Web and Social Media Marketing – What are You Waiting For?
This article is part of a continuing series of posts on Social Media and Web Marketing topics for small businesses in Reading, PA and the surrounding areas of Philadelphia, Lancaster, Allentown, Harrisburg, and York, Pennsylvania.
Everyone knows the trend toward online marketing is accelerating , so if your business is lagging behind, the obvious question is, what are you waiting for? Whether it's in the form of internet marketing or social media marketing, the trend toward digital marketing shows no signs of slowing.
If your business is still holding back on adopting the “New Marketing Order” then perhaps you will find these statistics motivating:
- More than half of all US residents and more than 75% of all US adults are online according to Pew Research.
- In an October, 2010 Media Audit survey, the following percentages of business respondents planned to increase their 2011 investment in online marketing, as follows:
- Social media marketing – 69%
- Virtual events – 60%
- Search engine marketing – 60%
- Paid search marketing – 49%
Compare this to the percentages in the same survey who planned to increase their spending on traditional forms of advertising and marketing:
- Public relations – 40%
- Telemarketing – 32%
- Direct mail – 24%
- Trade shows – 22%
- Print advertising – 15%
The trend is clear – more businesses are increasing their investment in web marketing and social media marketing vs. their investment in traditional media. And it’s no wonder – marketers know that they have to follow the eyeballs, and the eyeballs are increasingly online. If you are not yet in the online game, then it’s time you ask yourself why you are holding back. Need more proof? Consider this:
- There are 88 billion Google searches per month worldwide. That’s 88,000,000,000 (Search Engine Land, February, 2010)
- 57% of Internet users search the web every day (Marketshare.Hitslink.com, October, 2010)
- 46% of daily searches are for information on products or services (SRI, October, 2010)
Be honest, are you holding back on getting started in digital marketing or social media marketing because you don’t know where to start?
If so then you need the help of a trusted and successful advisor. Many companies lack the internal resources to be competitive online, but that is no excuse for not getting in the game.
A good way to begin is to select an agency with true experience in social media marketing and Web marketing rather than launching an online presence using internal staff alone. it often makes good financial sense to seek outside help in an area that is changing by the week and requires specialized knowledge to succeed.
Given the facts and the trend line, there is no reason to delay getting started in online marketing.
For help in getting started, request our free white paper on how to use online marketing to generate leads by clicking the image below.
