Nielsen has recently reported that American adults spend an average of 66 hours per month on the web. This figure has approximately doubled since 2006, and continues to climb rapidly. It is interesting that this additional time has not taken time away from television – which continues to rise slowly and currently stands at approximately 144 hours per month. In the same manner that TV did not impact radio, it looks like the internet is not impacting television.
Even though time spent on internet is still significantly less than time spent watching TV, businesses spend more money advertising on Google than on the entire amount spent on television. Clearly, an internet presence is of value.
Nielsen also reports that the fastest growing segment of internet usage is on social media sites like Facebook or Twitter. Time spent on social media sites is up 210% in 2009 over 2008. In December, 142 million adults in the US spent an average of 6 hours on such sites. This figure has risen from approximately 2 hours just two years ago in 2007.
What does this mean for sellers of wine? Be there. If you do not have a significant presence online, that growing population will not find you online. Also, the cost of the internet is incredible low. In fact, you can establish a presence on the social media sites at no cost. In his book “Crush It”, Gary Vaynerchuk describes how he helped grow his family’s wine store from four to fifty million dollars in eight years – but at a cost of millions of dollars of advertising in traditional media. He compares that to the $15,000 he has spent to-date on his video blog – which has generated even greater value for himself and the store.
Bottom line: The internet usage is still growing rapidly. Being there is effective and inexpensive. Are you there yet?
Author: Louis Lamoureux – CEO, BuyersVine. louis@buyersvine.com