From a recent article that appeared on AOL, It would appear that almost one in three of us cannot be reached via the information superhighway. Or even through any of the social media by-ways. (Of course, that means that 60% of us can be reached online!) All the more reason to first determine who your best potential customers are, and where they will be when you choose to deliver your brand's marketable truths.
Feb 17th 2010 By Jeremy Taylor
30 Percent of Americans Don't Use the Internet
Our happy hour fact to amaze your drinking buddies with.
Almost one in three Americans don't use the Internet at work or home.New census bureau data, collected from 54,000 households, finds that seniors, the poor, underrepresented minorities and folks who live in rural areas lag behind the rest of the country, technologically speaking.
While a good chunk of the nation remains offline, high-speed broadband has made significant inroads with those who are surfing the Web. By late 2009, 63 percent of overall households had opted for the faster service, which is up from 40 percent in early 2007.
Still, we can't help but be baffled, and slightly insulted, by those who continue to shun the information superhighway, which we call home.
They just haven't heard about Internet porn yet. When they do, they'll be on board... especially the seniors!
Posted by: Russ | 02/23/2010 at 10:12 AM
Great point. In the AOL article they mentioned the groups not on the internet were the poor, under represented minorities, and the extremely rural areas -- not especially the target of most marketing efforts.
Posted by: Greg Roy | 02/23/2010 at 09:42 AM
These groups have traditionally been on the outside of marketing efforts. It doesn't come as a surprise that they are not on the information highway. When I was teaching at an urban university, it was amazing to me how many of the students couldn't participate easily in an online homework assignment as they had no internet connection at home (or one that they could rely upon).
Posted by: catherine powers | 02/23/2010 at 08:49 AM
Im guessing not a very high dollar group as the article states seniors, the poor, under-represented minority groups and heavily rural areas
Thats why when people say that the internet and social media are fluff and people dont use them, you have to be careful. It all boils down to who you are talking to, and when you are talking to them in their buying cycle.
Posted by: Greg Roy | 02/22/2010 at 12:20 PM
From the census data describing the disconnected demographic, what is their dollar value as a spending group?
RR
Posted by: Richard Roy | 02/22/2010 at 11:56 AM