Use Your Cell Phone As a Phone? You're Old.

Watch a millennial's face when their cell phone rings. First, it takes them a second to realize what that sound is. Then you may witness a range of emotions, anywhere from confusion to annoyance to complete panic. One thing's for sure though. They won't answer.
Actually fewer and fewer people do use their mobile phones to talk.  That's why phone carriers give you unlimited minutes now. (And you thought it was because you were a loyal customer.)  Oh sure, that annoying business guy with the double non-fat, two Splenda upside down latte, who likes to broadcast his "win/win, no-brainer" deal to you and everyone else in earshot at the coffee shop still yaks on the phone but it's just part of the image he's brandishing.  But "live audio messaging" as it is better described now is passe.

"So who are you listening to these days?," they ask as I walk on by with my earbuds on.

"Uhm...another person. You know, the one who I'm having a conversation with?"

Using a cell phone to talk is the new sign of old age. Today we communicate by text, selfies, six-second Vines and Snapchats. Or better. Not at all. If in doubt, ignore and hibernate until the messages cease...

Now that I've got you sufficiently fired up,  I'm here to tell you that no, you're not old is you use your cell phone as a cell phone: you're savvy.  Advances in digital technology were not supposed to end the way we communicate, but rather enhance it.  We now have the power to leverage the data through digital marketing, blending technology using all of it - and yes even none of it when we are face to face.
So text, message, post, tweet, chat, and yes even call.  It's better than OK.  It's smart business.

Frank Bocchino is marketing communications manager for Revana Digital, a Digital Marketing agency leveraging paid search SEM, conversion rate optimization, SEO, and industry-innovative predictive analytics and geo-targeting that result in sales.