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Not long ago in the US, a mere three television networks served 250 million people. That was the era of mass media. As simple as it seemed, for marketers, there were a lot of ways to get it wrong back then.

New Media is More Accessible and Efficient

Traditional mass media was no friend to the mid-size business. You had to pony up the money and pay for far more audience than you really needed to reach. You had to get in a long line to use the three megaphones. And too bad if your customers didn’t like to watch “I Love Lucy”. You were stuck talking to the wrong audience and paying through the nose for the privilege.

Social Media Actually Listens

More than clumsiness due to sheer audience size, traditional mass media had a bigger problem: it didn’t listen, it talked. And talked and talked. Like a bad guest at a party, mass media didn’t care if your eyes were glazed over: it was in love with the sound of its own voice.

Clumsy, expensive and hearing-impaired, we put up with mass media because it was big and we had no choice. It had our customers – lumped in with all the other audiences, yes, but it had them.

In Modern “Social Economics”, Mass Media is a Friend to Mid-Size Business

Today, social media is the new mass media – it works with big, big numbers. In the following clip, the facts (and opinions) behind Socialnomics, the 2009 book by Erik Qualman serve to add up the big new realities.

Social media is mass media, but leveraged. You use it to pry your customers out of the mass. And once you find them, you don’t monopolize the conversation. Your spend goes so much farther when you don’t have to worry about your customers “Loving Lucy”.