Internet Marketing Motto: Be Useful
E-marketing is about substance over show, logic over emotion, text over graphics. Good Web marketers follow the Google motto: be useful.
Recently, I had a talk with an IT manager from a large organization. I was impressed at how clued in this person was—not about IT, but about Web marketing. He talked about appropriate targeting, about creating content that moved the customer to a point of action.
He knew his stuff. And like many other people in his situation, he complained about the "marketing people" who still didn't get it.
The marketing people who were still enthralled by big graphics and who still think that cutting-edge Web design means using the latest version of Flash. The marketing people who can get excited about search engine optimization and buying keyword ads, but keep forgetting that bringing someone to your Web site is only the first step.
I have asked thousands of people in practically every continent in the world what they do when they see a Flash intro. "Skip Intro!" they all shout without hesitation. About a month ago, in fact, an executive from a Web design company told me a story about a potential client who came to him looking for a "Skip Intro" for his Web site.
If commerce is selling with people, then e-commerce is selling with content, and e-marketing is marketing with content. Content management is about getting the best out of your content. The reason why much content management is still seen as technical is because many marketers and communicators have shied away from embracing it as a core part of their job.
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