Lead Generation and Internet Marketing in Argentina

Online Marketing in Argentina

Argentina has emerged as a viable market for market penetration using such techniques as lead generation due to the fact that there is a high literacy rate and an above average internet usage for Latin America. Between March 2009 and March 2010 the number of businesses that added internet services grew by 48 percent and the growth in the number of consumers installing broadband services rose by 58 percent. The average Facebook PPC cost in Argentina is relatively cheaper than elsewhere in South America and Facebook penetration is high.

A Ready Market

Argentina is the world’s eighth largest country in terms of land covering more than 2.7 million square kilometres or 1.67 million square miles and its economy is the third largest in Latin America. Internet usage in Argentina is comparatively high for South America considering its population of just over 40 million and stands at 69.4 percent of the total population. Neighbouring Brazil, with a population of over 190 million people, is reported to have an internet usage rate of just 39.8 percent. This suggests a huge potential for internet marketing strategies in Argentina such as lead generation and those wishing to break into the online market in Argentina should increase their knowledge of the internet landscape and various popular media channels that are available. Argentina also has an Internet Advertising Bureau known as the Interactive Advertising Bureau where one can get information on the various internet advertising methods and internet marketing events.

Social Media and Mobile Internet

There are 51.9 million mobile phone users in Argentina compared with a population of just over 40 million and this figure suggests that a sizable number of the population have more than one mobile phone at their disposal or have registered an additional sim card for use with a USB modem. An investigation into how well social media networks in Argentina are received has revealed that Facebook has a 34 percent penetration into the market as compared with Brazil where Facebook only has a penetration of 8.76 percent. This is reported to put Argentina 13th in the world for Facebook penetration. Also, the average CPC on Facebook advertising is 23 US cents in Argentina as compared to 65 US cents in Brazil. Argentina is to have mobile spectrum auctions by the end of 2011 to divide up the 3G and 4G (LTE) mobile broadband licenses which suggests that mobile internet speeds will increase considerably after heavy investment and encourage more video streaming. This move will not be premature as YouTube only recently launched in Argentina on the 8th of September 2010. During the same period it was reported that 7.7 percent fewer emails were sent in Argentina which is thought to reflect the preference of individuals and businesses to utilize social networking sites. These developments will mean a greater potential for successful video marketing campaigns on portals such as YouTube, Facebook and other social bookmarking sites as well the potential for effective lead generation campaigns. The top site visited in Argentina is Facebook followed by Google.com.

Economy of Argentina

Argentina boasts Latin America’s highest nominal GDP per capita in terms of purchasing power which presents a ready market for internet advertisers. With unemployment rates lower than in Belgium, Finland, Sweden, UK and the United States, Argentina offers internet users with a disposable income with the majority of Argentineans having internet access at work. According to a recent Reuters report private consumption in Argentina jumped 11.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. Local production cost are high causing imports to increase at double the rate of exports which is promising for foreign companies considering on gaining Argentinean market share and for international ecommerce sites.