They use internet, e-mail, and they instant message (IM). Some blog, some use iPods and many have PDAs. Yet enthusiastic as they may be about embracing new media, they haven’t abandoned their “old” favorites. They still read the newspaper and listen to the radio, and research shows…that Boomers use both old and new media to make purchasing decisions.

• 95% watch TV, with 77 percent of their viewing occurring between 7:30 and 11 p.m.
• Two-thirds of boomers subscribe to cable TV, and will usually watch Discovery Channel, A&E, the Food Network, ESPN and Fox News.
• They don’t like reality shows
• 76% of boomers listen to the radio – more than any other demographic
• 49% listen to the radio during morning-drive time…listening to oldies to country to talk formats.
• 6% subscribe to satellite radio.
• 57% of boomers say they read their local daily newspaper regularly;
• 68% read their weekly community paper.
• 87% surf the Internet, spending an average of 123 minutes online daily.
• 93% regularly or occasionally use the Internet to research products prior to purchase.
• 46% say searches are triggered by traditional advertising or an article they’ve read
• 45% are prompted by television or other broadcast media.

Being a SEO and Internet Marketing firm obviously the “online statistics” tend to stand out more for me. But for a business owner trying to capture the largest audience…available resources such as these that help add insight on what media channels to focus on can be invaluable. Keeping a record of who/what/when/how is buying your product or service can pay off when you get to points where you’re uncertain about what specific demographics to target.

Another provider of consumer statistics, BIGresearch, breaks down the different media channels as to what percentage of each triggers someone to begin an online search.

If you’re one of the many that hates spending the time sifting through the internet for statistics such as these there are several ways to help cut down on your search efforts:

• Subscribe to NEWSLETTERS that cover your topic of interest
• Find a BLOGGING community in your same industry - asking a fellow blogger for advice is always welcomed
• Join some of the SOCIAL NETWORKS that cover your desired category (do a search for semoz.org/web2.0 and you’ll find a listing of the best sites of 2008 by category)
• If you’ve had a long day and are not in the mood to read you can always go to YouTube (still the #1 site in the world regarding internet traffic) and do a search as simple as “retail statistics” and find a wealth of information
• Do a GOOGLE search using “Retail Statistics filetype:pdf” or “Retail Statistics filetype:ppt” and find presentations that have the exact phrase in the title
• If by chance you do not have a copy of GOOGLE’s CHEAT SHEET you can go to GoogleGuide.com and grab a copy. One of best Google Cheats you’ll ever find.

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