There seems to be a common theme among professional marketers that very few ad agencies know what they’re doing when it comes to modern digital marketing. The term “advertising” itself conjures up images of tall, angular men with slick black hair and overwhite teeth telling you why you should spend millions of dollars on a page in a magazine. Maybe it’s Mad Men transcending culture; maybe it’s the knee-jerk reaction of people who are scared of what the future holds for their profession — or who couldn’t make it in the ad world and so endeavored to find their own path to success. Whatever the reason, “advertising” has become synonymous with “old marketing,” “old media,” “outbound marketing,” “direct marketing,” and other so-called dirty words.

Now, let me be clear. I agree that there are better ways to invest money than on banner ads, billboards, TV spots and magazine ads. But notice the diction: there are better ways to invest money. I didn’t say there are better ways to spend money.

Spend Where the Money Is

By now you’ve probably got the core concept. The digital realm is slowly becoming a daily stomping ground for people of all ages. That growth has been relatively steady since the inception of the Internet. And because it is growing, you should invest in it. The work you do in new Web sectors will provide a return as the Web grows.

But let’s make one thing very clear: we are still transitioning. And while we complete this transition, there is still value in those old media. People still buy old media. They still watch TV in real time. There are products and services out there whose buyers are not the most web-savvy on the planet. And even the web-savvy users are affected by tangible media, as well. To reach those people, you need to buy space in old media. You need to purchase (rather than attract) their attention.

Invest Where the Money is Going

As I said, I agree that you should invest in inbound marketing. I think that’s the way things are heading — to a world in which online presence matters more than offline presence. And I think that will be true across almost every industry imaginable. And the sooner and more deeply you commit to creating a formidable online presence, I think, the better off you will be in the long run. But where are your buyers right now? Are they reading that magazine? Are they watching that TV show? If so, why not buy an ad in it?

I’ve come to this understanding after reading some of the stuff published in Ad Contrarian (which will amuse and offend my new marketing peers as it has amused and offended — and ultimately enlightened — me). If you haven’t read it yet, it’s wroth an RSS subscription, especially if you’re in the ad/mar/com line of (fire) work.

Social Capital Grows with the Web

See, here’s the thing about social capital. As with any other capital, it has the ability to grow seemingly on its own, just by investing it in the right places. When I was a consultant, for example, I could tell prospective clients that I’d been on Facebook since it was opened to Boston students in 2003. I could say I’d been blogging since darn near the inception of Xanga.com. And that I was watching online video on a 14.4k modem when a google was just a really big number.

Today, that translates into authority. Of course, when I owned my Xanga blog, I was all of 14 years old and had dreams of being a wealthy poet. (I might as well have wished to be a unicorn.) But the point is that I was there. I was blogging, in the technical sense, and I kept it up. That means I’ve been a blogger for quite some time; longer, in fact, than almost any CMO in the country.

Think about that. I can walk up to the CMO at your company right now and ask him (or her), “How long have you been blogging?” And in most cases, I can guarantee that I’ve been doing it longer. Five years ago, that wasn’t relevant. Today, it very much is.

Now, let’s put that into its proper context. What are you doing today that people will consider to be tremendously valuable in five years? In eight? In ten? Are you planning that far in advance?

Maybe you should start.

Photo credit: epicharmus