Children up and down the country had to be cuddled to sleep last Wednesday night as they learned that their local cinema would not be showing Alice in Wonderland, the new Disney movie directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The Odeon chain of cinemas had thrown its toys out of the pram because Disney had decided to release the DVD just 12 weeks after the movie started its run in cinemas, instead of the usual 17 weeks. So, the Odeon banned the movie saying they couldn't afford to show it.

Within 24 hours, they appeared to realise the couldn't afford NOT to show it and so relented, agreeing to a "deal" which is rumoured to have the DVD out just 13 weeks after the film's release. Meanwhile, as the Odeon was locked in talks with Disney, hundreds of Tweets appeared on Twitter and over 20 "boycott" groups appeared on Facebook with over 3,000 members. People were not happy.

Yet, it seemed the Odeon chain was oblivious. How do I know? Well I teased them on Twitter. I wrote a couple of Tweets, mentioning the word "Odeon" - an easy one for them to pick up. As yet, they haven't been in touch. But Cineworld, their rival, has, wishing me a nice time when I go to see the movie. What Cineworld seem to realise, which the Odeon hasn't yet made apparent, is the fact that we all live in a multimedia world these days. We don't just go to the cinema to watch a movie; we discuss it on Twitter, on Facebook. We blog about it and we criticise it, openly.

In the past, that all happened behind closed doors as we trashed a movie over dinner with our friends, for instance. Nowadays, it's all open and in public. And so is your business. You might not know it if you're not on Twitter, but people could be talking about you online. They might even be saying nice things about you on Facebook, but if you never go there you'll never know. But what if they are saying nasty things about your business, your products or your services? Then what?

Gone are the days when everything was in "straight lines". In the past you could, for instance, run a local newspaper campaign to promote your business. That was great, because the people in your area only ever read your local newspaper for local information. Now, they go online, they chat to their friends and the have local searches set up in Twitter. If you run an "old fashioned" local paper campaign, you could be missing out on the impact of the online component - or you could also find your money is wasted as everyone online is telling each other how dreadful your company is.

New research published today shows how integral the internet now is in our lives. According to this study, 59% of people get their news from multiple sources - a mix of online, TV, radio and print. In fact, online news has now taken over print as a delivery mechanism for news. It is a further indiciation of the pervasive nature of the web and how we all live in a multimedia world.

That's something that appears to have eluded the Odeon group, as they seem to have ignored the Twitter discussions about them. Thousands of people probably now think negatively about them, when, perhaps, they could be the best cinema experience in the land. However, Cineworld, has demonstrated a clear understanding of the multiple media worlds in which we now exist. Their response to my Tweet about Alice in Wonderland, could well have won them many fans. In other words, with a single Tweet, Cineworld has won on points as far as online reputation is concerned.

But that in itself is a surprise. Cinemas - and this may be why the Odeon is slow on the Twitter uptake - appear not have realised we have lived in a multimedia world for years before the Internet. Why is it you can't buy "the book of the film" in the foyer of your local cinema? Why is it that I can't buy the DVD as I leave the cinema? They have a captive, positive audience who would buy books, DVDs, T-shirts and all sorts of memorabilia and merchandise. So why don't cinemas have a "film shop", instead of pic 'n mix and popcorn? Is it because they haven't realised that film goers also like reading, for instance? Or what about selling CDs of the soundtrack? Why on earth do cinemas make us walk down the High Street to get the soundtrack? They are effectively saying: "yes, it's OK, we're happy for you take your money elsewhere - we love HMV as well."

Cinemas haven't changed since I was a film reviewer back in 1979. They still think in old ways - in spite of the world having changed around them. Luckily, at least, Cineworld appears to be aware of the multimedia world we now inhabit. But are you? Is your business still stuck  - or is it living in the new multiple media world? If you are not using social media AND other channels, you are certain to be missing out. And that means your business could suffer - and then it could then be your own children you have to cuddle to sleep as they worry you won't be able to afford a cinema ticket, even if they are showing the latest movie.

