As social media marketing continues to grow in popularity online it has managed to capture the attention of the offline community as well. In many boardrooms, more serious consideration is being given to social marketing as part of the overall marketing strategy.

The phenomenal success this type of internet advertising has achieved is hard to argue or ignore.

Current marketing strategies still find 'conventional' advertising approaches being utilized such as television, radio and print. However with the cost efficient and highly effective channels online social media offers these 'conventional' offline methods are quickly becoming outdated. The only hurdle new online strategies seem to now face for offline application is good old fashion management skepticism.

Here is what likely can be expected in the not too distant future regarding the offline business community's adaptation to online marketing strategies.

Offline Marketing Budgets at Present

At present time there is little evidence of any significant spending by the mainstream offline business community on any type of internet advertising. It is inevitable however that the recognition of the effectiveness and cost efficiencies of marketing online is soon forthcoming in this area.

Witnessing the recent failures of many long time business giants due in part to their own marketing inefficiencies will only serve as a wake-up call to the rest of the business community. The aftermath of the recent economic downturn will only result in accelerating the shift of marketing strategies to the more effective and efficient avenues available online.

Increase in Online Spending

As offline businesses begin to shift their advertising spending towards the internet social marketing will get much attention due to the viral nature of this particular method.

Marketing online differs from traditional methods insofar as the consumer seeks out information on their own as opposed to having it presented to them. With that said the need for content, and lots of it, exists and must be supplied by the marketer to fill this need. This is crucial for the relationship building that is required to make this type of online marketing approach work.

Online Specialist Will Be Hired

Whether its video, audio, or text the supplied content will inform, entertain, and provoke thought in an effort to capture the attention and loyalty of the online viewer.

Sooner rather than later specialist for content development will have to be added to the staffs of offline businesses involved in online social marketing.

Ad copy and other messages created will be designed to catch viewers attention, initiate and maintain interest, develop trust and loyalty, and make product offers. This type of internet advertising is based more upon 'relationship marketing' as opposed to the 'hard selling techniques' associated with conventional offline marketing.

The Need for Public Relations will Diminish

Now that more emphasis is placed on searching the internet for breaking news there will be less need for conventional public relation tactics to 'create awareness.' The content developed and supplied to the internet will more than fill this gap resulting in cost savings and increased communication efficiencies.

Online Marketing Research will be Emphasized

By utilizing the give and take capabilities of web 2.0 marketing techniques the ability to get valued customer feedback can easily be accomplished. This cost effective and highly efficient means of collecting valuable input online will be a very significant benefit for research and development.

As a result offline efforts to collect similar data will be de-emphasized and regarded now as more cumbersome due to the cost and efforts required.

Social media marketing, as it stands today, continues to demonstrate new efficiencies that increase the effectiveness of communicating with the online consumer. Its popularity and acceptance can no longer be dismissed as a short term phase but rather needs to be recognized for what it is, the evolution of consumer marketing. This will result in a greater acceptance towards using online social media as a permanent fixture in a company's overall marketing strategy.