I grew up playing water polo & swimming here in sunny Southern California.  As an former “aqua jock,” I watch swimming events with scrutiny.  I analyze a swimmer’s form.  I critique their turns.  I study their routine on the starting blocks.  One of my favorite races of all time was the 2008 Men’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay at the Beijing Olympics.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVZrne7X5ww

I remember watching this particular relay race with a group of friends who weren’t competitive swimmers.  On the final lap, when France took a body length lead, all my friends slumped down on the couch saying things like “dammit, it’s over” and “there’s no chance to catch up.”  I was still leaning forward in my seat watching the TV intently.  With about 35 meters to go, I yelled out “He’s getting shorter!”  My friends had no idea what I was talking about and looked at me like I was crazy when I continued to yell at the U.S. anchor (fellow Orange County resident), Jason Lezak, to “Stay long!”  As I began jumping up and down screaming at the television, my friends thought I had lost my mind…  until they realized the gap closing between Lezak and the French swimmer.  What I noticed was the French swimmer’s stroke was getting shorter.  You can even hear the NBC announcer exclaim “he’s tightening up.”  A shortened stroke is a telltale sign that a swimmer is fatigued.  On the other hand, Lezak kept his form…  and I was yelling at him like a maniac to keep his stroke long and smooth.

It was one of those moments where I just knew Lezak would surpass the Frenchman.  It wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.’  It was just a matter of time.

I’ve been watching a similar race take place in the online world.  Sure, it’s not nearly as exciting as that Olympic race.  In fact this race was akin to watching a snail race a slug.  However it’s one of those races where you just knew it was a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if.’  Well, ‘when’ has arrived.  If you look at the chart below, you’ll notice the Millenials (18-29) have finally broken the barrier in the News race.  According to the Pew Research Center, Millenials (those rascals who wear their pants too low, play their music too loud, and text message faster than most people type) now say that the Internet is the primary way for them to get news.    Everyone knew this day would come as the TV news armstrokes tightened up and the internet stayed long.  I expect this gap to close for the Gen-X-ers as well in the coming years.  Increasing broadband has made the internet a multimedia platform for news.  You can watch the news, read the news, and listen to the news all on the internet.  The most alarming statistic is the drastic decline in newspaper readers.

Our company has been able to capitalize on this growing trend by adding our “Boomerang” retargeting service.  There will be more on this in the next newsletter but I’ll give you a brief overview… companies spend a lot of money bringing people to their site.  However, 98% of visitors leave the site without converting.  This is where the boomerang kicks in.  We place your ad in front of these visitors as they browse the web to check the news, sports scores, or read up on the latest fashion trends.  It makes sense since more people are going to turn to the internet for news.  Basically, people who visit your site are high quality prospects since they’ve already taken the first step of finding you.  They’ve already shown interest in your product or service.  Boomerang finds them as they peruse other sites, such as news sites, to bring them back when they’re ready to buy.  It’s an efficient and cost-friendly way to grow your business.  Give us a call if you’re interested.  We’d love to share more details with you.

- Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.