It was a long time ago when companies contracted marketing and ad firms to create campaigns for mass media. The mass media in this case was television, radio and print. Today, marketing and ad firms still exist, but the mass media has completely changed. Digital brand marketing and Internet advertising has become the standard for putting your company and its message out there.

Given the status of digital technology, the definition of what is mass media has changed. Television, radio and print are still viable and lucrative mass media outlets, but the Internet has toppled those outlets. People are using computers and logging onto the Internet daily to communicate, get their news and to do business. How has this changed brand marketing and digital advertising?

Ad writing for direct response has not changed much at all. Writing to create "buzz" or to create an action still has the same tenets than it did decades ago. What has changed are the mouthpieces. As stated, the mass public only had television, radio and print to turn to for advertising. Now in the digital space, social media, social networking, blogs, podcasts and emails are the the outlets where a company or agency can place their ads or market their ads.

Taking it to the micro-level, common individuals have more pull and selling power than any corporation or celebrity. Nowadays, with the advent of sites like YouTube, Tumblr and Instagram, "nobodys" who never would be thought of as a marketing commodity are now being sought after by corporation and agencies.

Does this mean the sports star or the movie actor has lost any pull in the marketing world? No. The mass public will still be pulled by such individuals but the Youtube/Instagram star is now winning the micro-niche and moving into the macro-niches. They are winning the micro-niche with views, likes and follows -- this is the generic, grassroots form of marketing and creating a "buzz" on the Internet. But no agency is behind it nor any corporation. They are getting ahead on viable content.

This is a true testament to the unadulterated nature of Internet content -- specifically blogs, YouTube testimonials and Instagram images. These outlets give an unedited, no-holds-barred and most of all non-sponsored opinions about brands and products. Such information from these is considered "expertise" thus highly regarded and sought after.

The state of advertising has changed from just buying ads for television, radio and print. You can still do and you can buy ads on high traffic Internet sites. But you can find individuals, virtual "nobodys" who can give their huge audiences views about your brand. Fire up those social media accounts now!

Image credit: Lee See-Ming on Flickr