The Remarkable Internet and Your Marketing Strategies
The New Web World
By: Jim Warholic
Our world is changing at a remarkable rate. Things are moving at light speed when it comes to information and how consumers and businesses obtain information. The key to this is the Internet and it is expanding on an exponential marketing curve. The Internet is a prime target for B2b and B2c advertisers to understand and place their marketing and advertising investment dollars in the best place possible.
We have a new generation of people growing up in which the Internet has a deep penetration. Here are some amazing U.S. facts that go back a number of years: 83.4% of males, 75.2% females 18-24 have Internet access. These figures do not drop below the 50% marks until the 55-64 age group for females. This group has males at 52% and females at 46% net access. The 65+ age group has a drop precipitously.
Here is an interesting study? in which a national survey was conducted for 1,235 respondents. The age groups represented the following numbers: 410 18-24 years, 411 25-34 years, and 414 35-54 years. 50-50 ratio male to female. The Socio-economic status consisted of middle – 55%, high 14%, and low 31%. There were a number of questions doing comparisons to the different media types.
The types of media presented were Internet, TV, books, radio, newspapers, videos/DVDs, videos/computer games, and magazines. The Internet generally out ranked any other form of media as a preferred choice for the respondents. The Internet (NOT email, IM, chat) and TV were the most frequently used media. Additionally, the Internet usage is growing as a percentage of time spent for the respondents, with 47% stating they spend more time online now then they did a year before. The highest age group was the 18-24 years at 52%. The next closest media was watching videos/DVDs in which 24% stated they spend more time now. Watching TV ranked only at 17% of increased time spent compared to a year ago.
Some of the attitudes were: 74% use the Internet for entertainment, 73% stated it helps them keep up with topics they are interested in, 73% felt it was an important part of their day, 65% thought it provided useful info about products and services, 50% thought it was an important way to relax. TV ranked high for entertainment and relaxation at 86% and 65% respectively. The Internet and TV were considered the two highest sources for news at 41% each with TV edging out the Internet for trusted news, 45% to 43%.
The attitudes across all age groups were very similar except in the area of newspapers. The 35-54 years group trusted news in newspapers only at 35% while the 18-24 years group trust was at 50%. The interesting thing was that reading a newspaper was an important part of the day at 38% for the older age group (35-54) while the younger group (18-24) was only at 17%. This goes to show while the younger group trusts the news in newspapers they simply do not read it. Magazines showed the least differences by age. Only 10% thought it was an important part of their day and only 6% thought it was the most important source of news.
When comparing the Internet media to other forms of offline media in head-to-head comparison the findings are very high. 76% found online information better about products compared to finding it in magazines. 72% finding information about music online was better compared to magazines. Looking at photos was at 50% about the same as a magazine. 56% thought that reading a story online was about the same as reading a story in a newspaper. These findings were true for all age groups.
The Internet predominates the market place for information and fun. The question was asked which medium would you use first if you wanted to… find information on a product, computers or other technology products, hobbies and interests, favorite music/recording artists, PC/video games info, latest stock quotes or financial information, entertainment information (movies, concerts, TV, events), and have fun. Product information was at the top of the list at an amazing 96% would go to the Internet first. All other categories was on average around 85% would go online first to obtain the info. All other forms of media for information could not even get close to that combined. Fun ranked at 59% while TV was second at 30%. Newspapers, magazines, and radio ranked a distant third, fourth, and fifth.
As you can see the Internet is a prime source for spending your advertising dollars and obtaining the highest return on investment. Internet marketing needs to occur on a number of fronts. A key to this is for businesses to leverage their online presence with a website that provides quality information. Information is king. The number of pages being placed on the web is growing at an astounding rate. What is going to set one website apart from the thousands of others with-in a certain market place?
For more information on the overall B2B and B2C Internet marketing picture take a look at the information on our Web site. Our marketing and advertising resources page has comparisons and helpful eBusiness links. For an excellent overview of what is involved in the whole realm of Internet marketing, with an understanding of what business is facing in the online market place today, explore our site.
Let Professional Web Services show you what we can do for your business today. Contact Professional Web Services now to leverage over 80 years of well seasoned, combined knowledge and experience available to you in the founding members of our web support team. Ask for your free Internet marketing consultation or ask any questions, leave comments, or need help with your website or online advertising campaigns. Contact Profession Web Services for: Internet marketing, online advertising, web branding, and for more information on marketing of B2B and B2C industries.
Source (may be out of print): http://www.online-publishers.org/pdf/opa_generational_study_sep04.pdf
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