Unless your customers live underground, they are inundated with
advertisements from the moment they wake up to the moment they drop
gratefully back into bed. There are bold-lettered newspaper ads and
unnaturally upbeat TV commercials during morning coffee. Loud-voiced
radio announcements on the way to work. GoogleAds when they’re
researching a project—even blog banners when they’re sneaking some
Perez Hilton! Not to mention the sheaf of junk mail they glance at once
before tossing it into the recycling bin at night. All these
advertisements are designed to grab your customers’ attention, and to
do so each ad screams louder than the last.

Annoying? Hell yes. Effective? Not anymore.

Wake up! Traditional advertising is dated. It’s yesterday. Your customers are so used to it that they don’t even notice
it anymore. So that billboard you’re paying $500 a month for? Good
luck. It’s a waste of money—just one more thing your customer is tuning
out on the way to pick up the kids from school.

So what’s the alternative? Getting back to basics. In a 21st century kind of way.

In the old days, when your grandfather started a business he
probably shook the hand of every customer who walked through the door.
Moreover, he probably placed handmade flyers in his neighbors’
mailboxes and personally introduced himself to nearby businesses that
could benefit from joint marketing. (For example, a furniture store
that could promote your grandfather’s lighting store to its customers
and vice versa.) I’m sure he worked absurdly late hours, opened when
customers needed him to, and adapted with the times. And as a result,
he probably generated a loyal following of customers who spread word of
his store to their friends and family.

It’s time for today’s businesses—and business owners—to stop being
lazy. Because that’s what traditional advertising is: lazy thinking.
It’s time to shake customers’ hands again, to knock on doors and share
the story of your business. But the 21st century offers a whole new way
to do this: online.

I’ve talked before about the importance and the effectiveness of
social networking. The fact is, social networking is today’s equivalent
of your grandfather’s pavement pounding. It takes the same amount of
sweat equity but with potentially much larger payoff. So stop shying
away from sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube LinkedIn, and
Twitter—they’re not just for teens and twenty-somethings! Even
President Obama is on Facebook! And it’s important to recognize why.

Sites like these allow you to put your face, business, and values
directly in front of customers. Share photos of recent company events.
Upload a video tour of your store. Start a company page on Facebook and
ask customers to be fans. Use Twitter to update and inform customers in
real time. And don’t be afraid to share little personal details on your
MySpace profile—your favorite book is Count of Monte Cristo and your favorite movie, perhaps embarrassingly, is Pretty Woman.
Customers want to know little things like this about you. They set you
apart from the company listed right after yours in the phone book.

Ready to get results, save money, and make money? Cut your
funds on dated ways of marketing and do like your grandfather: Get out
there and meet the customers! (Yes, virtually counts.)