If you haven’t already been sold on the idea that social media will be a major key to growing your business now and even more so in the coming years, watch this 3-minute video. (Even if you are convinced, watch it anyway; it’s well-produced and thought provoking).

While the video wedges in a lot of interesting facts, I think one of the most important takeaways revolve around facts like this: “90% of people now skip ads on their Tivo/DVR” and “Only 18% of TV ad campaigns have a positive ROI.”

You can see this trend in a lot more than television.  Think of any other traditional media:

• Radio — iPods, downloaded MP3’s, and steadily satellite radio are all commercial free.
• Newspaper — Not only are people moving to online versions of major papers or even just blogs, we read an article here and there, instead of sitting down to digest an entire paper (and some of its ads). Also, with the advent of the RSS reader, news is even further filtered to exactly what we want and nothing else.
• Traditional Websites — Web browsers have become increasingly good at blocking ads.  When a site does force you to watch an ad, they’re easier to ignore.

A heatmap of where readers' eyes go on some average web articles. (Note: it's not the ads.)

Which brings me to my next point: people are getting really good at ignoring ads. Before the time of the web, ads were a part of a world of limited content. We didn’t have access to any fact at any time in any place.  We took what was given to us whether we liked it or not.  We could read one of a few local news papers, listen to AM or FM, and driving down the highway, even billboards were another source of new information.  New content was much more rare, so each new piece intrigued us a bit more than it does today.

Now, we can find just about any information we could ever want with a click or a search. Advertisements become less novel in a world full of more information than you could ever hope to consume in a thousand lifetimes.

So, here’s the point.  If people are increasingly ignoring advertising everywhere else and can tell when they’re being “sold to”, you should know what’s going to happen if you use social media as a bull horn to spout your marketing and nothing else.

Social media is about getting people to trust you. Then, instead of ignoring what you have to say, they’ll listen.  They’ll also be much more likely to trust that your product is worthy of their hard earned time and money.

Now, how to earn that trust?  More on that coming soon…

While I am no longer an accountant by trade, I remain one in spirit, and I still like to look at things through numbers. So, let us take a look at some surprising numbers regarding the current state of local advertising.

In 2009, a study reported that 82% of those surveyed use search engines as a source for local information. 50% said that engines are the first place they looked when starting a local search. 72% of consumers reported using search engines more than they did two years ago, and 35% increased their use of email newsletters as a source of information over the same period.

From those numbers, we know that a significant and increasing herd of folks are moving online. Not only that, they like what they see: 92% of searchers in the same survey said they are happy with the results provided from search engines. Since they are happy with the results, we would expect that they are using other media outlets less.

And we would be right: yellow pages directories, local newspapers, magazines and radio all saw declines, with between 23% and 31% of those polled claiming they use the mediums less than they did two years prior.

By now, you might be a bit worried that you are behind the curve when it comes to web adaptation.

But this time, our hunch is wrong! Only 44% of small businesses even have a website!

Not only are you one of the first on the block to seriously consider your web presence, you are practically a pioneer!

In fact, this lag in adaptation by businesses is an awesome opportunity.

Imagine that the success of a business is a road race, one that lasts the entire course of a business. If the race started 20 or so years ago, everyone was using the yellow pages, the horse and buggy of its time. It was the best available technology; the horse and buggy kept you competitive and served your needs. However, the automobile (a.k.a. the internet) eventually came along. It was much faster and more versatile. It was more difficult to operate at first, and making the switch was not easy, but some did. And as enough of them whizzed by, the business owner began to think, “Maybe there’s something to that contraption.”

And that’s the opportunity in front of us today.  The web is widely used by consumers but under-utilized by small businesses. It is fast, effective and dynamic like the car (but unlike the car, it is cheaper than you expect!).

Sadly there is no website-for-clunkers bill.

In the meantime, give us a call to find out more.

-Craig