If you are a fan of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) look away now; you are about to be offended. Good - notice the embedded command? OK, what I'm about to reveal shows that the entire basis of NLP could be false. The evidence that we are either "visual", "auditory" or "kinaesthetic" is scant, to say the least. True, there is some evidence that supports this notion, but equally there is psychological research which finds against it.  Yet, you know, that you tend to think in particular ways; you might imagine things when you think - a visual process. Or you might like to fiddle with things or write notes to help you get your mind around things - a kinaesthetic process. So, at first sight there does seem to be "something" in it.

But like much popular psychology that "something" appears to be much more complex. A recent review of the literature suggests that these different styles of thinking might well exist, yet their practical value is, as yet, in doubt. In other words, there's plenty of room for more research on the topic, giving years of grants to university psychology departments; brilliant.

Whatever the NLP fanatics and the academic psychologists might debate about learning styles, you know what works for you. In spite of seemingly respectable studies which might suggest we learn in all the different "styles", choosing ones that are appropriate to specific circumstances, you know that you concentrate on one of them - whether it is visual, or otherwise.

The same is true for marketing. Whatever the marketing "experts" might tell you in terms of research as to what works, you still concentrate on one main type of marketing because it is what works for you in your specific circumstances. You might find that your abilities in creating "word of mouth" are substantial and so you focus on that. But someone else in the same industry sector might get just as much business by using, say, postcard marketing alone.

Much like learning style theory, there is no "right or wrong" in marketing; what works, works. Simple.

But online, things are different. Because internet marketing is in its infancy compared with "word of mouth" or public relations, online business owners are looking constantly to successful internet marketers to tell them what style of online marketing they should do.

So, you end up with three styles of internet marketing. There are the "copycats" - people who keep a close eye on other internet marketers and merely copy what they do. That's why the web is full of seemingly endless sales letters. Someone made it successful once and the copycat marketers have rushed on board.

Then there are the "chameleons" - these are people who keep trying to change, but end up going back to what they've always done. They try a bit of "social media" for a week or two, give that up, then try "pay per click", give that up and then return to networking marketing because "they know that works". They keep changing their colours, but always return to their natural state.

Finally there are the "innovators" - these are internet marketers who do something truly different and unique. They've tried copying and discovered that was limiting, they's tried the "old ways that work" but got bored and so they come up with new ideas. They invent. Amongst the innovators are the inventors of Google, for instance, or the programmers of some of the more unusual iPhone Apps.

So what kind of internet marketer are you? Are you a copycat, a chameleon or an innovator? What's clear is that the most successful and most profitable internet marketers are the innovators. The copycats might like to tell you they earn millions and show you their PayPal account summary to impress you, but it is all short-lived. They have to find someone else to copy when their bubble is burst. And the chameleons may as well not bother with the internet anyway because they just want things the way they always worked before this internet stuff got in the way. If you want real, significant online success, you need to throw away those old-fashioned ways of thinking - doing the same as always, or just copying - and truly innovate. And you can do that no matter what your supposed learning style is.

This may be "pop psychology", suggesting there are just three kinds of internet marketers, but the chances are you can fit yourself into one of the styles - just like you can fit yourself into one of the so-called learning styles suggesteed by NLP. So, rather like NLP, it doesn't matter much whether this three-fold style of internet marketing exists. What matters is that we all think about what we are doing in termsof internet marketing. Because once we think about the way we are doing it, the chances are we can improve it. But if we don't think, the chances of improving are zilch.

Reports of the death of email have been grossly exaggerated. For quite some time now, various pundits have been suggesting that email will die quite soon. However, a comprehensive study of email has shown that we love it. Indeed, the very thing that was supposed to kill off email - social networking - has actually made us love email more. People who use social networks are more likely to repeatedly check their emails than people who don't use the likes of Facebook or Twitter.

Furthermore, the research shows that the time spent on emails each week has not gone down; rather it has remained relatively static in the past year. So, what does this imply? It suggests that you shouldn't take your "eye off the ball". Even though social networking has considerable value to online businesses, email persists as an important communications vehicle. Many internet marketers report that their greatest conversion rates come from emails, rather than from web pages. Email marketing is the method most likely to bring results.

