“Traditional Marketing is Dead….”

There. I said it. You’ve probably known it too, but it’s true.  Some would argue that the fundamentals of marketing have even changed.  I do know that the medium for marketing has definitely changed.  

Online is where it’s at. With Facebook having over 2 billion monthly users—approximately 27% of the world’s current population—and Instagram growing exponentially, this is where your customers are to be found.  If you’re a B2B company,  LinkedIn is still a viable means for lead generation.  And with their platform acting like a mini-Google, posting content on there is a great way to get attention and become a thought leader in your industry.   

The new norm is relationship marketing.  We’ve heard that buzzword for years but it’s done differently today.  It’s done on social media which is the internet.  We’re fighting for attention online, first and foremost.  The online marketplace is extremely cluttered and hyper-competitive.  

Once we have the attention of our audience, the task then becomes to connect with them, engage them and continue to provide content that they want.  What content is that?  It’s different for every business and industry.

Content is Everything

And there’s no easy way to determine it but to continually test different forms, monitor it and then adjust accordingly.  “Test, monitor, adjust” is an ages-old marketing concept that hasn’t changed.  We’re just using it in a different medium. 

Content itself has changed the marketing game as well. In the “good old days” we had text only.  Then cassette tapes came into being and audio was a viable means of disseminating information that was convenient to listen to anytime.  Whether driving, going for a walk, etc., it was an easy way to consume information. 

Cassettes were then replaced by CD’s and finally digital downloads. Now, we have added the visual element of YouTube and other video platforms like Vimeo and we have another way to consume content. 

Facebook gives preference to native video content also (video that hasn’t been uploaded to YouTube or other platforms first) and if you can get  your viewers to watch your for just three seconds, it will get seen even more. 

Short Copy vs. Long Copy

There’s been some debate about long-form copy coming back.  I think this is definitely a possibility but only after building your tribe, developing a relationship with them and providing real value consistently before asking them to buy from you.  Only then will they take time to read your long-copy landing page trying to sell your product or service. 

On most platforms, it’s better to play it safe and make your content short, concise and relevant to your audience. 

Which Social Media Platforms?

In a perfect world, businesses would post videos regularly on YouTube several times a week, post pics and videos on Instagram a minimum of three times a day, Twitter 8-10 times daily and Facebook, at least 3 posts daily as well. They would also regularly write relevant articles on LinkedIn and blog at least 3 times a week as well.  

But most small businesses don’t have the time or the budget to do this so I suggest picking out one or two platforms to concentrate on and go deep into them.  Your target market will determine which platforms in which to provide content regularly. 

Everybody is on Facebook and Facebook Ads are what Google Adwords were 15 years ago.  They’re still very under-priced and a great way to reach your audience.  They can also be highly targeted to your particular demographic.  Even if you don’t use Facebook Ads, you can still build your tribe on there with a business page and use it in conjunction with your personal page. 

Instagram is the fastest-growing platform behind Facebook. It’s audience skews younger but the boomers and an older demographic is catching up.  It’s image and video based and should be considered to use to build a tribe and get your business noticed. 

Twitter, in my humble opinion, is still viable, but not as popular as it once was. It’s a great way to interact with people in your niche but it’s very crowded and I predict will be even less important as a platform in the near future. 

Regardless of which platforms you decide to use to promote and build your business, just start building NOW!  The world is undergoing a huge technological shift because of the internet and new technologies including artificial intelligence, artificial and virtual reality and autonomous vehicles have changed the way we live.  And the way a business markets itself has been impacted as well.  Things are moving rapidly and savvy businesses are getting on the online train.