Increasingly, the Web site is becoming the primary sales channel for many businesses, whether they are product or service oriented. E-commerce drives more consumer sales than ever before, and the Internet is where companies interested in B2B products and services start their search. The bottom line is that most consumer or business purchases begin with some online research and a visit to the company Web site. That`s why companies have large budgets for search engine optimization, search engine marketing, social media marketing, and other online marketing tactics. These methods can deliver traffic, but they aren`t the only means to bring visitors to your virtual point of sale. Traditional forms of media, like radio and TV, can deliver Web site visitors as well - if handled correctly. The challenge with using radio and TV as a tool for promoting products and services is that the media likes to stay commercially neutral - unless, of course, you`re buying advertising. They aren`t very interested in selling your products, promoting your company, or driving traffic to your Web site. That`s why companies often fail when they try to use PR in a commercial way. They either just don`t get the bookings, or their interview is cut short by the host because they sound like an infomercial going out to the host`s audience. You can make this work if you approach your promotional campaign not as an exercise in marketing, but as an exercise in serving the media. They are in business to sell advertising time against their free space or free air time - and they use this space and time to entertain and inform their audience so they keep coming back to watch, listen or read. If they`re successful, their ratings go up and their advertising department sells more ads. Promote yourself as an expert - When trying to obtain media bookings, don`t go to them as an author or CEO of your company - they don`t care.
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