By Allie Carrick, Strategist

The word marketing’s first known use was in 1561. Successful organizations always evolve and thrive with world changes. First, print advertising appeared when Gutenberg invented moveable type in 1450. Then, the first American magazine was published in 1741 in Philadelphia. Next, in 1835 the first large outdoor poster (more than 50 square feet) was hung in New York promoting the circus. Radio ads began in 1922 and in 1941 the first television ads appeared. Telemarketing emerged in 1970 and a Motorola researcher made the first hand-held mobile call in 1973. In 1985, the emergence of desktop publishing caused print ads to explode. Ten years later, search engines launched and the first know mention of search engine optimization occurred.

The Digital Revolution changed the way organizations must interact with their target to be effective. Businesses that achieve longevity remain flexible with world changes. If you’re on the fence about devoting a portion of your advertising budget and you’re an undecided social media voter, this post is for you.

Your Social Profiles Can Bolster Prospective Business

In 2000, there were only 100 million daily Google searches and by 2010 that number grew to 2 billion. In 2011, 65% of adult Internet users said they used a social networking site. This knowledge is empowering to the marketer. A significant portion of your audience uses the Internet and social sites to communicate and to research.  They might search for your Facebook profile to determine your organization’s legitimacy, services and/or location. 88.1% of U.S. Internet users ages 14 currently browse for or research products online. This type of organic consumer research takes place everyday and isn’t always easy to measure, but it happens and is powerful in forming decisions about your company.

No Matter the Expertise, Social Reach Is a Factor in Success

You might be reading this post and saying something like, “This is great, but Online casino my type of business doesn’t apply and I don’t find value in social media promotion.” The hard truth is that social media use is just as, if not more popular than television use in this country. In most instances, you have the best chance to reach your target market by investing ad dollars into integrating your company into the digital world. In some instances, your social profiles represent your company’s first impression. Your organization’s challenge is to make an impersonal Internet, personal and engaging for people checking out your business online.

Work To Be Accessible to Your Consumer

I’m a young adult and I frequently use the Internet and social media to quickly research countless decisions. I will unconsciously make decisions about things by what I see online. Often, I won’t go to an unfamiliar place if they don’t have an established digital presence because I assume it could be closed, suspicious or the product could not be what I expect it to be. People that hear about your business and your social profiles will seek you out online to learn more about your company in a noninvasive nature. People are on Facebook for hours every day. Your effort in this area can foster confidence between you and the new audience you need to reach to be successful.

There are different ways to integrate your company into the digital world. If you’re starting from scratch, Smirk can help you find a focus. Sometimes you can be more effective by concentrating on developing in certain digital areas more than others, such as email marketing campaigns or building profiles on sites like Pinterest or Foursquare. The digital age we exist in is branded by an emphasis on information sharing, user-centered strategy, and collaboration. Like each wave of marketing evolution, the sooner you adopt the movement, the better it will be for your company.