In the world of online marketing, there are generally two broad strategies: “push” and “pull”. The former refers to actively spreading your message, often through concerted e-mail campaigns and leveraging large networks of peers. The latter refers to “attracting” people to your website, primarily through the use of Search Engine Optimization and social media. Rather than pushing your message out into the marketplace, you pull people in.

Some say that the future of marketing is only pull; others say that pull is merely hype, and that push will always matter most. We say the answer lies somewhere in between.

If pull were the only marketing strategy you needed, then presidential candidates would spend most of their time optimizing their websites for “Presidential Race 2008,” blogging, and creating YouTube videos and hoping people watch them. They wouldn’t send out emails giving campaign updates or asking for money. Rather, they would simply “attract” people to their websites

And they wouldn’t stand a chance at getting elected.

At the same time, in this day and age, if they ignored the dimension of pull marketing, and only focused on pushing their message out into web, they’d be at a significant disadvantage—they’d be missing out on a whole host of available media channels that enable them to interact more intimately and conversationally with constituents, and, in the process, build deeper trust and relationship.

Which is exactly what Barack Obama did in the 2008 presidential race. He leveraged all of the major social networks and social media sites early in the process. He taught his organizers how to use emerging media tools to spread the word about his campaign. Early in the race, he had the most followers on Twitter, the most fans on Facebook, and the most friends on MySpace out of all the candidates.

But he also wrote inspiring emails, asked frequently for donations from his subscribers, and sent regular campaign updates and promotions to deepen the engagement with his constituency.

By utilizing all channels—and being a remarkable, authoritative, transparent human being who people wanted to listen to and get behind—Obama was able to create an online strategy that, among other indispensable factors, led to his election as President of the United States of America—and raised half a billion dollars.

In Obama’s example, we can see the importance of an integrated online marketing strategy, and why both push and pull are essential components of any thriving online presence.