Referrals (66%) and company websites (47%) continue to be the best sources of new customers for local advertisers, much as they were back in 2011, according to a new report from Borrell Associates. However websites have declined as an effective source over the years, and are now being challenged by social media, per the report.
In fact, the share of local advertisers citing social media as a leading source of new customers has more than doubled over the past 5 years, from 21% to 44%. During that time span, social media has become more valuable than events, newspaper ads and email marketing in the eyes of local advertiser respondents.
These results are to some extent mirrored by consumers’ own viewpoints. MarketingCharts’ recent study of purchase influencers has found a rather dramatic climb in the stated impact of social media advertising over the past couple of years, with social ads now second to TV ads among paid media for Millennials. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.com.
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