- U.S. Web Usage Landscape is Shifting: This article forecasts increasing internet growth over the next 4 years, particularly for older Americans. More than one-half of new users will be ages 45 and up, a group that has been slower to adopt new technology than their younger counterparts. Another interesting…somewhat troubling…trend is the increase in internet usage among children ages 3 to 11. While younger generations will still be more engaged Internet users, this is an important trend for marketers to note particularly in the broader context of the aging American population. Marketers can no longer think of the Internet has a medium only to reach young people, while relying on traditional media channels to reach older consumers. More baby boomers are not only accessing the Internet from their laptops, but also mobile devices. I predict that in the next few years that we will see more Web, viral, and mobile campaigns specifically targeted to the over-50 crowd which has traditionally not been the focus for online advertisers.
- Texting Trumps Talking in U.S., Just Not as Ad Platform: U.S. mobile users send double the amount of text messages than they do calls. With the increasing curiosity and popularity of mobile marketing, text messaging is perhaps the most direct way to reach consumers. 68% of cellphone owners send texts, and while texting is still most popular with the 18-24 year-old demographic, 69% of 45-54 year-olds and 43% of 55-64 year-olds text. The advantages of text ads are clear – concise, targeted messages delivered directly to an ever increasing consumer base. There’s no need to even open a web browser or click through several pages. Of course, it’s no secret that consumers are bothered by most advertising and text advertising is no different. The majority of texters say that advertising delivered in this way would be unwelcome. I think what consumers are really saying is that ads that are uninteresting and irrelevant are unwelcome. If consumers opt-in to advertisements from products/companies/services that they are interested in, this wouldn’t be seen as intrusive because the texter would have control over content being delivered to their phone. Marketers need to be creative and find ways to engage consumers through text ads, such as encouraging responses back, texting coupons, etc.
