Media audiences continue to embrace new technologies and social media and react positively to sophisticated and targeted content. This provides media producers and marketers the opportunity to engage their target audience using the technologies that they are spending time with. The largest growth areas are mobile, social media, video and interactive ads.
Mobile
Everywhere you look there is evidence that mobile is growing. Tablets and smart phones are flying off shelves; in fact a recent AdMob study says that 28% of respondents use their tablet as their primary device. This evolution challenges how websites and other tools are developed so that content is accessible on mobile devices from both a design and speed perspective. Marketers and media companies need to produce innovative new programs that are mobile based, from social media to video to interactive ads. To ingrain mobile capability into product development, especially for IT audiences who are traditionally early adopters, has to be a priority. It has been a top initiative for our sites beginning with who we partner with, to the design of specific pages which carry more mobile friendly content such as blogs.
Social Media
Social media use in the BtoB world is on the rise; Quantcast reports that LinkedIn has 21.4 million monthly unique visitors in the U.S. This and other social media tools provide access to target audiences, however some people need to be reminded that social media is not “free promotion.” Effective campaigns take significant effort and time to build a strong social media imprint. This is not any easy task as there are many disciplines involved in creating these initiatives, and many organizations have bandwidth issues making true depth and breadth of communications a challenge. This is where media companies can help drive social community initiatives with content and audience expertise built into their programs. We recently launched Community Works to help marketers establish a strong community and generate conversations across the social web, building a strong community.
Video
The video craze is sweeping the BtoB realm, specifically for senior executives. A recent Forbes Insights study on Video in the C-Suite finds that more than 80% of senior executives are watching more video than they were a year ago and the majority watch work-related videos. Short video clips, under five minutes, are resonating best with executives. Comprehensive programs that combine video with other topic-related, drill down resources, like the IDG Enterprise Knowledge Vault, allow marketers to package their existing assets in combination with several 3-5 minute concise videos—viewed on either a mobile device or PC—providing a one-stop resource center.
Interactive Ads
IDG Enterprise brands refer to this family of interactive ad type as Smart Ads. These new ad units integrate branding, lead gen, mobile, social and video together to drive optimal engagement and visibility. The benefit for marketers is that they are able to engage their target audience, whether they use a tablet or pc, and provide more brand and product information. t Technical advances in the design and deployment of these ads allows specific resources such as white papers or even videos, to be accessed through the unit and lift previous restrictions so that a single ad can truly become a resource center.
Adding mobile, social media, video or interactive ads to marketing campaigns demonstrate leadership in using technology in creative ways, and drives interest and engagement with prospects and customers.
