A few days ago I was wandering through Internet marketing blogs looking for some applicable knowledge I could take take away. To be honest, there are a lot of very dull articles out there. Fortunately, Gary Vaynerchuck of Wine Library TV is a very entertaining presenter who shares his thoughts and insights on many subjects with the world using video. I have been a long time fan of Gary’s near-daily video podcasts reviewing wine, but I was largely unaware of his work in the field of Internet marketing.

This is where one of my new favourite online resources comes into play, the blog of R3R Web Business Consultants. A recent post by Jeremy Reither showcases one of Gary’s latest videos with regards to television vs. Internet marketing from a social perspective. Rather than rehash Jeremy’s post, I encourage you read his analysis of of Gary’s view on the power of social media.

As Jeremy eludes, the arguments Gary presents are both sensible and logical. The biggest Superbowl ads may reach hundreds of millions of viewers, but what is the quality of these viewers to the business. For example, I enjoy many beer ads I see on television, but I almost never buy a specific brand of beer just because of their ads – this shows that my viewing is of little value to them. If the ad itself is entertaining I may discuss it with friends and family, but this grand experience I may have had in viewing will soon be lost. I may think “Hey!! Jody will love this ad, I will have to tell him about it!”, unfortunately, in most cases I will forget to share as my excitement quickly subsides.

Now, let’s take this argument and apply it to online advertising. If I see the exact same ad I saw on television, but now online, I can share the link with as many friends as I wish very quickly using social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Del.icio.us, etc. Many of these individuals would have never watched the ad on their own, but because of my recommendation they most likely will. This time, rather than forgetting to share, the link has already been sent to dozens of people at the height of my excitement using a variety of social media. This still does not take into address the quality of my viewership, however, from my experience I find that I am drawn to ads for products that I already use and enjoy. Sure, the Bud Light ad I view online still adds no value to their company as I do not consume their products, but the Alexander Keith’s ad I see gets spread around to my network quickly as I want to share a product I know and love.

Television can hit millions of viewers in a single blow, but online brand promotion uses a network of individuals to spread itself to interested consumers that may very well be within the target market.

Feel free to watch Gary Vaynerchuck’s video below or hit up Jeremy’s post for his take.

Be sure to check back soon as I will discuss how easy it can be for any business to build an online presence at no-to-little cost.