OgEvolves - Charting the next revolution

A lot of material on interactive marketing focuses on implementation. Some of it is helpful, some not.

But how can we think about interactive marketing–both strategically and philosophically?

To be sure, there’s no one right answer to that question. But here’s a proposed start:

Interactive marketing entails identifying all of the potential areas for meaningful interaction online and actualizing each of them to their fullest potential using an integrated strategy in the largest possible context.

Whoah. That’s a mouthful, with lots of buzzwords. Let’s break it down:

Identifying all of the potential areas for meaningful interaction online. The key word here is “meaningful,” in two senses: first, you want your interactions to offer a sense of shared meaning between you and the user; and second, you want the interactions to mean something to your overall philosophical, spiritual, and financial vision.

Actualizing each of them to their fullest potential. Vague, I know–I’ll work on that one. But the idea is that you want to create as much meaning as possible and always strive toward higher levels of “relational value.” Your work is never done as an interactive marketer–you can always make life better and more meaningful for both you and your users.

Using an integrated strategy. Though this phrase definitely sets off my own BS meter for buzzword density (and I wrote it!), it’s still true: every online interaction you facilitate, whether in the form of email, social media, or advertising, needs to contribute to a larger overall strategy. If it’s not integrated, then you’ll eventually find yourself putting out fires without realizing the entire forest is ablaze.

In the largest possible context. That strategy needs to be seen in a much larger context than “monetization” alone. If not, then you end up focusing your attention on myopic tactics that may lead to short-term revenues but compromise the long-term integrity of your relationship with the user–as well as your own capacity to make a difference in the world.

If we’re going to use the web as a vehicle for evolutionary change, then we all need to start diving into these dynamics with greater depth and subtlety.

After all, if we’re not improving the world, then what’s the point?