The Medium is No Longer the Message

The Bubble has burst. They honeymoon is over. The end of the innocence. Pick your clich?. Any way you slice it, the Internet Economy isn't what it used to be.

I prefer to look at the progression of the Internet thus far like a three year Summer of Love. Just like that Summer of '67 when the world's attention turned to the small bohemian district of San Francisco, blind optimism and subsequent overcrowding eventually caused the bubble to burst.

Fast-forward thirty plus years into the present, and we see that history has a funny habit of repeating itself. Gone are the days that companies with no immediate plans for profitability can boast billion dollar valuations. Gone are the days where it was OK that your only differentiation was merely being on the web. It seemed like it was OK to pay no mind to having a stable business model, a top-notch management team, or providing actual value

But online marketers have suffered the same fate. Just as our clients are forced to invest in justifiable marketing plans, we are challenged with creating them. We have to work better and work smarter to take advantage of the benefits the Internet has to offer to truly provide value to our clients. When things get crazy, it's always best to get back to basics.

Start With the Goal - Target your market with laser-beam precision. Find the hunger in your market and establish a realistic goal, in writing.

Create a buzz - This is what viral marketing is all about. Create alliances. Publish articles. Linkswap with similar minded sites. Participate in forums. Hit the newsgroups. Start an affiliate plan.

Optimize! - The offline world can't hold a candle to the online world when it comes to tracking results. Focus like a hawk on the progress of your campaign, but be patient enough to know that great marketing plans aren't built overnight.

Diversify and multiply - Banners alone can't do all the work. What about sponsorships? Opt-in e-mail? Newsletters? Online contests? They all have to work together.

Don't exist in a vacuum - Any decent online marketing strategy should integrate with your clients' entire marketing plan. How does your online strategy work with your print ads, your PR, your collateral material, your tradeshow presence?

The winners in the new economy will realize that content is king. And whether the user accesses your content over their PC, WAP phone, PDA, Dick Tracy wristwatch, or Internet enabled boxer shorts, what's going to matter is whether they can find the information, not how they get it. With apologies to Marshall MacLuhan, the medium is no longer the message. Provide a truly compelling reason for your market to care about you and they'll do just that. The rules aren't any different. Neither are the goals. The ones left standing will be the ones that combine the old with the new

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David Linberg
President
Blue Dart Advertising
925.292.1038 - phone
925.292.1039 - fax
david@bluedartadvertising.com - email
http://www.bluedartadvertising.com