Websites are the new brochure, and social media is not a marketing plan

20 years ago, just before the internet took off, we used to call it the "brochure solution" because all our clients thought they needed a brochure to sell their product, program, or business service.

They often got a brochure, or a postcard, or a flyer, or a direct mail piece, but they also got guidance on how to design them, how to write them, what to do with them, when & how to distribute them, and how to support their investment with other marketing tools like news releases, events, advertising, speeches etc.  We could add a lot of value to that little brochure request.

Today, the website is the new brochure.
While everyone needs one, and they're worth investing in, they need a lot of support.  New products, programs, and business services need more support than "putting it out there on social media." Social media can help drive traffic to your website but there's so much more than that to do. Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest Google+ etc), isn't a marketing plan.  

When we develop marketing plans we consider strategies in public relations (including social media, text messaging, events, email etc), government relations, media relations, stakeholder relations, customer relations, staff relations, advertising (online, mobile, traditional etc), product and content development. When designed into an integrated marketing plan, these strategies can all help achieve your goals as well as drive traffic to your website.

So don't make the mistake of making a website and social media your only marketing solution.
If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.

A radio station isn't a radio station anymore, it's a website!

I can't believe it's been nearly two months since I last blogged. I just got word that an out of town client wants to delay my road trip this morning, so I've gained an hour or so early in my day. Still, rather than working on social media presentations this week for a Rotary and municipal groups, I have a greater interest in blogging at the moment.

We recently had a new radio station open up in our city and I wanted to track them down while travelling in my car via blackberry. No telephone directly listing-- they're a month old! They didn't show up on a google search; they have no canpages.com listing. I couldn't reach them. And it got me to thinking....

Maybe, just maybe, the station isn't a station, but actually a front for a website! Think of it: A website that has a built-in, 24/7 promotion machine (the radio station). Now as an advertiser, wouldn't you want your business to be on that website? A commercial on the radio is hit and miss-- you only reach who's listening at the moment, (kind of like twitter), but if you're on their website and they're constantly driving your demographic to their website, now there's a measurable, marketing advantage for your company.

The mass media product becomes the source for driving customers to your landing pages, just a click or two away. Wouldn't it be fun to see those conversion rates? Could work for television, and newspaper too. Throw in the QR codes and you're really getting interactive and mobile.

Crazy way of thinking about broadcasters and publishers...or a new revenue-generating model for media? Their product (newspaper, tv shows, news coverage) becomes simply a way to send clients to their web sites where businesses are paying prime dollar for "above the fold" online pages. Lock in a good contract today--online real estate with proven ability to attract readers and consumers will be going up in price.

That's my Pinnacle Thought for today. Tell me what you think!