Image via Wikipedia As the economy chugs

Image via

As the economy chugs toward recovery, online ad spending will continue to grow. This is partlybecause of the economic instability itself, which has caused many local businesses, including large companies, to shift big portions of budget from traditional media to digital. And of course digital channels are where the consumers are.

Developments in the online ad buying process, changes in the way local business targets their audiences and concerns about privacy will all shape the face of online advertising in the coming year. And social media, now a must-have for many businesses, will continue to see more dollars and more attention.
Mobile will also continue to gain importance, as location-based services grow in sophistication and smartphones become key to retail strategies. Socialization in retail will grow as well, as consumers include friends in the ecommerce experience.
Content will play a key role in 2011, in a number of ways. Platform convergence puts content at the center, as consumers look for experiences through whatever channel is most convenient. The broadening of the app model will play a role, and business owners must find a way to deliver ads across a variety of devices—as well as to create the kinds of content their targets want to consume. And their targets will be changing as the face of the US population changes. 2011 will bring the first public results of the decennial US census, which will show demographic shifts that business owners must keep in mind, online and offline.