Ten years ago, launching a Web site meant pouring money into banner ads, print campaigns and broadcast spots. These days all three tactics have been relegated to footnotes in a Web site launch campaign.

The good news is that they've been replaced with a new arsenal of Web marketing weapons that are far more effective, relatively trackable, and nearly free. The bad news is they can be hard as hell to figure out.

Nowadays, getting the word out means exploiting social networks like MySpace and Facebook, building buzz on social blogs like Digg.com, and gaming Google’s search engine. By comparison, writing a check to get your commercial aired on TV seemed much easier.

Why the Switch?

In order to understand the importance of the new lineup of social networks, social news and search engines, you first need to understand why they are so much more effective than traditional advertising.

Traditional ads relied heavily on the assumption that if you spent the money that people would see your ad in the paper. You assumed those people who saw the ad would buy your product. You assumed that the money you spent on marketing translated into a return on investment. Without a way to tie your ad spending to a purchase, it was a pretty big gamble.

The new suite of tools bypasses assumption and moves straight to action. Keywords typed into Google translate directly into an opportunity to purchase a product (and a sale!) Networks of friends on MySpace rally around a particular event that everyone actually attends. Each and every one of those actions is linked directly to a Web site that can help turn “interest” into “action”.

More importantly, the stakes are enormous. Consider that a social network like MySpace has the capability to reach over 100 million users instantly. Even a halftime ad during the Superbowl doesn’t have that kind of reach!

Getting in the Game

Most marketing professionals are aware of these tools, but very few are qualified to do something with them. Your ad agency or Marketing Manager probably has experience with some aspects of social marketing, but not a lot of results from effectively harnessing their power.

There are a few reasons for this. The first is that the tool set is practically brand new. A deep, functional understanding of these techniques would take a dedicated history over the past five years, which few marketers have.

The second is age. Most marketers are somewhat older, likely well into or beyond their thirties. Social media has been pioneered by its user base, many of which are in their teens and twenties. To illustrate this gap, ask a 16-year-old if she has a MySpace or Facebook profile, and there’s about a 90% chance she says “yes.” Ask a 36-year-old if she has a profile on Facebook, and her answer will probably be “What’s Facebook?”
Part of the challenge of getting your business in the game is making sure that your team truly “gets” social marketing. The best way to size up prospective partners isn’t to ask what they know about social media, but ask “how successful have you been using it?” There are lots of people that use social media, but very few that have built a successful business around it.

It's Complicated

As if finding the right people to orchestrate your social marketing campaign wasn't hard enough, learning how the different components come together is even harder. Getting a top position in the Google search results or a video that is forwarded to a million people on YouTube isn’t a fluke. It requires a clear understanding of how these systems work together and how to manipulate them to work for you.

The best way to get up to speed on these systems is to use them yourself. Create a Facebook profile, comment on some popular blogs and vote for your favorite stories on Digg. It's difficult to understand the importance of these platforms unless you understand why their users rely on them so heavily to communicate.

For those systems that are too complicated, like improving Google search rankings, there are plenty of consultants out there to help you. Use them, even if only to ramp yourself up on the basics. While the learning curve may seem steep, it shouldn’t take you long to understand the basics of how these tools work.

It's Worth It

Social media is becoming the fabric of how we communicate to share important messages, whether about products or just our feelings. The smart marketers of the future will learn how to weave their messages into these discussions the way television advertisers learned how to weave their messages into popular shows. The stakes are high because so many people are paying attention.

Finding the right people, learning complicated systems and throwing out what you know about traditional media planning may sound like a stretch, but let me tell you – it’s worth it.