Based on:
“For the past 100 years of the industrial era, most or all the information a consumer was likely to have about a product came from a company’s (or its competition’s) advertising. Advertising would inform, engage, entertain, and even create aspirations. This communication was one-way, defined by the media that carried the ads. As consumers, we had little ability to question the content, or the companies, or gather independent perspectives.”

Businessweek.

Whether you like it or not your company, your products and services should start joining online conversations, and social media, because the above is out of time .

New era of conversational marketing through social media channels such as blogs, social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn), micro-blogging platforms (Twitter) and content-sharing sites (Flickr, YouTube, SlideShare), is taking a place  where traditional advertising was the player…

How to advertise ?

Advertising isn’t dead. It’s cycling back to the pre-advertising era when friends, family and the recommendations of people held in high regard influenced the purchasing decision. It’s about moving away from “communicating” to “having conversations.”

and you can do that on social media :

• Respond one to one
• Answer questions
• Address concerns
• Correct misconceptions
• Offer insights
• Point to other good sources of information

At the end its to enable clients and potential clients to better understand the marketplace and find valuable information that will help  them vs. sell them.