Wow! What a tremendous three days at Search Engine Strategies in New York city that past few days. The amount of information that I took in as well as the networks that I created were truly spectacular. And because I love giving away free stuff I am going to give away some of the tremendous amount of information that was so "freely" given to me. Because as anyone in the online industry knows, its all about giving what you have away in order to keep it. David Meerman Scott, best selling author and blogger was the first keynote speaker of Search Engine Strategies in New York. In his keynote discussion Mr. Scott discussed some of his techniques he writes about in his book and especially discussed the content in his book, "The New Rules of Viral Marketing." David began by telling the story of Cindy Gordon, Vice Presidenty of New Media and Marketing partnerships at Universal Orlando Resort, and her assigned task of marketing the launch of "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter" attraction at the park. Instead of spending millions of dollars in advertising (which she had the option to do) Ms. Gordon told just 7 people! But its who those 7 people told that made the difference. The 7 people she told were bloggers who were experts in the realm of Harry Potter and followed by thousands of people (We all know one or two Harry Potter weirdos, er, followers). Its after these individuals went to work blogging and spreading the word not only by their blogs but by social media that allowed these 7 individuals to tell their followers, who told their friends, who told their friends and so on. But regardless of this fact and the fact that millions of people use the internet to meet their needs most businesses still rely on traditional media to market their products and/or services. So why do businesses still use traditional media instead of using online marketing techniques? Mr. Scott says its because of one word: *FEAR* We as business owners (and by we I don't mean me) have become robotic in how we feel we need to market our business. If companies are going to remain relevant, Mr. Scott says that we need to "Unlearn what we have learned". Mr. Scott then went on to discuss how marketers go on to earn their perspective demos attention: 1) We BUY attention via billboards, direct mails, etc. 2) Beg for attention, "Please, please, please write about my product or service" 3) Bug people or have a "sales department" as Mr. Scott called it. But in order to be successful in the online world companies needs to "EARN" attention "by creating fantastic information on the web using tools like blogs, videos, and other social media techniques". "You are what you publish on the web" and its important to understand how to create relevant content that engages viewers. As a professional in the online industry I am still shocked at the budgets that some of my clients set aside for traditional media such as newspaper ads, radio spots, etc and how much they fight the fact of putting resources in to the thing that will generate the most interest to their company, namely the INTERNET. So often I am bombarded with business owners who think that they can have some 18 year old nephew provide them with the necessary skill set to create a realistic online identity. As Mr. Scott says "On the web, you are what you publish." So if you have a child with no experience developing your online presence that is going to come across. We are consumers are very intelligent and have become savvy online shoppers. Like any business there is risk. But to risk money on traditional media that has been shown not to reach the audience as most companies require seems almost nuts. If businesses are going to be successful on any level they will require an online presence that is marketed properly and effectively and that is not developed by some executives nephew. But then again, nephew Jimmy is "great with computers".

I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments about using traditional media to market your business.  Post your comments below and tell me your feelings about using traditional media vs online marketing.