The correlation between phone addiction and marketing

Our phones have our attention. All the time. No matter what.

Last Saturday, my husband, kids, and I went to Beertown for supper. I noticed this cute couple who were probably in their young twenties on what appeared to be a first or second date. They caught my eye throughout the night as I checked out the score on the Raptors game as the tv was just over their head.

So why am I talking about a random couple from a restaurant? Because of what happened multiple times throughout their date.

When things would quiet down, the young guy would reach for his phone and start scrolling. It shocked me! He had this attractive woman across from him, yet he stopped the real-life interaction to pick up his phone.

As a woman, I wanted to tell her to pack her bags and meet someone who would give her the attention she deserved, but as a marketer, I was very interested. 

I always preach, “Be where the people are, online!” pretty much all day, every day. But I usually use the examples of people scrolling before bed, or in a waiting room, or at a red light. Never had I said they scroll while they are in a fun situation like a date! But that’s how strong the pull to our phone is. We find ourselves reaching for it no matter what, and scrolling mindlessly. 

This is exactly why you need to use social media to build your brand. Think about it – when else would your advertising be a welcome distraction on a date? Pretty much never! But here we are, this young guy is consuming content on a dinner date. 

I’ll say it louder for the people at the back – BE WHERE THE PEOPLE ARE – ONLINE! You need to be posting multiple times per day on multiple platforms.

There are studies that show people are on their phones for 5, 6, and 7 hours per day. That’s a lot of chances to build your brand and get them to know your name!

If all the big companies are doing this, even more, should we little guys. Social media is the great equalizer – it’s basically a free platform anyone can use to build their brand. Snap a pic, create a short video, and send out some tweets! There are tons of ways to utilize social media to build your brand, create brand awareness and create content that makes the phone ring. 

I love content marketing and use it often. A lot of times, my business comes to me, and I don’t go searching for it. People see me online and will want me to pitch to them. If it works for me, it will work for you!

Also, post even on the weekends! As the young man showed us, we don’t really set aside time to be without our phones, which means we are always scrolling. 

As bad as I felt for the girl on the date, it was an interesting insight into user behavior, and really was an amazing example of why digital marketing is head and shoulders above traditional marketing. Phone addicton and marketing might just go hand in hand, so consider creating a content marketing plan!

Read more blogs about digital marketing here or watch the video of me explaining the scenario on Youtube.