Marketers and Businesses Risk Losing Customers By Not Joining Local Media In Claiming Share of Growing Online Revenues

By Hanif Khaki • December 3, 2008

Traditional media and consumers are moving into the digital world at breaknect speed and in record numbers.

As far as media is concerned, this means offering their content in a digital format, whether that content originally was previously in print, on radio, or on TV. All media outlets, particularly local media, need to get better at monetizing their core digital properties, in other words, they need to make money online. Marketers who rely on those local media must understand this concept.

The media's online efforts and ad dollar spending — above and beyond their normal business models is a long term strategy, and should not be seen as a short term quick fix to deal with declining revenues and profits from traditional advertising models. This is essential for long term health and survival.

Why is that? All leading trend indicators show that the move by consumers away from traditional advertising methods and towards online media has reached critical mass. By all indicators, online spending by consumers is increasing, while offline spending is steadily declining.

"In 2008 consumers will spend more on media than advertisers," according to James Rutherford, managing director of private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

What are consumers currently speding money on? To get the answers, look at your own spending for television, satellite, cable, radio, entertainment media such as music, downloads, and video games. Estimates are that by 2012, the average American consumer will spend more than $1,000 a year on online media.

In this digital age, the news for local media companies is indeed very good, according to the Online Publishers Association, which did a study of U.S oline consumers.

The OPA study tracked consumer activities and attitudes toward local-content web sites. The type of sites measured included city guides such as City Search; classified advertising sites such as Craigslist, and Cars.com; local newspapers, television, radio, and magazine sites; local divisions of national portal sites; yellow pages directories, as well as user-generated review sites such as Angie's List and others.

Overall results indicated that consumers were very satisfied with the local coverage provided.

Local newspapers, portals, and local TV station sites topped the list. Ads placed on local TV sites and newspaper sites were rated as most trustworthy by most consumers. In fact, local newspaper sites were ranked 19% more trustworthy than user-review sites by local advertisers.

Local visitors to media sites do more than just look; they take action. Visitors ranked local newspaper, magazine, and television station sites as their top influencers when asked whether they buy, research or visit a store as a result of web surfing. In fact, after viewing online ads, as much as 50% of all local newspaper site visitors are taking further action and responding.

Local site users prefer to buy
Local media sites also showed the strongest performance from the heaviest spenders. Within the past 12 months, up to 50% of local magazine site visitors spent more than $500 online.

What kinds of businesses are consumers looking for when going to local sites? Restaurants eateries, bars, and entertainment venues lead the list. Grocery stores, physicians and health facilities, department stores, and banks and financial services close out the top five.

Additionally, consumer electronics stores, auto services and auto dealers, real estate, appliance and furniture stores, and legal services round off the top 10 sites.

Agencies, as well as marketers and merchants need to understand the new reality of media and embrace the available options to reach their customers online. Ironically, as much as the world wide web allows us international exposure, one of it's greatest strengths is that it allows us to target and reach local prospects and customers with previously un-heard of effectiveness.

About the Author

Hanif Khaki is CEO and Founder of Profitwize Strategic eMarketing, the leading provider of proven marketing strategies, email marketing solutions, and online-offline marketing integration for many of today's top businesses. Hanif has been responsible for educating as well as helping many businesses consistently drive new customers through their front doors in even the worst of economies. To find out if you qualify for Hanif's unique services, and also claim the highly regarded FREE report, "The 7 Secrets To Websites That Sell", be sure to visit www.profitwize.com/7secrets while it is still available at no cost.