Times are changing. One of my good childhood friends, Bob Dylan, put it this way…
Come gather ’round people
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
And you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’
Song by Bob Dylan
1964
The time to start swimming is now.
There is a common thought that cutting the marketing budget during an economic downturn is a way to save and cut costs to make it through a recession. History proves this is a horrible idea.
But today I bring you a contrarian thought!
You may need to cut your budget in certain areas. You may not be able to afford your full-time marketing person anymore. Your paid budget may be bloated and you need to creatively approach your social media, reviews, and content strategy.
Social strategy = Best Kept Secret
Social media is an incredible tool for storytelling. Social is where people spend most of their time. Social is like a movie, a feed of information to escape and to engage with funny, interesting, and engaging content.
The best thing your brand can do is to tell your brand’s story through social with comical, encouraging, informative, and helpful content.
“Going viral” used to be a rare and coveted thing to happen. With how social channels and organic algorithms are working, one small piece of content can rocket an individual or brand into visibility and awareness that used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
How humans have failed at communication
Remember the saying “you have 2 ears and 1 mouth.”
^ This saying is WILDLY relevant to social media.
So many brands create content to simply create. They don’t pay attention to current events, popular sounds, songs, or ideas. They just create for their own benefit and visibility. People see through the self-serving intention!
Let me say that again… People see through the self-serving intention!!!
Most brands “sink like a stone” as our pal Bob Dylan said above… They create content that doesn’t mean users are where they are. Content should be made for users based on where they are, how they are engaging with the internet, and in a fun and approachable and memorable way. We are all human after all!
Cutting to the chase
Your old ways of marketing won’t cut it. Your old approaches won’t work. Lazy marketing deserves to be cut. What has worked over the last 13 years in creating your growth won’t be the same playbook you used over the next decade.
The sooner you are intentional to connect with your audience and the internet at large, the more success you will find. Don’t get me wrong, target markets still matter, but we are talking “word of mouth” here.
Create fun, engaging, trust-building, and valuable content that relates to your audience. You will generate engagement, engagement leads to visibility, visibility to lead flow, and lead flow means “it is time to close some sales”.
We are here to help. Give us a shout below and we will help craft a strategy that won’t leave you sinking like a stone. Because the times are changing…