In days gone past, activists, entrepreneurs, and politicians used the power of speech to vocally propel their business using the media of the time to sway the masses. Everything from public rallies, strikes, newspaper articles and TV spots – but those mediums had limited audiences and little to no power on tracking of their success. In the 21st century, things have changed and digital marketing, campaigns and tactics are now paramount for erecting change in the world stage and for growing your business.
A prime example of the power of digital marketing and loyal supports is the recent Wiki-leaks accusations against the CEO by several governments and his subsequent arrest. Whether he committed a crime or helped to create a greater transparency among the people of the world and politics – is not up for debate here. What needs further scrutiny is how loyal supporters, activists, and hackers stood up and fought against the system.
As soon as major companies stopped hosting Wiki-leaks, banking companies pulled out and the company fell apart – the loyal followers began instantly blogging about the issues and supporting the CEO of Wiki-leaks. Just within a matter of hours, groups of hackers began attacking websites of companies who shunned Wiki-leaks and successfully shut down major websites for several hours. The increased attention because of digital marketing and online tactics has lead to a greater interest in the case and it appears it has helped to finally allow a judge to provide bail to the former CEO. It just goes to show that there is a massive power lying under the Internet waiting for someone to grasped onto it and make a change.
An example of a company trying to grasp at the sleeping giant is Ethology. They recently released a new platform called ethosystem that will allow businesses to better track their advertising campaigns and analyze rate of return on investment in the campaign, how to better modify the media to its customers to obtain a greater conversion ratio and so forth. This new development will allow businesses to understand digital marketing and how it can benefit their small businesses without having to hire a personal ad analyst.
There is something laying in wait with the whole social medium and Internet that will forever change the face of the 21st century. When it is unleashed, we will look at the Internet and digital marketing with a new appreciation or fear, depending on who wields that power.
