Is your company still relying on “traditional” marketing techniques and programs?  Are they working? How well trained are you in today’s marketing methods?  How well trained are your people?

As the world evolved more and more to the web over the past decade, marketing options have expanded greatly.  While traditional print, TV and live events have declined, there are dozens of “new media” tools now available that provide opportunities for creative and innovative marketing, such as:

• Your website – assuming it is kept up to date and is easily accessible – presents myriad ways to leverage your website.
• SEO (search engine optimization) – to enable the information on your website to be ranked higher in searches and therefore found easier by potential customers.
• PPC (pay per click) advertising – on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing (Microsoft).
• Email marketing – to existing customers who “opt-in” to receive your emails and to prospects through various opt-in databases.
• Webinars – web-based seminars using web and telephone technology to create interest in your products, services or company.
• Articles – placed on various online magazine sites as well as on your own site.
• Podcasts – short, downloadable audio streams on subjects related to your business.
• Social marketing tools – including Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace that enable you to both communicate and promote through accounts you establish, and Twitter, the latest social marketing tool which is taking the world by storm.

So how up-to-speed are you on all these marketing options?  Are you using them already?  When it comes to marketing, learning is a constant.  Someone is always inventing new ways to reach prospects, partners and customers.  With technology playing a bigger role, marketing is a continuous learning experience.  How do you keep up?

One way is through free and low-cost online learning courses.  Most take between 30 minutes to one hour to complete, plus with eLearning courses, you can stop and start at your convenience.