With over a hundred million blogs and hundreds of millions of users of social networks and readers of social media, the internet is becoming the central location for marketing efforts to influence customers purchasing decisions. Integrating offline and online campaigns are a must in order to achieve optimal reach and conversion opportunities. There are more options to touch the customer today than ever before, and the media and reach combinations can be staggering. The primary purpose of marketing is the same: conversion. The methods to reach people are practically unlimited. And the game has completely changed. Instead of broadcasting it’s now called engagement. At the AdTech conference this week in San Francisco, engagement is all the buzz. So where to begin, what comes next, and how do you measure the effectiveness? Let’s start with the landscape of channels to push a message.

In the traditional offline arena we have the standbys of television, radio, billboards, press releases, print and direct mail. We can expand this well known arena to incorporate web banner ads to draw a circle around the arena of broadcast advertising.

Social media marketing makes up the rest of the picture and is less understood. This area includes blogs, wikis, podcasts, video blogs and webcasts, social network profiles, twitter/text and widgets.

All of these forms of media are intended to do one thing: create a call to action for a customer that moves them through the path of awareness to consideration to preference to purchase. Social media includes both earned and paid components, the more earned media achieved results in lower costs and, theoretically, higher conversions. Conversion is the point at which a customer takes the action to purchase product. Conversion is now largely based on conversation. Social media forms a conversation between buyers, prospects, and producers in all of their permutations. Social media levels the message playing field. Any one of these people could become a key influencer of thousands or perhaps even millions of people around purchasing decisions. One bad experience with an influencer can wreak havoc on a brand. It is time for companies to come out of their shell, find their advocates and detractors, throw out the polls and (dare I contribute to the hype) ENGAGE.