Web Marketing in the 2009 Social Economy

Web Marketing in the 2009 Social Economy

I’ve recently had a number of business owners approach me seeking advice on how best to market their small business on the web. As the economy continues to drag many business owners are looking for cost effective alternatives to classic advertising and marketing avenues, many which have seemingly ceased to work.

Herein lies a comparison that has less to do with economic fortunes of a nation but may just represent the passing of the torch unto what I will call the “digital generation”. Nearly twenty years ago a number of colleagues and I embarked on a road trip from New York to Florida. For anyone who has made this trip and taken the I-95 corridor through the south you will undoubtedly remember billboards for the venerable Pedro, and his South of the Border destination. As you enter North Carolina you begin to see billboards whose ad copy is vague but yet bold. Before you know it there is a character named “Pedro” who has been added to the campaign and product placements begin to appear. Mile after mile these billboards cover the roadside, increasing in frequency until you’ve reached this attraction. Once you’ve passed the holy grail of the Carolinas you are reminded of the experience for about the next 50 miles as the billboards continue. They use all the characters and content that has built up to remind motorists that they can always turn around if they “missed Pedro”.

Lasting impressions like this are a commodity, and in today’s environment your opportunities to make an impression like this are limited, but not impossible. In a car on I-95, as in the story above, there is approximately a four-hour period where advertisers could have an almost uninterrupted access to a consumer. This is a dream situation for anyone wanting to market or advertise a product or business. As the Internet age has matured more and more people are online for longer periods of time. According to the 2007 PEW Internet Survey, 70% of Americans use the web for an average of 1.5 hours a day. This data confirms similar findings from Gartner and Forrester research as well. Add to this mobile browsing, which has exploded with the launch of the iPhone and 3G networks, and one can begin to see an opportunity not unlike the one Pedro enjoys.

Now this is not to suggest that someone surfing the web is as captive as someone stuck in a car on I-95. Certainly the marketing on the web presents a different challenge, as its “drivers” aren’t restricted to any specific road. This is where many business owners are beginning to ask questions. Most companies have a corporate website, some even purchase web ads, but very few are able to effectively drive results from these activities. This is where I say; you must use all the tools available to you to create online assets (or “roads”) that can work for you in a multitude of places. Using tools such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace are now becoming a necessity for businesses, because it’s where your consumers are spending their time. Creating assets in these systems to further your exposure can dramatically increase your visibility and make your other web marketing activities (e-mail lists, blogs, ads etc) much more effective.

Let’s face it, the web continues to add new “roads” for its drivers every day. The challenge in marketing on this medium is designing a campaign that crosses those roads your clients are on so they can be reminded about your digital destination.

-by Robert Zullo
rzullo@zucom.com
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