As we move into 2012, you may find yourself thinking that your online marketing strategy is good enough as it is. After all, you have a Facebook page you post on once in a blue moon, a LinkedIn account everyone has forgotten about, a Twitter account you never use, and a blog the secretary updates every other month.
You've gone through some of the motions of inbound marketing, but you are questioning the investment of time. So sure, you could let your accounts gather followers and lose them at the fickle whims of the internet, but before you decided to let those accounts wither and die you should consider some of the shocking internet marketing statistics the HubSpot Blog put up this week.
Thursday's article (Edit: Hubspot has taken down this post, but it can be read at the link) by Pamela Vaughan, "25 Eye-Popping Internet Marketing Statistics for 2012" put forward some shocking statistics from eMarketer about internet usage as we move into the new year. EMarketer predicts that 239 million, or 75.6% of the U.S., will be online in 2012. Meaning that 3/4 of the country will have an online presence, and 94% of smartphone users will use mobile internet. Of the 3/4 of the country using the internet, 2/3 will use social networks and 90% of them will be on Facebook. Millions of consumers are online and eMarketer predicts that 88.1% of those online will browse or research products, while 83.9% will make a purchase online during 2012.
If your company wants leads, then maybe you should rethink your investment in inbound marketing. Consumers are online, and if you want to reach them you need to be where they are - "fish where the fish are" is the appropriate cliche.
To use another cliché I would like to see retired, you should 'double-down' on your inbound marketing. Instead of sporadic blog posts or status updates, make a schedule of content and stick to it. To reach the millions of internet users you need to give them a reason to follow you. Provide your followers with fresh and relevant content. Give them a reason to connect with you, and they will.
So as we move into 2012, dust off the company blog, update your Facebook page and make connections on LinkedIn. My sales mentor told me a lot of selling is showing up. Three-quarters of the country is online and that means you at least need to show up to compete.
Topics: Marketing
