One interesting aspect of the Online Marketing Summit is that it travels from city to city – this is not just a single conference but rather a series of localized conversations. Having attended the Houston conference a few weeks ago, I can say that there is a large and vibrant community of marketers here. Over 300 people packed the hotel, and many of them fellow AMA Houston members. Just take a look at the blog to see what the conversations were here and elsewhere.
Here are a few of the themes (and some solid advice) that seemed to surface during the day in regards to your online marketing approach.
- Your goal should be trust and loyalty
Share knowledge and advice – be generous – and your audience will thank you for this. Not only will you be considered a “thought leader” (which is important!) you will also gain new customers and grow your network. - Serve, don’t sell
The minute you start thinking about some of these newer channels, especially social media, as another form of advertising is the minute it will stop working for you.
- Think democracy, not dictatorship
None of your online marketing should be thought of as one-way communication. It’s a conversation in which your employees and your customers have a say in what you do. Engage them now.
- Don’t stick your head in the sand
Now is the time to get ahead while your competitors are trying to wait things out. Get out there and start using the tools to your advantage and accelerate your online marketing.
And let’s not forget about your brand in all of this. As Steve Woods of Eloqua said at the panel which closed they day, “the carrier of brands is conversation.” In order to build your brand online, you should be an active participant in those online conversations. The sessions that day showed us that there are many proven examples now of companies doing this successfully, which is information you can use to convince those who need this help to increase their online marketing to solve many of the challenges facing them now.
Below is a copy of the presentation I gave on “Online Strategies for Though Leadership Marketing.” I welcome your comments!
