The shift away from the traditional forms of marketing and over to Internet methods continues to grow and it is most apparent in the political arena.  Those who have followed the marketing efforts of President Obama in toppling the Clinton political machine know Social Media played a key role in that success.

Advertising Age,  a leading source for marketing and media news wrote a very informative piece about Scott Brown’s use of Social Media in his campaign and how it appears to have been very influential in reaching voters with his message.  Advertising Age goes on to reference David Meerman Scott’s (a Cokely supporter) comments on Cokely’s lack of Social Media presence in reference to an event Cokely was having before the election. “Mr. Scott, author of “The New Rules of Marketing and PR,” who attended the event at Northeastern University, said the campaign asked students to volunteer at a phone bank, post yard signs and the like, but didn’t mention their likely primary means of communication, Facebook, invented in a dorm room across the Charles River at Harvard.”

This article is just another of many that illustrates Social Media and the Internet as a whole, cannot be discounted any longer as a powerful marketing vehicle.  It is not business as usual where marketing is concerned and we are likely to continue to see some major changes developing over the next few years.  More and more new technology will be available and part of the mainstream.

Businesses (and politicians) who continue to ignore how powerful Social Media is in reaching an audience may be doing so at their own peril.