As I hope you're aware, marketing is changing and it's time you considered your options.
1. Recognize the changing landscape and adapt.
2. Die a slow and miserable death.
Most tend to lean towards #1.
Whether you're a large corporate brand like Audi, IBM, or Sprint, a regional business, or a small business trying to make it in a new economy - you need to recognize how marketing your business is changing and how you can leverage that change to improve your business. That's right, it doesn't have to be a monumental feat and you don't have to be a "web guru" to figure it out. You simply have to be willing to learn and change. So here we go:
Traditional Media is not dead, it's changing.
Many self proclaimed thought leaders, social media moguls, and digital marketing experts have been pushing their agenda that traditional media, specifically print ads, are dead for some time now. Although this may be the case down the road it is certainly not the case today. The aging population (traditional media consumers) is far too big. Traditional media is not dead, but evolving.
If you operate a business that invests in traditional media I would urge you to consider making some slight adjustments to your current strategy. The following steps will help you get started down the yellow brick road.
Establish a strong online presence that includes a regularly updated website (a blog accomplishes this), twitter, facebook, and linkedin (primarily B2B).
- Utilize tools like Hoot Suite to help you manage all your social networking profiles from one dashboard. Spend 20 min two times a day reviewing and responding to @Reply's, DM's, sharing articles, starting dialogues with interesting people, and tracking topics important to your business.
- Begin integrating interactive media into your traditional marketing initiatives. Offer "
Like Us on Facebook and receive a 20% discount on your next order" in your radio and TV ads, implement a QR code (that's one to the right) in your next print ad that directs customers to a promotional landing page or your Facebook page, etc... Click here to check out this cool video from AXA about how they made one of their print ads interactive. Remember, this does not need to be as creative as AXA. You can simply encourage people to engage your business online and give them an incentive for doing so.
- Research and engage in digital marketing workshops, seminars, tutorials, instructional videos, how-to's, etc to learn the ropes and become more efficient and effective with your digital marketing.
The Magic
Every customer and potential customer you entice into liking you on Facebook, following you on Twitter, subscribing to your YouTube channel, or joining your email list is now a digital asset and most importantly a buyer that you no longer have to pay to advertise too. Used correctly this marketing strategy alone can help transform your business and move you and your profits into the digital age.
Yours in Service,
@BrettRelander
Tactical Marketing Labs