For a while now, I've been wondering how all these new online sites would help the public past the surface use of catching up with old friends or exchanging pictures. By now, I'm sure that a family member or friend has pressured you into joining Facebook or LinkedIn. No doubt they're all interesting at the personal level, but as weeks of use turn into months, it's becoming clearer that there's more to these online sites than meets the eye. What's coming into focus is really a business revolution of sorts, particularly for marketing and promotion. And statistics are supporting this revolution. Internet usage continues to grow as more devices and uses are added. Online social media sites have exploded and there's no end of interest in them in sight. Business grows via internet sales for goods and services even in the midst of the "Great Recession". And experts say that public interest in things 'online' will become an even more integral part of our lives going forward.
For businesses large and small, what we're really seeing is a new way of communicating. Whereas in the past, a business could market via billboards, radio/tv, print ads, or yellow page directories, there's been a significant shift to a new model...a model that explains why the marketing experts have been bugging us for years to create nice websites and informative blogs. This new model is an information-driven one with the website and blog at its core. What's emerging is that these friendly tools will be the communication center for all businesses...ready 24 hours a day to share information, take orders, and handle customer issues. It will be able to sell and help visitors no matter what stage they're in along the process. And it will be able to help not only prospects and clients but employees and investors.The social media sites have become and will continue to be "feeder" services to the core website/blog. The idea is that new content will be developed at the "center" (website/blog), and that messages and elements from social media and related sites will point back to them, and vice versa. This makes sense as I've often wondered what use Facebook would be after the initial phase of "reconnecting" people. After all, you can only send friends so many mundane observations before they disconnect.
What I've been asked is that if a new model is truly emerging, what then will happen to the older, traditional marketing tactics such as print advertising, direct mail, tv, and billboards? They've all taken tremendous hits over the last year as people have flocked online. My guess is that they will continue to drop off significantly but will level off at some point...and work within the new website/blog centered model. Or perhaps they'll continue to point prospects directly back to the company in addition to working within the information-centric model as kind of a hybrid. The good news for everyone is that the new model will be more efficient and allow more people to connect and promote their services. It's an interesting time and I believe we'll look back at this time as a great one to start and grow a business...even during an economic slowdown.
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