MAKE THE MOST OUT OF MARKETING

It was back in 1979 when The Buggles told the world how video had killed the radio star, and now in 2011 many would argue that the expansion of the internet is leading to a repeat of history.

Indeed it seems surprising that we haven’t heard an updated cover version from Cher Lloyd yet, although ‘Internet Killed the Traditional Marketing Communications Stars’ is, admittedly, a rather cumbersome title. However, since radio has managed to survive the television era, could traditional forms of marketing communications survive the internet or even benefit from it?

Well, that is what this series sets out to discover. But we hope not to be alone in this voyage. We will be asking you, the user, the customer, the industry expert, for your views and opinions to build a mosaic of opinion and discussion. To take part, don’t forget to add us to Twitter, LinkedIn and follow some of our questions on Quora – the social source for expert knowledge.

To get you started here are just a taste of some of the questions we will be discussing:

Has Social Media Made Traditional Marketing Redundant?

With the ability to cheaply market to a wide audience, collect customer research data, target specific markets, and to communicate in a host of new and creative ways, social media is definitely changing the way companies market themselves and do business.

But is social media taking-over the role of traditional marketing methods such as direct mail, exhibitions and live events, or is social media in fact best used in conjunction with these traditional methods?

Are Exhibitions Still an Effective Form of Marketing?

Exhibitions have long been a favourite form of b2b marketing, but with so many businesses now exhibiting at a vast array of events across the world, has this form of marketing become oversaturated, ineffective and inefficient? Or does having an exhibition stand at the worlds biggest trade expos still carry an unequalled prestige? Perhaps we simply need to change the way we exhibit to really stand-out, but can this be done while also saving money in this post-recession era?

What are the Best Methods of Improving Internal Communications?

Internal Communications is an area of business often taken for granted – we all have email and phone lines, so, short of installing VOIP services, what is there to be done? Well, internal communications is not simply a case of being connected to a network – it is far more effective to utilise your comms network for idea collaboration, message distribution and front-line feedback. So what are the best methods for internal communications? What technology is involved? And how will it boost the overall efficiency of our business practice?

We will be starting many of these topics off as discussions on LinkedIn and Twitter. So to have your opinion included in one of our articles make sure you get yourself connected. You may also have questions or topics you think should be covered in this series…well, it’s your series, so send us your thoughts and ideas!

With only a month until the next article in this series make sure you’re connected today, and get your thinking-caps on!