Print Versus Online Advertising

  As a consumer, you are no doubt like me in that most of us turn to the Internet to obtain information about products or services we are looking to purchase. In addition to just acquiring information about my buying decisions, I have found my last to vehicles via an Internet search and have made numerous online purchases from eBay and Amazon including books, boat parts, computer accessories and more.

  As a long term car buff I can remember the days when the Toronto Star classifieds had column after column of cars listed for sale.  Those ads were later displaced by Auto Trader magazine followed by www.autotrader.ca In real estate, the Internet has become the tool of choice when consumers are hunting for properties and REALTORS®.  With the growing magnitude of “online” based consumer purchasing activity it begs the question, what’s happened to the print advertising market.
  The attached graph was prepared by a Wall Street Analyst that follows the U.S. newspaper print advertising market.  This graph illustrates print versus online advertising trends in the U.S. from 1995 through 2010.  From 2005 on, money spent on print advertising has sharply declined whereas online ad spending has ramped up to the point where in 2010, online ad spending exceeded print.  While these numbers are reflective of the U.S. market, Canada has always been one of the leading countries re: Internet adoption/usage, so there is no reason to doubt that we are any different.
  We as REALTORS® continue to spend large amounts of money on print ads with little or no results for our seller clients.  Sure, it helps us to “brand” ourselves and often gains us more listings but it has been years since I sold a property based on a print ad no matter where it was placed.  Increasingly, I am, finding that potential seller clients are asking “which websites will you list my property on?” When you interview a REALTOR® to potentially list your property, this is the very question you should ask as well.  With so many of the potential buyers for properties in the Georgian Triangle living outside our region in the GTA and elsewhere, a strong online presence is essential in getting you property in front of the buying public.