Online Advertising Will Outpace Print Advertising in 2010

According to new research by Outsell, spending on online advertising and online marketing campaigns will exceed print for the first time this year.

Chuck Richard, Vice President and Lead Analyst of Outsell, said," Advertisers are directing dollars toward the channels which generate the most qualified leads and most effective branding."

The research data shows that companies will spend over $116 billion on online marketing strategies, including SEO, webinars, and social media marketing. Meanwhile, companies will be spending $111 billion for print advertising.

Other noteworthy findings from the research results include:

Marketing strategies creating the highest business-to-business return on investment are effective company websites, search engine marketing, e-marketing, and e-newsletters.

• More than 50% of businesses rate Facebook as "extremely or somewhat effective"
• 45% of business to business marketers rate LinkedIn as "extremely or somewhat effective"
• 35% of business to business marketers rate Twitter as "extremely or somewhat effective"
• 25% of business to business marketers rate MySpace as "extremely or somewhat effective"

The findings of Outsell's study clearly shows online advertising, Internet marketing strategies, and social media marketing to be not only more popular with businesses, but also much more effective with targeted audiences.

This is fantastic news for local and SMBs, because online advertising and Internet marketing is cheaper, reaches a wider audience, and has a much better return on investment, ROI, versus other marketing strategies.

Research from BIA /Kelsey backs up my statements by reporting that:

Almost all consumers (more than 97 percent!) use online media when researching local companies and services. And, among the consumers surveyed, more than 90% use search engines to compare and research local businesses.

Steve Marshall, director of research at BIA/Kelsey, said, "The Internet has indeed become an integral part of consumers' local commercial activity."

So how does your local business advertise? Are you still using costly and less effective print/tv/radio advertising? If you are, then consider online advertising, Internet SEO marketing, and social media marketing to either supplement or overtake your outdated marketing strategy.

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