Internet trends

Gone are the days of searching the web at our desk with our PCs or in a Wi-Fi hotspot with our laptops. With the use of Tablets (iPad) and Smartphones, there is no limit to where users are comfortably searching the web. According to comScore.com, 48 percent of people surveyed said they search the web with their mobile phones in 2010. Internet marketing as we know it is changing, and changing at a more rapid pace than I have seen it in the last 15 years. This change is very exciting and very frightening at the same time as it is moving too fast for the average human to consume and the average marketer to keep up with. This article reviews some of these exciting trends that will transform our lives, we hope, for the better.

As we move through 2011, consumers who are searching the web will rely more heavily on the influence of their friends on social media networks for recommendations on product and services. People trust each other, and that is proven in this survey that shows 78 percent of consumers trust peer recommendations. Only 14 percent trust advertising, according to an article on Socialeconomics.com on July 30, 2009. What is even more fascinating is that they will use their mobile devices to purchase from those suggestions.

As I always say, “if you’re not on Google, then you’re not online,” is ringing true more in 2011 than ever before. In 2011 we can add “if you’re not on Facebook or providing mobile friendly sites and platforms to your consumers, then you’re also not online“. Internet marketing is becoming more complex for businesses to stay ahead of the game, but it is becoming easier for consumers to surf, find and buy.

“Mobile devices will claim more and more media time per day, while TV, print and radio will slowly lose ground to digital media.” (eMarketer 12/2010).

Today’s major brands are seeking to interact and engage with you. The newest tactic to engage customers is a cool new technology called Augmented Reality (AR). AR is the term used when a physical real-world environment is modified (augmented) by a computer. We will begin to see many companies utilizing AR, as Hallmark did for their Holiday greeting cards, where you can hold up your card to your webcam on your computer and the card comes to life. How cool! Visit http://www.hallmark.com/online/webcam-greetings.aspx . Or how Holland Tourism uses it for geo-location marketing, which allows smart phone users to hold up their phone and it will give you directions, history of a building and even show you where the closest restrooms are located all over a filter on your phone that shows you in real time.

To stay up to date on the latest trends, a good smart phone or tablet will set you in the right direction. We may not be driving around in a flying car, but buying a product from your phone as you are walking your dog is pretty amazing. We welcome the change, and I look forward to ditching my wallet, in exchange for the e-wallet that my mobile phone will become this year.

About Hillary Bressler

Hillary Bressler is CEO of .Com Marketing in Winter Park. Visit www.commarketing.com for more information.