An expert on digital marketing tried to demystify the subject during a seminar session at the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference in Monterey, July 26-28.

Carisa Miklusak, who is the chief executive officer of New York-based tMedia, with that company name standing for “transmedia,” told the audience of foodservice operators and suppliers that their digital brand marketing should merely be an extension of their offline marketing program. “Define who you are offline before launching a digital campaign,” she said.

Miklusak discussed the power of digital media and told several case studies of tremendous marketing effects — both good and bad — that it has had on companies. But she continually came back to the same theme: Digital media is merely another avenue to communicate with one’s customers.

However, she did allow that digital media is a “customer-driven” medium. It is easy to understand that when considering restaurants and the many online review sites available, including yelp, foodspotting and foursquare. Each of these websites allows consumers to punch in their needs or wants in one way or another and be directed to specific places. For example, foodspotting lets a consumer who is interested in salmon that night to search for nearby restaurants that have salmon dishes. No doubt the site will highlight customer-posted pictures and reviews.

However, she said the restaurant operator can also “own” their own site and place their own pictures and promotional material. Miklusak said the entire pull and push dynamic of sales is changing with this instant information. Nonetheless she had many tips that companies can use to build their own digital platform and communicate with their customers.

She urged companies to consider what they do well offline and tell that same story online. If they are good at sales, customer service or product differentiation, tell that story through their website and digital marketing presence on the various sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

However, she said those looking for information on the website do respond to different dynamics. They want transparency, humanism and authenticity, she said, explaining how each of those concepts creates a real connection with the consumer.

A real world example, Miklusak said, is that in your communication on website the writer should not use words like “our company” or “organization”. “Use ‘I’, ‘me’ and ‘you’,” she said. Those personal pronouns connect with people in a genuine way, and that is what Web users want.

Miklusak said that the most important thing for a business to do before in getting involved in digital marketing is to build a business plan concerning their effort. And equally as important, she said, you need to know why you are doing it and what you are trying to accomplish so that your success can be measured. “It’s a myth that you can’t measure social media. If you know your goals, you can measure your success.”

In the end, her 90-minute session boiled down to a quick three-minute sketch in which Miklusalk used two audience volunteers to illustrate how one should enter the conversations currently taking place on the Internet. After all, “conversation” is one of the favorite buzz words when almost anyone is talking about digital marketing. It is often heard that companies want to join or control the conversation happening about them online. And experts are often advising companies that they need to get involved online because the conversation about their company is taking place with or without them.

Like any conversation, online or offline, Miklusak said you have to listen and participate before you can meaningfully add to the discussion. Her skit involved two people talking about going out and having an Italian dinner. Miklusak and her audience actors showed how barging in and trying to control that discussion just doesn’t work. First you have to listen to what’s going on. Next you need to participate by answering questions or just being part of the conversation, and finally you can create information and share with the rest of the group. In this specific skit, Miklusak was able to suggest a restaurant that the other two people might like after listening to their needs.

Digital media is that simple, she said.

Miklusak said the best place for a company to start the process of digital marketing is to go online for just a few minutes a day for a solid week and see what’s being said in the space in which they want to communicate. If the business is a restaurant, for example, the owner or manager can go on to these review sites and listen to what people are saying about their place. During week two, the business representative can start to join in and be part of the discussion. By week three, she said the business should have a good idea of what it is doing right and what it is doing wrong. At that point the owner should be in a good position to offer solutions to problems and stress their good points. In a nutshell, they can then start their digital marketing campaign.