The Follis Marketing Report

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Alan Levy, the founder and CEO of a very cool new media called BlogTalkRadio. Check it out:

Listen to the podcast that lets you hear how other buisness owners solve their tough marketing problems.

“http://twitter.com/ObamaNews”

Social Media is an online approach to communicating and sharing ideas. Social media sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogs let people become more involved with the messages they send and interact with the messages they receive. So, if you have a business or cause to spread awareness about, social media can help.

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Coors Light is extending its presence in the new media with efforts on the social networking Web sites Facebook and MySpace.
Read full article.

More and more organizations are using popular virtual world Second Life for advertising, education, e-commerce, or for the novelty factor alone. Are these meaningful forays into the future of the internet, or simply companies playing around in virtual reality for its own sake? Leading tech journalist Leo Laporte chats up Virtual Worlds Marketing Consultant, Catherine Winters, about SL and future applications of virtual worlds.

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Shel Israel, the 50-something marketing/tech guru was recently asked this question on the LexBlog Q & A. His answer is worth hearing. (And I agree.)

Rob La Gatta:
It seems like while a lot of professionals utilize new media, the general public is less quick to adapt. Is a mass embrace of these tools - newsfeed readers, for example - something that will inevitably occur over time? Or will we continue to see this technological divide until the old model is rendered obsolete and retired?

Shel Israel:
I disagree with your premise. When you add up the number of people reading blogs, watching online video, [and] engaging in social networking, you probably have a number nearly equal to the number of people reading newspapers and watching TV. For example, there are 125 downloads on YouTube for every New York Times newspaper sold. Until a couple of months ago, Facebook was growing by a million [users] a week. I don’t see a technological divide. I see a generational divide. Younger people are in the habit of using social media tools and most older people are not. As the younger people age and replace my generation, their habits will not change.

So, what do you think?

It pays to be creative. The more creative your message is, the more memorable it will be. The more memorable it is, in a positive way, the better your chance of making a sale. Here’s one Follis example:

Click here to see more.

Don’t confuse “marketing” with “advertising”. Some people hear the word “marketing” and think “advertising.” Not the same thing. And to grow your business you must understand the difference.

Traditional “advertising” is about paying for traditional media exposure via newspapers, magazines, Yellow Pages, radio, TV, billboards, etc. It’s generally designed to reach a broad audience and the ad/media costs will reflect that. For many products and services advertising works great if it’s done right.

“Marketing” is a broader term that involves any possible way to get your message out. That includes PR, direct mail, your logo and tagline, personal networking, giving talks and writing articles, and many non-traditional and online strategies like having an effective website, sending out email newsletters and promotions, buying Google Adwords, pay-per-click, SEO, and using “social media” like blogs and podcasts.

Effective marketing includes the right mix of traditional advertising and non-traditional online strategies.