Internet’s Increasing Influence

Now that it is so easy for consumers to find and interact with sites rich with information on the specific topics they care about, they are becoming more involved with the conversations occurring on these sites and building trust in the community.  Out of this trust, consumers are getting the guidance, personal experiences and product recommendations to help them with some of life’s biggest decisions.

We know this influence is occurring, but where is it making the biggest impact?

The researchers at Pew Internet & American Life Project have some interesting findings on this question.  Back in ’02 they conducted a study to measure the internet’s influence and they ran study again this year to see how it has changed over that time.  Over this time, they found “striking increases” in the number of people who say that the internet plays a crucial or significant role in various aspects of their lives.

The topics with the biggest increases were with people seeking information and guidance on health care issues, investment and financial services, buying a car, and education/career training.  For example, 54% more people said the web played a major role in helping others with health conditions. The growth in the other categories is equally as compelling, see the stats from the report here on pewinternet.org.

To explain these “striking increases” the report stated, “the internet’s largest impact comes in connecting people to other people for advice or sharing valuable experiences.” “Online communities often function as information clearinghouses that let people compare options, find experts, or share information among people who have recently encountered similar circumstances.”

This is powerful stuff, enough to make any internet marketer smile.  But the real opportunity here is about more than just buying more search keywords or banner ads, it is about listening.  Think about it for a minute, for people to place so much importance on the internet for these huge life decisions, there is some real valuable information being exchanged here.

The great thing is that this stuff is easy for you to track. Listen to it and learn from it. Getting your product teams, client service managers, sales reps, and all your PR and advertising execs to learn from this will do a whole lot more for your business than just getting you more click throughs.

I’m new to Cymfony, but I’ve been in the online marketing business since it began.  With new technologies letting users take control of the web and connect to other people like never before, I’m more excited than I’ve ever been about what the internet can do for businesses.  Tell me what you are seeing. Where have you seen the internet’s influence increase the most?  How have you seen companies adapt to it?