Do you remember when social media platforms came out? Probably if you were born after 1998, you won’t remember. What when computers came out? I was not born for that, but I remember when social media platforms boomed in the 2000s. My first account was a messenger account by Microsoft where you can chat with friends you have added. I remember the day I created the account. I was between 4th and 5th grade when a friend from the neighborhood told me about this platform where you can create an account using “Email”. Fun fact: my current email is the same one I made then. After Messenger, probably weeks later, I started an account on Myspace since my older brother showed me his account. I remember how happy I was when I opened that account since I could put my personalized backgrounds with images, quotes, music, and many more plugins and widgets with which your friends can interact. This was the first time I thought about “How I want my friends to look at me? Who am I?”. Myspace was like creating a website, and I believe that my first thoughts as a marketer were at that time without knowing what I was doing. I wanted my friends to come to my page and write a post on it. Similarly, a business wants to generate a lead or a sale through its website.
The digital world has come to a level where it is not a “different” or a new thing; it is everywhere now. I’ve mentioned it before in other posts: there is no such thing as digital marketing; we are just living the Marketing in a Digital Era. Currently, most marketing efforts are digital, from websites to social media to billboards nationwide, and can be managed from behind a desk. Yes, there are still flyers, TV, newspapers, and traditional billboards, but once you see any of them, it is more likely that the consumer will go and do research looking for their social media or website. Mass communication has been changing in the last 13 years or more. Because of this, communicators, marketers, and businesses must be ready to evolve their career paths or objectives to reach their goals. Since we are in a digital era, the first question you can ask yourself is, “Has my business, career, or myself as a brand shifted to digital?’ This is a simple question that can open doors to a path that will help you reach success. Dave Senay, President and CEO of Fleishman-Hillard Inc., one of the world’s most celebrated strategic communication firms, asked this question to himself when he got the CEO position in 2006 when digital was not as big as now. The company was already in a great position in the industry, being ranked by revenue as one of the top interactive agencies in the world. Dave was thinking more about different aspects, like what impact has “digital” on what you offer your customers or clients. Jeffrey F. Rayport, the author of the article Does Your Company Need a Digital Readiness Checklist, stated that you can ask a series of questions to determine if your business has shifted to digital. I’m sure almost every business today has started as digital, but it is still a good practice to answer this question to find any gaps in your business. We know digital is everywhere, but what’s the next adventure since everything runs under digital? What is going to be the new shift for businesses? Is it going to be under digital?
Technology keeps advancing and improving every year. Last year, we had the introduction of a variety of AI systems. It looks like this is going to be the future. In my opinion, I feel AI will play a bigger role than what it is right now. Based on AI, new tools, new platforms, and new technology will be developed, and as a marketer, business owner, or individual constructing a career, we must be aware of what is going to be the new shift. The time is coming, and we are almost in a similar position economically, politically, socially, and technologically as when Facebook was launched. Facebook has been one of those companies that are evolving continuously year after year. They started as a network for college students to become a social media platform for the whole world where you can connect with anyone. Then, they kept evolving and started giving the accessibility to create your business page on Facebook and, even with time, run ads. Today’s Facebook version is not even close to being the same as when it was launched.
In this technological development, communication is the first area or industry that gets attached to them. Communication is everywhere, and when you are a business owner, you are looking to communicate your products or services to audiences to generate sales. Everything related to generating money (business) is attached to communications. You won’t generate revenue if you don’t communicate information about your business. Mass communication processes will keep evolving based on this progress. For example, people always say that traditional media is dying, but it is not. It is just evolving. Traditional TV went to TV, Radio went to Podcasts, and newspaper ads converted to Display Banners with websites playing the role of the newspaper publisher. Mass communication processes and channels will keep evolving tome over time. Business owners or high-level executives must remember this constantly to be ahead of the curve.
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