Unit 2 Draft

The rise in technology has impacted many industries, as well as the daily lives of individuals. Some argue that this rise has negatively impacted their lives, while others believe the complete opposite. One industry that has been majorly impacted by the rise in technological innovations is the advertising industry. What was once known for incredible magazine pages or billboards on the streets, has been transformed to what catches peoples’ eyes when going onto the Internet. Most specifically, the rise of social media has impacted the advertising industry, and while some may believe that advertising hit its peak and won’t get back to it again, advertising on social media has opened many new doors for the industry. 

Social media is used at obscene rates by people in the United States. In a survey conducted by MDG Advertising, it was found that 30% of the time that Americans spend online in a week, they are on social networks. This statistic is astonishing as this was the largest share when being compared to streaming, the online press, and other online abilities. This shows the opportunity that advertisers have to take part in because there is almost without a doubt that your ads will be seen on social media by your target audience. MDG Advertising concluded that “this immense popularity is the underlying reason that marketers have moved ad spend toward social,” (MDG, 2018). As long as advertisers recognize the need to be innovative and move away from the traditional advertising methods, they should see the rise of social media as something positive, not something they should shy away from. 

Social media was created with the intentions to connect people with others from their past’s, as well as family and friends in order to stay in touch. According to Adweek when describing social media’s impact on advertising, the author claimed, “Over a mere few years, what started as a means for regular people to connect with friends, family and coworkers has become an advertiser’s dream. And that shift is leaving an imprint,” (Long, 2016). Looking at the article’s publishing date as 2016 and now being in 2019, it is clear that this imprint being described isn’t going anywhere. 

When surveying millennials through an Instagram account about technology impacting advertising, social media was the first response that came to the participants’ minds. For example, some of the comments included, “Yep! More products can be marketed more easily and effectively with Instagram and Snapchat ads! Mostly everyone has social media so advertising is easy,” and “Absolutely – quick platform for instant and constantly changing advertising campaigns – and less expensive than traditional print and media methods.” Seeing how people online quickly jumped to social media proves that social media is making a huge impact on the advertising industry, let alone technology as a whole. Furthermore, Long described a similar statement in saying that “social media simply provide a new means of offering the same coupons and deals brands had always offered,” (Long, 2016). This is important because this fact shows that the transformation in advertising has only brought about a change where lives are being made easier in order to get the same message out. 

It is important to note that these changes in advertising because of social media is a small part of a bigger picture of consumers going digital rather than traditional (MDG, 2018). 

According to Forbes’ article, “How the digital age has changed marketing channels forever,” AJ Agrawal described different changes that the rise in technology has made on marketing and advertising. Marketing and advertising are very interconnected, so combining the two makes logical sense in analyzing what is going on. Agrawal describes a specific situation regarding pay to play, which states that advertisers get paid for each of their ads that are played. When describing this, Agrawal states, “The digital age has heralded a era where everyone can join the advertising dogfight. Yes, those with huge budgets still have an advantage, but it’s no longer the decisive advantage of before. Even the smallest companies have a good reason to play,” (Agrawal, 2016). This is important because it shows that although many people simply regard the digital age as being a positive impact for companies, it has actually brought in more competition for them as pretty much anyone can take part in the advertising of products and services. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iA7cba3ySaA

https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-social-media-is-changing-advertising-for-better-and-worse/

https://www.mdgadvertising.com/marketing-insights/infographics/how-social-media-changed-the-ad-game-infographic/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2016/02/15/how-the-digital-age-has-changed-marketing-channels-forever/#387c6c40680a