I've refrained from talking about this topic because I'd be opening a door to an entirely new world of marketing that many people are not prepared to handle. It's like getting on a rocketship -- Once you get on, strap in and take off, there is no getting off easily. So, I'll do my best here with a little help from some other great marketing consultants and writers....

The "New Rules of Marketing & PR" has circled around a bit in the last 3 years or so as a key phrase describing what most of us in marketing can't: The impact and importance of the internet (and the conversations, communities, and interactivity going on within it) on how we, as businesses, market our products and services.

Marketing author, David Meerman Scott, states it very well:

"...the old rules of marketing & PR were that you either had to buy expensive advertising or beg the media to write about you. Prior to the Web, there weren't other significant ways to get noticed. The Web has changed the rules. The new rules of marketing & PR are that you can bypass the gatekeepers and publish your own content online in the form of content-rich Web sites, blogs, YouTube videos, photos, ebooks and the like and reach buyers directly."

The New Rules of Marketing, however, go beyond simply writing content on the web. That's just one component. You can start the conversation on the web with content, but that's not where the "marketing" happens. The "marketing" happens when people browse, read, interact with, and SHARE your content with others. It's as simple as telling your friends about that great sale you heard about at Imelda's Shoe Store. They go, maybe buy some shoes or some socks or a purse. Then they tell their friends. Their friends tell more friends and so on. And that is the "community" or "networking" component is marketing for Imelda's. It works the same on the web.

I like how David Meeram Scott simplifies the "New Rules of Marketing" with two categories under this umbrella:

1. Social Media Marketing: Online media with an interactive component. A news story that is delivered online becomes social media if there is a place for readers to comment on the news story.

Online Examples: Blogs, forums, Wikis, and chat rooms

2. Social Network Marketing: Online networking tools and the ways they are used to connect groups of people on the Web.

Online Examples: Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, SecondLife, Bebo, Twitter

Personally, I'm a big fan of the latter. People use these sites to network and stay connected with friends and colleagues and to meet other like-minded people who may also have similar interests, values, or beliefs. If your company had a Facebook group page, you could use the platform to post updates on the lastest R&D in the company, or what the hottest lunch item is in the cafeteria. Sound stupid? Maybe. But, millions of people are following and reading these stupid bits of data and sharing the info with friends. All of this content that you create initiates a conversation. It gets people talking about you and your brand. How can you do that offline? Not very easily.

I heard a great description of this new marketing that may make more sense if you're at all confused. The internet and the communities within it offer an ear to the ground, a pulse on what's happening "outside". You can sit in your windowless cubicle all day, but until you go outside and stand on the sidewalk amongst people, cars, activity, and the elements, you don't really know what's going on.

For more on this topic, David Meeram Scott's article on Social Media Marketing/Social Network Marketing and Web 2.0 is very clear, concise, and understandable. Check it out.