses, is the first to have Internet technology so readily available at such a young age. Concurrent with the web revolution that began in the 1990s, cohorts of this generation have been exposed to an unprecedented amount of technology in their upbringing. Given the exponential growth of smart phones, technology became more compact, affordable, and accessible. Forbes Magazine suggests that by the time Generation Z cohorts enters the workplace, digital technology would be an aspect of almost all career paths.

The widespread usage of the Internet from a young age is a significant aspect of this generation. Members of Generation Z are typically comfortable with technology and they interact on social media websites for a significant portion of their socializing.

Appealing to Millennials and Gen Z Cohorts

If you want to appeal to and engage with millennials and Gen Z cohorts, video is a must-have marketing tactic. These generations prefer to find entertainment and education on YouTube to traditional channels like television. Snapchat, YouTube, gifs, Vine, and more are being used at a rapid rate. Platforms like Periscope and Blab have put live interactive videos into the hands of anyone with a smart phone. 

According to a Facebook post by the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg:

Social media now drives more traffic to websites than search engines. To stay relevant and appealing, companies, departments, and individuals need to know exactly where business technology is heading, and be sure to stay on top of each shifting digital trend. Remaining competitive necessitates being visible. Changing the strategic mindset, embracing constant change, and taking calculated risks is essential.

The growth of the Internet of Things, which has led to devices connecting more people in more useful and collaborative ways, triggers a transformation in every enterprise’s relationship with its community and stakeholders.

This shift will be a driver for the vision, data usage, and evolution of jobs and processes.

I will be sharing deeper insights on this topic in my upcoming blog posts, stay tuned!