Internet marketing is more effective than traditional advertising

Some local companies are ignoring Internet marketing methods, but this is turning into a risky strategy because consumers are increasingly responding to online advertising. Only 18 percent of traditional advertising generate a positive return on investment, according to research from Advice Interactive Group. Ninety percent of consumers who can fast forward through TV commercials do so. Fewer people are listening to traditional radio because of the popularity of Internet music players, such as Pandora and Spotify.

If small businesses are relying on traditional marketing, they could be wasting money and failing to attract new customers. TV and magazine ads are costly expenses for an uncertain return. People have the capability to skip TV ads, and magazines have a long lead time before publication, which means if a small business is trying to sell specific products, items may be gone before the advertisement is seen by consumers. Billboards have limited exposure time and there are limits on word count.

Alternatively, Internet marketing is more cost-effective and can help small businesses target a wider audience. Social media can significantly boost word-of-mouth referrals. The research cited a statistic from Nielsen that said 78 percent of people trust recommendations from other consumers while only 14 percent trust advertisements. Search engine optimization is also becoming too significant to ignore. People conduct 3 billion searches per day, which creates more chances for consumers to find a local company.

Why small businesses should make the switch to Internet marketing

With the growing role of the Internet in consumers’ everyday lives, it can lead to many new opportunities for small companies to expand their reach and gain new clients. Online advertising can lead to quicker conversions and a campaign’s effectiveness is much easier to measure than calculating the ROI on traditional marketing. With techniques like pay-per-click advertising, small companies only pay for the marketing they actually use when viewers click on an ad.

Considering more than three-quarters of people in North America use the Internet, small companies could be missing a significant portion of their target market. Twenty percent of Google searches per month are for local businesses, according to the Advice Interactive Group research.

Small businesses need to switch to Internet marketing techniques. Building a modern website and maintaining an active social media presence can allow local companies gain more attention and maximize ROI in marketing. According to Business 2 Community, establishing an Internet marketing strategy can help small businesses better manage a contact list of interested leads.