An old mate who is a printer called me - times are tough - like a dinosaur he failed to evolve to the new environment.
Yes, there has been a significant shift from print to online as a result of the GFC. 
Corporate marketing $ are moving to where customers are = the web.
Corporate Marketers are looking for proven ROI
Even the most basic web media campaign provides measurable data -
- how many views;
- how many unique visitors;
- how many click thrus.
In old mass media jargon terms were things like subscriptions; viewers; coupon response etc.
It's all just measures of consumer activity.
Where's the Money?
At the moment those online marketing $ are mainly focused on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) but are increasing towards Social Media; mobility (I-phone/ I-pad/ Android etc) and cloud computing (web based applications).
Without getting too technical it's a long trend called "media convergence" and will eventually emcompass every human device (from your TV to your watch to billboards to your fridge).
Enough of the future - back to the now.
No question social media right now is very important to your business (but it's just another component to the mix) and why there are so many so called "gurus" out there at the moment evangelising (yawn!)
Very simply stated it's the online customer service desk. For example St George Illawarra Dragons Ambassador Wendell Sailor had his golf club smashed during a recent interstate flight. Upset he tweeted a pic (right) - within an hour Virgin responded and a potential bad customer experience turned quickly to a customer success. Thumbs up.
Key point: Over 85% of people are now online. There's a very good chance customers are already tweeting and posting about your products and services - are you listening and responding?
Another key point is that it's not about technology it's about communication (and understanding/ responding to customers).
As we've said many times "today customer attention is scarce" - in the web space you are only as good as your first 7.5 seconds (or your last customer interaction).
As a user - What Resonates With Me? (WRWM); give it to me quick BUT don't try and F%$ me on the first date unless I want to.
The web is opt-in and small digestible chunks of information. The customer, the web viewer is in control.
The best you can do is create the experience; craft the message, deliver results and service the customer
In many ways the web is like a good old print advertisement in a newspaper = ads/ communications that stand out; create desire and action BUT don't give me a snazzy campaign then take three days to reply to an email OR when I call get a voice message to call back on Monday.
It's about creating and telling a story that engages with your audience and makes it easy to share.
A natural progression of all of this towards professional produced interactive video - rich media experiences that resonates and respond with your audience - to "craft messages and solutions that deliver results"
My old mate is now trying to catch up. Too late mate you've missed the this boat BUT don't worry another one leaves in ten minutes.
One final point - you're going to have to dump all that old baggage you're carrying around - it's slowing you down and no longer relevant.
Share-words creator Robin Dickinson posted a question about "engagement" on his Facebook page - not the wedding kind but the online versus offline kind - it struck a chord - I felt compelled to reply.
