"Click Here to Buy": Online Advertising

Digital communication technology has completely revolutionized the field of marketing and advertising in recent decades. Traditional advertising platforms such as – print ads, billboards, television and radio commercials, and corporate sponsorships – have taken a backseat to the new and increasingly popular forms of online advertising. Today’s marketing and advertising experts must refocus their energy on new methods including display ads, search engine ads, sponsored content on social media, direct email or text marketing, native ad content, and influencer marketing. Tech companies like Google, Apple, and Facebook also track user data in order to more effectively target specific audiences (Szabo, 2021). The interconnectedness of devices also affects advertising methods: an individual may interact with a brand on their smartphone and then see an ad from the same brand while on their laptop.

Advertising professionals today must learn skills beyond writing catchy dialogue for a commercial or creating a memorable brand. Their training must also include elements like audience demographic analysis, types of online ads, knowledge of social media platforms, and where to invest marketing funds. In fact, companies often compartmentalize advertising based on staff expertise. A department might be divided up into teams to cover content creation, data analytics, social media management, as well as more traditional advertising efforts. While modern technological advancements have many benefits to advertisers, the increased scope demands increased knowledge and effort from communications professionals.

Reference:

Szabo, L. Z. (2021) Mass media, social media and technological evolution today: A theoretical approach. Journal of Media Research, 14(3), 95–105. https://doi.org/10.24193/jmr.41.6

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