The New Mass Media

According to Jupiter Research 86 million households will have broadband by the year 2012. Statistics are now showing that people are spending as much or more time on the Internet for personal use vs. watching TV. The Internet is where people are going to get news, product information, special pricing, and other consumer related information. People aren't even writing letters to the editor anymore, they are starting blogs.

Did you know that in the US, 69% of consumers are interested in products that allow them to block, skip or opt out of advertising and marketing messages?

So what does this mean to a marketer? It means that you need to position your company as an authority and have the Internet presence to support that position when consumers begin their research. A January, 2007 survey from Accenture finds that the majority of consumers use the Internet to research products but prefer to make the purchase offline. The report said that 67% of consumers prefer to make their purchase in a brick and mortar establishment. This number is much lower than it was just 5 short years ago. Eventually there is going to be a shift in consumer behavior. As the younger generation become consumers, more and more purchases are going to be made online. So what can you do now as a business owner? Make sure you web presence is optimized for maximum conversions. Get the most out of your site when people come to do their research.

Companies that understand and embrace the new mass media will be poised to capture future business as well as the current Gen Y market that is already web exclusive.