From Newspaper Clippings to $500,000 per Instagram Post

Marketing is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as, "the action, business, or process of promoting and selling a product, etc., including market research, advertising, and distribution." Social media have given brands the ability to accomplish almost all aspects of marketing through one platform (which can be shared on different social media channels), but my focus throughout this blog is mainly on the advertising and exposure side of marketing.

Before social media played such a big role, brands relied on traditional advertising for exposure. By traditional advertising, I'm referring to classified ads, commercials, endorsements, posters, billboards, etc. When blogging was first created in 1994, marketing teams recognized this as a new way for their brand to gain exposure. People from all over the world quickly started blogging about everything from travel, to food, to fashion - the list goes on. This, in turn, meant that almost any brand could find a blogger that wrote about or provided content for products or services in that same industry.

While blogging has proven to be a successful marketing tool, something "bigger and better" has since entered into the arena. Social media originally did not pose a threat to blogging. Given that most bloggers already had a strong digital presence, they could easily use social media as their own marketing tool to bring their readers together and advertise their own content. However, most of the people who were once bloggers have now transformed into what we call "influencers." Another term for influencers is "content creators." Now that social media channels, such as Instagram, allow people to publish and access content more easily than ever before, the efforts that go into blogging seem impractical, resulting in most people generating content solely for their social media channels. In addition, this is also the result of a shift in demand for certain content. Although Instagram is not solely responsible, this specific social media channel has definitely impacted the demand for visual content. We have seen a drastic increase in photos and videos, as opposed to written content, since Instagram was created in 2010.

Influencers, some of which have no relationship to blogging, are now in the forefront of marketing. These content creators have generated a significant enough following that brands now look to them for exposure. From newspaper advertisements, to blog posts, to now booming Instagram profiles, the world of marketing has inarguably changed and will continue to do so as society and technology evolves.