That was one of the main messages we picked up at the Third Annual Emerging Media Summit recently here in Louisville. The summit was put on by the International Association of Business Communicators’ Kentucky Chapter and the Louisville Digital Association. It was a great conference with a lot of good speakers.

Speaker Jason Falls discusses the role of games in social media

Here were some of the other big takeaways:

• Blogs are losing some of their influence as mobile marketing ascends. If you want to do any mobile marketing, you need to have a clutter-free, easy-to-navigate, mobile-optimized version of your web site.
• Technology is changing rapidly. What’s hot today might not be hot tomorrow. Don’t put too much stock in any one tool.
• In social media, no one person can know it all. Any organization involved in communications needs to have multiple people who are comfortable with social media.
• Use multiple approaches to reach out (QR codes, SMS texts, news releases, website, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and to listen to/quantify what people are saying online (social media monitoring tools, switchboard, surveys, etc.)
• Online health is a growing trend
• Gaming is a growing tool that is applicable to many clients

Tim Hayden of 44Doors compared social media to “the campfire in the village,” where a broad range of conversations is taking place. You can either join them or not, but the conversations are going on. Hayden said mobile marketing brings a new dynamic to communication that is liberating, rewarding and empowering – bridging the online world with the offline. The challenge is in harnessing it.

The use of QR codes in marketing has exploded, allowing smartphone users to wave their devices over a code that takes them to a website. Ergo, instant buy-in from the customer! But does it take the customer somewhere he or she wants to go? Is the site optimized for that little tiny screen the user has in his hand? Does it allow for a quick and seamless exchange of information with him? Does it offer him some sort of reward? Or does it take him to a home page that takes two minutes to load all the graphics, minuscule copy and a confusing array of links?

QR codes are being used for virtual grocery shopping in Korea, wine-brand rollouts in the U.S., restaurant deals, car-repair deals, traffic info, and much more. QR codes are even used as identifiers that could save your life. Say you have an accident and are found unconscious. Medical personnel could scan a code in your wallet that will instantly bring up your health-care history so you’re given the right kind of treatment – and not, for example, a drug to which you might be allergic.

Don’t be surprised if one day soon you walk into your favorite home improvement store and are greeted with an automated voice that says hello and asks if the power drill you bought last time is still working for you, and would you like to save 10% on power tools today?

Woods quickly issued a statement saying that he was embarrassed, that the “false, unfounded and malicious rumors” surrounding the incident are irresponsible, and that everyone should respect his privacy. But he repeatedly canceled interviews with the police, and he has refused to speak with the media.

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution allows defendants to decline to speak with authorities in order to avoid self-incrimination. Any good defense attorney will advise against a police interview it provides opportunities to quibble over holes, misstatements and inconsistencies in one’s story. So Woods was on solid legal ground as police continued their investigation.

But the court of public opinion differs from the court of justice. Whether you’re a famous golfer or a business owner facing hostile scrutiny, speculation flourishes when facts are in short supply. A wise public relations counselor knows that the subject of a news event has only a limited time in which to exert some control over the discussion. After that, the vacuum is filled with conjecture and innuendo – particularly in a media culture obsessed with celebrity and scandal. The National Enquirer and another publication had previously reported that Woods had been having an affair with a New York model and nightclub hostess.

And a few days after the crash, gossip site TMZ.com said Woods told a “non-law enforcement type” that the official story about the crash was wrong. According to “a source,” TMZ claimed, Woods’ wife had confronted Woods about reports that he was seeing another woman, scratched his face, and chased the car as he fled, smashing the windows.

”We’re also told,” TMZ said in breathless tabloid style, “Woods had said during the conversation Friday he had been taking prescription pain medication for an injury, which could explain why he seemed somewhat out of it at the scene.”

How much of that (possible domestic violence, possible impaired driving) is actually true is almost irrelevant in PR terms. The damage has been done. It might not be enough to hurt him in the long run, but it’s certainly provoking snickers for now.

When bad news erupts, New West advises clients to speak up immediately, state the obvious, indisputable facts, and say as much as you can in order to reduce the feeding frenzy.  Use your own social media tools to share your story. If the situation is complicated or involves third parties, then set a time and place when the media can expect an update.  That way the media aren’t forced to fall all over themselves to investigate, to land an “exclusive,” interviewing neighbors, friends, relatives, old girlfriends, high-school classmates, auto-shop repairmen, hairdressers, landscapers and the man on the street to uncover more dirt – whether relevant to the story or not.

Woods certainly has the right as a private individual to refuse to talk to the media, but as a major public figure is he doing the right thing for his image and reputation?

In the absence of a definitive explanation from Woods, questions will continue to swirl and Tiger Woods can expect to spend more time in the rough.

Bad idea.

While it might be tempting to trim an expense that doesn’t immediately add to the bottom line, fading into the background is never the path to success. Think about it: Does hunkering down increase your sales? Do you honestly think you’ll succeed in these hard times when fewer people are reminded of your goods or services?

Marketing now, while others are following the mob into the void, will allow your company to stand out and, most important, remain viable. And when the larger economy does reawaken, you’re well positioned for serious growth.

Marketing is not merely an expense, it’s an investment. The issue is how to invest shrewdly.

For example, this might be a good time to finally jump into the social media swimming pool. A well-designed, well-executed, frequently updated blog, Facebook page or Twitter account will help you accomplish two things – you can not only speak to your customers, you get to hear directly and immediately from them what they like and don’t like. In other words, you learn how to better meet their needs, so you can sell more of whatever you’re trying to sell.