It’s safe to assume that teens consume a lot of media in a daily timeframe, but how much do adults, with full-time jobs, families and additional responsibilities, consume?

According to eMarketer’s report, US adults spend over 12 hours a day consuming media. That’s half of our day is dedicated to consuming media – it’s amazing we still sleep at night. Media consumption ranges from listening to the radio, reading a magazine, browsing the internet and much more. Digital media makes up half of the total media adults are consuming.

With the majority of US adults’ time being used to consume media, how do businesses take advantage of this? For starters, it’s important that businesses have a diverse media plan that covers multiple mediums. Although digital media is the most consumed among adults, it’s important not to ignore the other more traditional mediums such as TV, radio and print. By having a diverse media plan, your marketing efforts will more likely be seen or heard, and you’ll have a wider reach over your target audience.

With that being said, you shouldn’t just choose all mediums to advertise on and slap your message on it. Within those 12 hours, adults are constantly being exposed to different types of messages and advertisements. With that much noise in the space, your media can get lost and forgotten about within seconds of being seen or heard. In the marketing world, content and creativity are kings. If your business is able to utilize distinct creative and impactful messages in its media, you are more likely to stand out from the competition and be remembered.

Also, it’s key to understand your target audience. A key question to ask is what types of media are your audience consuming? By answering this question, businesses can effectively decide which mediums will reach their target audience the best when creating its media plan. Another important detail to understand about your target audience is what kind of content are they actively seeking or engaging with.  This can help businesses craft content and messages that will align with the target audience.  Make sure your content is easy to find, easy to digest, and helps your target customer solve a problem. Consider what stage of the buyer’s journey your content is reaching them in. Is it in the initial awareness stage or while they are making a final buying decision? Craft it around those stages.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to mass media marketing, but this is a good starting point for all businesses. Once you start taking a creative and analytical perspective on media, then you’ll truly understand the marketing impact it can have on your business.

(Thank you for reading this blog and including us in your 12 hours of media consumption.)