How widgets can increase content, ad revenue

Widgets, new just a year ago, are now becoming old hat to online marketers, but content providers still haven’t used the modules to the maximum of potential. Consumers continue to download widgets to their social spaces but they are also placing widgets on their desktops to receive news and sports headlines, weather information and even entertainment information.

by Kristina Knight

These are all areas where online marketers should be, but many are not.

A recent report from Marketing Sherpa indicates that desktop widgets are a win-win situation for both content providers and for marketers. With widgets that are downloadable to a consumer’s desktop, content providers can increase the subscriber base exponentially. These widgets update content automatically so that the consumer is always in the know.

For advertisers, sponsoring the ever changing content on a desktop widget is a winnable situation as well. Because consumers will continue checking the widget throughout their day, they will also see your ad, your brand and your ad message. This is a great way to improve brand recognition and recall, which in turn improves campaign ROI.

Because the content to widgets is channeled, ads can be targeted to a specific channel (ie, a travel ad could be targeted to a weather report). The more channels content providers utilize, the more targeted the ads can become.

Tags: online advertising, online content, widget advertising, widget content