The Trading Post Newspaper Bites The Dust

For years the Trading Post newspaper was 'the' place to look when buying or selling any number of goods. It was famous - a market leader, published weekly. Now it is dead. The last issue will be published on Oct 29.

Killed by the internet and the growth of online shopping.

In the space of a few years this iconic print publication has seen its usage decimated.

But it's online version has skyrocketed in popularity. The Trading Post lives on, online.

The publication's readership dropped by one third to 469,000 in the last year.

But tradingpost.com.au, which launched in 1996, averages 1.8 million unique visitors a month. The publication's mobile site, launched last year, attracts around 140,000 visitors each month.

In the past two years, The Trading Post's number of print ads fell by 70% but the number of ads placed on tradingpost.com.au grew by 30%.

The lesson for your business... stay vigilant of trends. Your clients want an easy life. They will take whatever option they think will make it easiest for them.

Of course quality matters. But people want innovation, ease of use... and quality.

Should You Trust Social Media Experts?

This (tongue-in-cheek) chart comes from Dave Armano. In his recent post he highlights 5 things to be wary of when dealing with anyone who claims to be a social media 'expert' - and who wants to charge you for their expertise.

As with most specialty or professional areas you need to be careful to choose someone (an 'expert') who has a relevant history - not someone who is just jumping on the bandwagon of the latest fad or trend.

Who Uses the Internet? And why you should care.

Although I talk a lot about using online marketing tactics... not everyone uses the Internet. Latest data from Pew Internet and eMarketer shows that overall 24% of people do not have any internet connection. Who are they? See chart below.

Generally speaking the people with no Internet connection are quite old (over 70 years of age) and those at the low end of the socio-economic spectrum.

This may come as no surprise to many of you. And admittedly, there aren't many businesses who are focused on the over 70's market.

But other data that is worth closer scrutiny includes that 21% of Baby Boomers (people now aged 43-61 years) don't have Internet access. That's 1 in 5 Boomers!

If your market is Baby Boomers then this is important.

* How do you target and market to the 1 in 5 that don't go online?
* Which offline/traditional marketing tactics offer best ROI for this audience?
* Is the offline group worth pursuing if the marketing costs are significantly higher?

It's important to investigate all opportunities to communicate with your target audience. Only then can you make educated decisions about what to do, and what NOT to do.

1.1m and growing - Why you need to pay attention to increasing VoIP usage

What is VoIP? It stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. That is, making phone calls, or using a person-to-person voice service like Skype. Why should you care? Because there are 1.1 million users of VoIP in Australia. And it is growing. And one of the leading international providers (Skype, owned by eBay) is planning to launch very very cheap phone calls via the internet in Australia. They will join other Australian VoIP providers like engin.

What does this mean for your service business?

It isn't really about the extra phone calls you can make at the cheap rates.

It IS about the growing use of online services by the general population. And that includes business users as well.

As they become more familiar with using online services, clients will expect more from your business online as well. So get your act together and ensure you are capable of keeping pace with the increasing demand for services, information, and access via the internet.

Making sure your website is well-structured and fully functional is a great start.