New media platforms have found their way into the corporate world, and in many ways they have enhanced our already traditional practices. Traditional news media uses new media to reach their audiences faster and without barrier of accessibility or restriction of television programing. Platforms such as Facebook allow the audience to be instantly updated while giving the producers flexibility on editing or updating content. Media platforms like Facebook and twitter also allow a freer flowing channel of discussion on the hottest topic.

Advertising has done some amazing things like using interactive new media platforms to reach the consumer. Social media has been a great help to public relations as well, because now they have an immediate way to hear the people’s problem and solve it within a few minutes. Social media has changed the job of PR. PR is now focused on instant customer satisfaction and interaction so they are constantly monitoring social media to make sure the respond to consumers in a timely fashion. Additionally broadcasting professionals have used new media such as Facebook live to give the viewers an inside look at behind-the-scenes. ABC 7 is known for interacting via Facebook live video during their filming. You can find them on Facebook at ABC 7 Amarillo.

One of the most influential new media concepts is crisis management using new media. Many companies have succeeded and failed fantastically in this realm of business. It is imperative that a company has a plan in place, and follows it immediately. One of the worst things a company can do is ignore the situation or delete their accounts. New media is a fantastic tool when used effectively. Crisis management has to be handled in timely manner while delivering a message of genuine heart-felt concern and good character from the company. In turn with crisis management we have discussed

There is also slew of new media terms like curating and user-generated content.

Curating is when someone generates a list of information that has previously been published. Essentially they are just gathering old data and putting it into a new piece. User Generated Content is a collection or piece of content that was created by users and then published on social media for the use of professionals or companies.

Although both of these things are good, they can be bad when used for the wrong reasons. If companies do not handle crisis’ well they may experience some curated content and even user-generated content in a less than positive way.

New media tools have become commonplace in daily lives, and in corporate operations. Many of the tools used give us an advantage that we otherwise wouldn’t have. Take Facebook for example, it allows us to establish personal relationships and inform others where we otherwise would be able to reach them. It also has great analytics to show you what you have been doing, and what you should do better. Right after Facebook we have Instagram, owned by the same company, but a completely different concept. Instagram targets image sharing directly and uses hash tags rather than friendships to generate audience. Instagram has no analytics but it is easily integrated and content can be shared with Facebook easily, so they compliment each other well.

Unlike either of those Twitter (which is owned by Google) is a channel of feedback and discussion. Many companies that have mastered twitter have found it to be a powerful tool. With the character limit people are limited to saying the most important, and leaving out the unnecessary. This open-ended conversation allows customers to interact with companies on real time, and they feel like their voice is being heard.

YouTube is another platform owned by Google that allows people to share their thoughts and voice, but on a much larger scale. The video sharing of YouTube allows people to convey their message with a genuine delivery that other platforms don’t cater to. In addition YouTube is a great educational and informational tool that makes life more efficient.

Ultimately you have Google Analytics, a tool that measures all we just talked about. Google Analytics is critical to ones success when using new media. This free service allows you to analyze how effective your posts have been, whom they are reaching, where they are reaching, what the conversation is, and what you might want to change for the future.

When you pair all of these platforms together you have a recipe for success in the new media world.

Our society is impacted by new media in many ways that we never think of. A lot of the time we see firsthand the media impacting our life. Like the daily interactions we have on our cell phone or the Facebook account we have to keep in touch with old friends. But having a smartphone eliminates the use of many other devices that we don’t see firsthand. Instead of purchasing a product you can just download it as a free app, and this creates less production and waste in our landfills. GPS’s, levels, compasses, flashlights, and many other products are less likely to be bought from a manufacturer when you could get the same results from downloading a free app.

An average person does not realize how much their new media use impacts marketing and advertising. Geolocation is a capability that most of our phones have, and we usually use. We don’t realize that the moves we make on our phones – and off it – tell these people about who we are and what we are doing. Marketers and advertisers then use this information to better target us as consumers.

New Media is something to embrace and understand, because ultimately we are all subject to its use. It is a matter of taking the time to understand it so that you can use it wisely. Every person should take advantage of the benefits it offers and capitalize on such a wonderful time in technology.