When you approach digital marketing do you try to be original or look at your competitors and try to be like everyone else? When it comes to marketing it is extremely important to be unique. You have to stand out to be noticed.
Do you ever fall into the trap of trying to keep up with everyone else?
I think that this is much easier to slip into than any of us may realize. Sometimes in the spring, I find myself rushing to mow the grass just because all of my neighbors have done it. When I stop and think about it, their actions should have no bearing on my own. Have you done this too?
It amazes me that I still talk to companies who are just now deciding that they “need” a Facebook page because everyone else has one. How have you been digital marketing before? When I ask them what they want it to do for them, they have no idea. Of course, this scenario doesn’t describe all people, but if you don’t have a Facebook page by now, you may be a bit late to the party. At least in the world of marketing.
Just because you create a page, it doesn’t mean that people are going to come to it.
The beauty and purpose of social media marketing is to participate in the conversations out there and to create brand awareness. The fact that human beings are social and thrive on interacting with one another has never changed. However, the environment in which we do it has. Most people that I talk to still don’t seem to grasp this perspective. They even want to blast everyone with traditional style ads. They’re failing to see the larger opportunity here.
One reason I believe that approach is a huge mistake is you should not be emulating the masses when it comes to marketing. Mainly because most people are doing the very same thing. They have no idea what they should be doing or even why they are trying to do it. They are also just following everyone else. This isn’t just some theory of mine though. I have found that coming up with theories doesn’t increase the revenue for my company. Due to this, I strongly prefer to develop my opinions after actually participating in something.
People who have never written a blog post still like to offer me advice on what I should have done differently with my book. They have no actual experience with what they are talking about. Digital marketing is the same in this regard. I know this based on many conversations that I have had with other business owners and with other people who call themselves marketers. Let me be clear here. I don’t pretend to know everything about marketing or anything else. But I am a student of this. Therefore, I can teach others based on what I have learned.
I communicate and act based on experience. Not based on what everyone else is doing or what someone else thinks that I should do. I hope all of this is super easy to follow because I am trying to help you and provide value to your business with the expectation of nothing in return.
How am I doing?
At the time that I am writing this, Instagram is a platform that no sane person should ignore although this may change at some point in the future. I think LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter are essential for content creators and for those who want to build strong brand awareness. How can anyone ignore YouTube and Snapchat though? Here is the bottom line. You need to know where your target demo spends time and how to reach them. No one else has the same business as you, so stop focusing so much on what they are doing and figure out what works for you.
This will require some effort and may also require you to spend some money to do it right. I don’t want to hear how busy you are because everyone is busy. Things are either important to you, or they’re not. Not having enough time is never the real problem, but your priorities are. I would love to hear where your focus is right now for digital marketing and what your thoughts are about the importance of social media for your brand. I will talk to you again next week.
“Digital Marketing That Actually Works” is your roadmap to understanding and implementing digital marketing that gets results
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