What this study actually reveals is that people now exist in a multi-communication world. It means you can no longer do web marketing OR email marketing OR social media marketing. Instead, it has to be completely integrated. Before the internet came along, marketing gurus would tell us that we needed a "marketing mix". Nowadays that mix needs to include more communications vehicles than ever before. And that means you have more "balls to juggle" than ever before. So how can you do it?

Well, because "integrated marketing" is such a hot topic you could head off to several major universities to do a Masters degree in the subject; who wants an MBA when you can do a Masters in Integrated Marketing. Soon, employers won't want those old MBA-ers, they'll be looking for those shiny new MIM-ers. But if you don't want to get extra letters after your name you could sign up for the online courses and research studies that abound on the whole subject. You could spend hours on end reading white papers, delving into the specialist websites and getting to grips with this new topic.

Or you could realise that "integrated marketing" is what successful businesses have been doing for donkeys years, even before the internet came along. When marketing is truly integrated it is the heartbeat of your business; everything is seen as marketing by you and your staff. It affects your strategic decisions, it impacts upon your choices of employees and it influences your every move within your business - often at a subconscious level.

The issue, really, is that too many businesses - particularly in the online world - see marketing as something that you "do" when you want new customers or when you have the time or the extra cash available. Companies set up marketing "campaigns" as though you can stop and start marketing at will. You can't; your business is being marketed every moment of the day in one way or another. Merely existing as a business is marketing.

So, rather than looking for fancy ideas or latching onto new trends, perhaps all that is needed for online business success is a change in mental attitude. Instead of seeing marketing as "email marketing", "pay per click", "list building" and so on, marketing ought to be perceived as the very essence of your corporate being. "I market, therefore I am."

How much do you like being called "traffic"? For that's what most website owners think you are. To them you are just a number. They can look at their analytics and go "wow, traffic is up year on year; excellent". You can find all sorts of information across the web about "how to increase your traffic", or "easy ways to get more traffic" - including from "big guns" like Microsoft. You can even buy website traffic.

It's the same in the retail world for many shops; all they are interested in is "footfall". They want to know how many people are visiting their shop, in just the same way as online businesses want to know how many people visited their site. But focusing on traffic is nonsense; it's the wrong place to start your online business considerations.

In the 1960s British TV series, The Prisoner, "Number Six" tells us "I am not a number, I am a free man". We hate being numbers - just being part of "traffic", or "footfall". And when as a business you concentrate on traffic or footfall you begin to lose sight of one important fact: these are people, not numbers. Chasing traffic influences the way you think about your website visitors and then it affects what you do and how you treat them.

Consider shops that treat you as an individual; do you like those shops? Or do you prefer going into stores where you are clearly just another statistic? And what about websites that treat you personally? Do you prefer them to the sites that emblazon their statistics of the number of visitors they have in some little "badge of honour"? The sites that have their stats on show, or who don't connect with you as an individual have probably focused on numbers, on traffic. Whereas the sites that treat you as an individual probably start with the notion of connecting and making relationships.

The not so curious fact is that when you make relationships you will get the traffic simply because people like you. Whereas if you focus on traffic you are in a never-ending battle to win new people over all the time. The only way you can increase your traffic is to constantly focus on traffic, looking for tricks and techniques that get more people to your site. And true, you can get millions of people to your site using many of these techniques. But, rather like retail footfall, what's the point of all those visitors if they do nothing while there?

By focusing on website traffic, many businesses are not making as much money online as might be possible for them. That's because they need to generate even more traffic each year in order to make more money. But the people who create relationships are more easily able to make increased profits because the visitors who have relationships with them are likely to spend more because they like the company. In other words, going the traffic route is like being on a non-stop treadmill. You need to constantly keep battling away to stop your competitors stealing your traffic or to stop your traffic from diverting into other websites. But by building relationships you avoid all this.

