Top Five Emerging Fields To Apply Your Media Psychology Education

Media Psychology is a relatively new and growing field of study within Psychology - and has numerous applications both from a clinical and practical standpoint.  This is my list of the top five emerging industries where a media psychologist, M.A. or  PHD can ply their trade:

Legal - For example a media psychologist or media psychology expert might consult with trial attorneys on the use of images in their presentations to jury's.

Retail - What we wear says a lot about us - which is why retailers are always looking for deeper insights and market research into why people buy; information that is deeper than color and pattern (Under Armour is a good example of how you gather that info check out their blog)

Advertising - whether print, digital, TV or otherwise, we are bombarded by these constantly, media psychologists are great at providing insight into the display of information in a way that can cut through the clutter (Check out the world's first neuromarketing agency).

Web Design - With the advent of content management software, website design is now longer solely the domain of the programmer - with billions in annual e-commerce sales the presentation of your website can have a major impact on your overall success - media psychology experts have a deep understanding of the images and words that make people click - although it would not have taken a genius to tell Kaiser to re-name their "Catastrophic," policy to something else.

Research - The Media Psychology Research center says that "Media psychology looks for solutions by understanding fundamental human goals," and in doing so provides a valuable research angle for countless industries.  Visit the Media Psychology Research Center website for more info on how the research turn into action. 

Rich Media Content: Retailers Move Away From Text

So there I was with a 25-page white-paper marked "Confidential," straining to read the 10 point font as I was reading the lengthy document explaining the guidelines to publishing enhanced content to vender pages on a very large online retailer's .com  Words like "rich media box," and "expanded manufacturer content," have replaced the traditional "description," and "specs," that used to rule online retailers vendor pages. 

In my recent work with big box retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target, I have really seen how these big box retailers have begun to embrace the idea that video and other forms of rich media do a better job of explaining what a product is and thus selling it.  In fact, in the document I was reading, most of the text that was recommended was aimed at giving the customer "additional detailed information,' about the product - so basically, anything that video or images can't quite capture. In addition to this most of the content has moved lower, and lower, below the rich media content as if it is an afterthought - and it very well may be.  Check out these product pages here and here to get an idea of what I am talking about. 

If the largest retailer in the world is publishing white pages explaining the value of rich media content to its vendors says a lot about the trend in digital marketing away from text and towards valuable visual content.  As a marketer - this means a lot more interfacing with graphic designers and planners to better shape digital assets to meet the needs of not only the retailers but the digital consumer base that is increasingly demanding rich media content over text.

Online Marketing: Top Five Online Marketing Tools

     Digital marketing can be hard to grasp - it has a lot of moving parts and some may or may not apply to you but they must all be considered even if you may not deploy them.. I like to see digital marketing as a cyclical process - one that repeats at a pace that is representative of the changes in your specific industry.  I have found the following path a very general outline for this cyclical process.  But I have been doing this for 15 years and I am still learning - for example what do you think I am missing?

My Top Five Online Marketing Tools:

1) Buffer - schedule all your social media posts and move on! SM is important but can be a time suck!
2) SocialMention - Real time social media conversations search - research trends in SM.
3) WordStream - Doing a PPC camapign?  Use WordStream to help you find niche keywords.
4) Bit.ly - Deploy custom URL's when a 301 re-direct won't work - get stats and data on whos viewing and sharing your content.
5) Reachmail - a good FREE email marketing service up to 15K names or 50K emails a month - easy WSISYG editor