On The Web: Don't Just Make Friends

There are, however, other ways to use engagement marketing to drive sales. The offline world is full of successful business models, and some savvy e-comms have begun adapting these models to the online world. Con-
sider how some offline, broadcast entities have engaged consumers:

• "American Idol" If you tune into this popular program, you know that vast numbers of people vote for their favorite performers and then watch to see how others voted. Viewers become an integral part of the show.
• Talk Radio show listeners are encouraged to call in and participate in conversations on subjects ranging from sports to cooking to cars. Again, callers become a key part of the show.

There's an unsettling number of other offline examples. They're unsettling because online marketers are supposed to be innovative, yet many of them lag behind media that's not nearly as interactive and far-reaching as the Web. We're caught up in social media and missing the e-commerce applications of engagement marketing.