Relationship marketing, of course, is nothing new. But when you focus your web efforts on traffic, you are relegating relationships to a lower level. Your traffic will become quality, money-making traffic when you concentrate on building relationships. And if you think that's a daft idea, take a look at what the likes of Dell and Starbucks do to build relationships, rather than traffic. It works for them.Oh, and it gets them traffic too. In other words these successful businesses get website traffic by focusing on relationships first and traffic second. If your concerns for your website are all about traffic, then try changing your stance. Start by focusing on the relationships and the traffic will follow. But by then you won't be calling these people "traffic", you'll be thinking of them entirely differently - customers, readers, people, community, call them what you will, but they'll no longer be "numbers" to you and that means you will treat them entirely differently.

Go on, have a guess...what do you think the three most profitable words in the history of marketing are? These words allow companies to sell TWICE as much product as we actually want. And the words are used to sell product we don't even need in the first place. What a fantastic trick that is...! The companies are selling us unnecessary stuff - twice over...! Worldwide we buy $40bn of these products. That is a nice income for something that's not even vital...!

The three words you are looking for are "rinse and repeat". They are printed on the back of every shampoo bottle under the title "Directions" or "Instructions". And when we are provided with such authoritative words we behave; we do as we are told. So, we dutifully wash our hair...and then wash it again..! We end up using two lots of shampoo when one will do. Fantastic for the likes of Unilever and Proctor & Gamble who sell oceans of shampoo each year. In fact, we don't need shampoo at all. The natural oils in your scalp will clean your hair - washing your bonce actually removes much of the naturally occurring cleaning capability. Stop washing your hair and around six weeks later your head will be back to normal and your hair will become naturally cleansed. Of course for six weeks you'd have to hang around rather smelly and dirty - but hey, it will save you money.

The shampoo manufacturers are playing on a psychological phenomenon whereby we act in accordance with instructions if we perceive the person giving those directions to be in authority. We reckon the shampoo manufacturers must know what they are talking about and if they say we need to "rinse and repeat" there "must be a reason", so we do it - using up our bottles of shampoo twice as quickly. Ker-ching...goes the cash till over at Unilever or P&G again...and again. "Rinse and repeat" - probably worth more extra income than any other words in marketing.

But what lesson does it teach us online? After all, you can hardly force your web-based customers to buy twice as much of your products or services as they need. It's not as easy to do the "rinse and repeat" trick if you are, say, an accountant, or a restaurant. "You've eaten one meal, now eat another..." - it's not going to be that attractive to customers is it? Or, "I've checked your VAT, now you must ask me to do it again"...is not quite going to have the impact you want as an accountant is it?

However, by positioning yourself as being the authority figure you can get more business out of your customers by providing them with "directions" or "instructions". For example, if you are perceived by your customers to know what you are talking about, to have done research in your sector and to be an expert in the field they will then be amenable to being instructed what to do. So, imagine you are a lawyer who has helped draw up a standard contract and terms of business for a company. Job done. But if you are the lawyer and you say to the client "Now, having produced that contract you need to get it certified by the Institute of Contracts", guess what, the client will say "Ah, that will be helpful, thank you". Hey presto, another £250 for the lawyer for something that is a "nice to have" not a "need to have".

Notice that the lawyer in this example does not ask if the person would like it done. Nor do they say that they have another service for "contract certification" on offer. No, the lawyer merely instructs the client that this is the next thing to be done. In essence, our legal brain is no better than a bottle of shampoo. However, they can only do this if the client perceives the lawyer to be authoritative.

So, if you want to make more money from the internet, you can do so if you instruct or direct your clients. But they will only accept the "rinse and repeat" offer if you have established yourself as an authority in your field. And that requires time and effort. True, you can make money fast online - but a more sustainable income comes from being an authority who can then get people to buy even more from you. Set out to be an authority on your topic, to be an expert, to be the "go to person" on your subject. Then when people are your clients they will do as you say, without being asked. And that's how you can become even more profitable.

