When most people hear the term, “digital media,” they immediately think of the types of activities enjoyed primarily by teenagers and young adults. In truth, however, digital media can help to promote your business when used effectively. Digital media is comprised of music, graphics, film clips and presentations that can be created and used on the computer. This media can be stored locally on hard drives or on Internet servers, depending upon the type and preferred usage.
Digital media can be particularly effective in expanding a company’s website offerings. For instance, a company may film short “How To” videos, upload them to YouTube, and then embed the clip on their website. These videos can promote products and provide customers with information to help them get acquainted with their purchases, reducing the number of customer service phone calls received. Advertisements and both television and Internet commercials are also a great use for YouTube embedded videos. Another useful application of digital media technology involves training for employees. Using digital media for employee development can cut down on travel time and expenses while expanding cross-training among departments. Employee relations communications are especially effective via digital media technology. Using this method, supervisors and upper management are able to inform employees in multiple locations and can even encourage two-way conversations with the use of video teleconferencing.
Advertising as an industry has advanced significantly through the use of digital media and other technologies like survey software tools. Those commercials that inspire humor, thought and emotional response have a good chance of going “viral” on the Internet, meaning that links to those videos are embedded in multiple websites and mass-forwarded to users. One can only imagine the publicity that can be received through the use of viral videos. Advertising by digital media can also take the form of Facebook pages, Twitter postings and other social media avenues.