The Day of Digital Dominance Has Dawned
We’re not about to jump aboard the “traditional-is-dead” bandwagon. But it's no surprise which direction the parade is headed.
Print, broadcast and other media belong in your marketing and advertising plan when they match your target audience and objectives. True, about 170 newspapers have disappeared in the past five years. TV viewership among young adults is slipping downward, as is magazine circulation.
But what is more significant is the dawn of digital dominance. As some “traditional” media dips downward, it’s time to check (and possibly rebalance) the mix in your plan and budget.
Your personal media habits might be sufficient validation, but two reports—from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, and analytics firm KISSmetrics—say the event horizon has been crossed.
Crossing the Digital Divide. For the first time, US adults are spending more time viewing media on their computer, phone and tablet—more than any other form. Time spent on devices is up from 3.11 hours per day three years ago to 5.16 hr/day in 2013. [KISSmetrics Infographic]
High-speed broadband is already mainstream in America. “Some 70 percent of American adults (18+) have a high-speed broadband connection at home,” according to Pew. “Groups with the highest rates of home broadband adoption continue to be college graduates, adults under age 50, and adults living in households earning at least $50,000, as well as whites and adults living in urban or suburban areas.” [Pew Home Broadband 2013]
Nearly eight out of ten people use the Internet. Among the entire US population, Internet users now exceeds 244 million, or 76.5 percent.
Source: KISSmetrics Crossing the Digital Divide – Infographic
Plus, the emerging Go-Anywhere, “Cord Cutter” Trend…
There is a growing slice of the American public that has elected to entirely dispense with cable TV in favor of taking all their media content via Internet services. This “cord cutter” crowd is estimated to be nearly 5 million by the end of this year.
Media has a new profile that is now dominated by digital formats. What’s more, it is increasingly a mobile device—tablet, smartphone, laptop—that can put your message in front of this audience with less regard to a home or office tether. It’s anywhere, anytime.
For more about Crossing the Digital Divide, the KISSmetrics Infographic is here. And among our previous posts, read The Mobile Tipping Point: Optimize Your Healthcare Site or Vanish and 23: Number of Useful Internet Marketing Stats in This Healthcare Post.