Shoppers flocked to the sales in Britain yesterday in the hope of getting a bargain. Today, more retailers open their doors to a predicted stampede of bargain-hunters. What's going on? Have people suddenly got loads of money in their pockets in spite of the worst financial year on record? Are the shoppers going back to credit? Is the impending VAT rise really a worry to them?

It's potentially all of these, but probably something much simpler. Every year people rush to the shops after the Christmas break; this is nothing new. The real reason is we want to engage with the world again. Christmas shuts us away; people are only really engaging with close family, pigging out on turkey and chocolate. Going shopping provides a break. An interviewer on BBC Radio this morning asked bargain-hunters why they were hitting the sales - "it's a day out," said a happy shopper.

And therein lies the problem for internet marketers and its an issue that many online businesses have yet to grapple with. Our desire to be with other people, to experience the physical world with them and share our time with them means that the notion of people doing everything online is simply false. The UK Government, for instance, revealed in its latest Pre-Budget Report that it intends to drive more public services online in a bid to save money. In principle that sounds fine, but in reality the real reason why many people visit the passport office, or the local DVLA centre, or to pay their council tax directly to their local authority is because it is an excuse for a "day out". Doctors will tell you that their surgeries are full of people who have nothing much wrong with them, but they go to their GP because it is a social outing.

The Boxing Day sales are just another example of this; we love being with other people - physically. Plus, when it comes to buying things we love to touch them.

The idea that people will be happy with the convenience of doing all their shopping online, or that they will love being able to complete forms online to save a visit to their local council, for instance, is a false notion. People like being with other people and anything that provides them with a reason - or an excuse - for doing this will be exploited by them. Many "shoppers" will have visited the sales in the past two days and returned home with empty bags, but saying they had a lovely time. They didn't go shopping - they just wanted a break from being cooped up.

So, what opportunities does your online business provide your customers with to physically engage with your business or with each other? How much "real world" interaction is there in your business? If you believe that you only need an online presence and that the "real world" is somewhat old-hat, you could be facing a future of limited income. The really successful online businesses are those which combine the online with the physical and provide their audience with an opportunity for "a day out".

Customers like to look sales people in the eyes. They love to see if they are genuine, or if the sales person is trying to pull a fast one. Few major purchases are completed without personal contact. And even for small things, we often prefer to be physically connected to someone, rather than buy it from a machine.

If this were not the case, how come there are queues in every bank, when there is a machine outside that does almost everything you need and online systems to do everything else? Much banking is still face-to-face because people like to deal with a person, not a machine. Equally most books are bought in physical bookshops. In 2008 only 13.4% of all books bought in the UK were purchased online; 92% of people do not buy from Amazon. In spite of the phenomenal success of online book sales, most people still prefer to buy their books from a real person.

When you are running an online business it is often all to easy to focus your attention to selling via your website and neglect the potential for face-to-face selling or marketing. Interesting then, that the online marketing gurus at HubSpot have produced a report which shows how important face-to-face is, even in the age of dramatically increasing online social networking.

The study shows that seven out of ten businesses rate face-to-face marketing as more valuable than webcasts, email marketing or any form of online advertising. Furthermore, the study shows that having a website and taking part in social networking sites is only rated marginally better. In other words, after 20 years of the web and five years of social networking, being "out there" with your customers and potential customers is still highly valuable.

So, what can you do about this if you are an exclusively online business? Well, start considering how you can engineer face-to-face contacts with people. Why doesn't Amazon, for instance, run local reading clubs? That would get them off the web and into the community, meeting customers and potential customers face-to-face. Similarly, if you run some kind of online consultancy how about turning it into training courses that extend what you do online. That way you'd be "out there" in the physical world engaging with your customers more.

It doesn't matter much what kind of business you are in or what you sell online, getting involved in face-to-face marketing and selling is invaluable. After all, even the porn industry has expos (don't click on that link if you are easily offended). The buzz about online marketing and social networking should not distract you; one of the most important things you can do to boost your business is meet more customers and potential customers face-to-face - they like it.