With the recent numbers showing that consumers are abandoning their fixed line phone contracts and using their mobile phones or computers as their main communications and research tool, where does that leave Yellow Pages? Increasingly, if people are wanting or researching a product or service they are looking online and using Google, Yahoo or Bing or, any one of many search engines as their search or reference tool. These Internet savvy consumers can also use the many Social Media tools at their disposal such as Facebook, Twitter or Myspace to get recommendations on any particular product or service they are considering using. All this happens almost instantaneously without having to search for those cumbersome Yellow Pages that are too weighty and are maybe propping up an old table leg or are hidden in the bottom of the wardrobe, as someone thought they may need to use them some day. Statistics are showing that approx 82% of consumers now have access to the Internet, be it by phone or computer. They are now relying less on the printed material such as books or directories to research their information.
Differences between Print and Digital Media
Print and digital media are different. One of the great advantages of using an online listing ie: digital media, is no limit on space. You as a business can list your product or service with no limit on the number of words that you can use.You can also have a map to show where your stores or offices are situated. You can also include the phone number, as well as business hours. You can have a photo of your management team and also photos of your products. Another good item to have on your website are testimonials from satisfied customers. It is also possible to have a comments section so that your clients/customers can comment on or about your the products they have bought or used. Of course there will always be negative comments but this way you can monitor the comments and jump on the comment and fix it.
These are just some of the advantages the sites and online directories can have over a static Yellow page advertisement, whether it is on printed matter or on the web. The web is easily updated to reflect your changing business trends or trading conditions whereas with the yellow pages you are stuck with advertisement information for a year or however long it takes to get the next publication printed and to market.
Are yellow pages dead? Not yet but watch this space as more and more publications are going out of print as the costs go up and the web gets cheaper and cheaper.
Russell Pelvin
Sales Director Media Logic
Technorati Tags: directories, search marketing, social media, yellow pages
Join Yellow Pages digital expert Simon Betschel to learn about how your business can be found on Mobiles and Tablets in Episode 7 of our digital marketing How To series. 
