ViM is The Next Leading Edge!

[Mari Torres]

If you are not taking advantage of New Media, This is why you should...

Traditional media offers 3 main sources, Television, Radio, and Print. All successful companies have used 1 or all of these media platforms to attain success. Showing the brain trust of a company how important it is to include these resources in marketing plans to ensure exposure has become the new ROI benchmark. The Internet has challenged all industries to take their vision to higher levels by offering an intensified platform that will allow them to reach consumers directly, on a global scale without having to rely on traditional media resources.

This new media has birthed the success of million dollar companies; Google, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and many more. The growth and the attention that these companies have attained have proven that new media and digital technologies are evolving everyday and here to stay. New media technology has birthed a tool that will allow the average business individual to operate on the level of a large corporation by utilizing video commercials to advertise their products and services online to consumers all around the world. Streaming Digital [Audio and Video] Media is taking * Social Entrepreneurs to the top of the business game.

I have been watching new media trends closely for the past 5 years, I recognize how quickly trends change on the Internet. Through the Internet we are able to implement new media marketing strategies that allow us to reach target markets directly, and impact sales in all industries in all areas of the world without having a physical presence. Digital streamed media, enhances this process even further because it can function like a television network that can transmit hundreds of sources of information in an hour.

Television has proven to be a great source to promote any business, product or person. Advertising on Television guarantees exposure. How much is spent will determine the reach of your audience. A commercial on 1 network in 1 program could cost over 1 million dollars per 60 seconds – for a media spend (ie “Super Bowl”). Needless to say that for a business to participate in this type of marketing strategy the requirement of a hefty marketing budget is a must. Radio and print media is a more affordable solution but consideration needs to be taken when it comes to traditional media “You get what you pay for”. Also consider that with traditional media, marketing directly to your targeted consumer is a difficult task. There is no guarantee that when a commercial advertisement is aired, people are going to watch, read or listen to it. Especially when factoring in advanced technologies like the DVR, which can fast forward through a commercial segment without a viewer even blinking at what was missed. It can take months of advertising on traditional platforms and hundreds of thousands of dollars before there are any tangible results.

The qualifications for participating in traditional media have created a barrier for start up businesses, independent artist and individuals that depend on such platforms to expose and distribute their products. Thanks to Digital Media and Online technologies the barrier has been lifted, evening the playing field. Digitally Streamed Media has created an affordable solution that will guarantee major success for independent artist, singers, authors, athletes, producers, radio personalities, business owners and the like. Whether it is using video streaming media to sell ad space or purchasing ad space on Social Networks with a video channel to gain exposure, the benefits can be profitable for all categories of users.

Technology has made it so that almost anything that exists in the real world can be transformed and operated in a virtual environment. Now traditional mass medium advertisers are converging towards the internet with the realization of a cost savings. This is based on the dollar for dollar comparisons on what it takes to “build a business or a buzz” in a technological emerging world. We live in an era where one of the largest social meeting environments is not in New York or Los Angeles it does not require anyone to be on a VIP list. All you have to do is log on to a secured web portal “Facebook” and you are instantly connected to the WORLD!

Online social networking has become a growing trend and thanks to web service and solutions providers like Ning [that offer the ability to create a network for free with minimal conditions], and Live-stream [that allows one to stream videos continuously 24/7 like your television set] a growing business can grow without incurring a massive financial debt. Now anyone can create a network like Myspace, Facebook and YouTube and make it appealing to advertisers by offering a targeted demographic of consumers for media buyers to advertise to. There are thousands of Ning site creators in existence today with specialty sites for artists, hobbies, celebrities anything you can imagine. If you can imagine it there is likely a Niche site for it, housing thousands of people that share the same interest. Sounds like a perfect world for advertisers to market in doesn’t it?

Social networks owners using Ning platforms can turn profitable by simply adding a Live-stream code base that creates a video widget with a continuous stream on the main page of their network site. A niche network can become a video network with the probability to turn a profit by selling ad space on their video channel advertising products to their networks community. Site owners can target specific advertisers to promote products and services that the community members would likely purchase/consume.

Advertisers have been attempting to do this very thing with Facebook, YouTube and other social networks but have been running into the challenge of not reaching their targeted demographic because these sites are not specific enough to meet their marketing needs of niche business owners. How can I target Black women who own businesses if I don’t require this information in a user profile? In order for larger sites to become efficient in a drill-down process they would need to become more intrusive in the lives of their users. Once this becomes the norm, these same sites will see a significant drop off of users who feel that Big Brother watching is too much for me.

Advertisers know that it is cost effective for them to market directly to their target demographic. They understand that direct marketing to a large amount of consumers is possible on the Internet, video streaming media and social networking provide the solution. Now it is time for social entrepreneurs to incorporate new media technology such as Ning and Live-stream to take advantage of that opportunity to profit, by providing advertisers a platform through where they can market directly to consumers that would buy their products or services.

The Internet is one of the fastest growing purveyors of information to the world. Speed is an indelible attribute to the Internet and digitally streamed media is one of the quickest ways to get information to the consumer. We are headed to the tipping point of a digitally streamed media phenomenon where consumers will be able to watch their online programs on their television sets and their favorite TV shows online. If you don’t believe me watch closely the acquisition going on between Comcast and NBC. Big businesses see the virility of this new medium and so should you. Any online businesses that are utilizing digitally streamed media Channels, are placing themselves in a highly profitable position, which if structured properly can supply a revenue stream for years to come.

The Internet gave Entrepreneurs a chance to get in the game of online business; digitally-streamed media is taking those businesses to the next plateau. To further clarify the magnificence of this technology, imagine being the owner of your own television network similar to NBC or MTV where you provide the content and negotiate the advertisement, where millions of people are interacting everyday. Digital streaming media makes that possible. Can you envision yourself as the Oprah of the Internet?

* Social entrepreneur - a new breed of technology savvy individuals who utilize online technology an networks to create profitable businesses.