The active free market is one of the most unpredictable aspects of our society…well, sometimes the weather may be a very close second.
Over the last 15 years of business, we’ve seen a huge shift in how we strategically market our small businesses. There were the days when we bought a monthly subscription to the local radio station to play a 30-second spot on the most popular hit station or bought a full page ad in the local newspaper and expected a parade of customers to call by next Tuesday.
The world is not like that anymore.
Traditional Media vs Digital Marketing
With traditional media, imagine you have a large megaphone shouting your business’ message to all that are near. That’s the simple version of how mass media works. It yells to the masses with no apparent strategy behind it. There’s this hope that your message, through traditional media, will be heard by the exact audience you’re wanting to spread it to.
The surge of commercial-free radio platforms, like Pandora, Spotify and iHeart Radio, invites our society to be less encumbered by advertisements telling you that you have to do this or that. More than just radio, many people even record different television shows and simply fast forward through the commercials–except for the Super Bowl ones, of course.
I’m not saying traditional media is dead, but someone should probably check the radial artery for a pulse.
If you haven’t figured out by now, I’ve been throwing some real shade on traditional media. I’m not a bully, and I should respect the elderly way of marketing your small business; however, the free market doesn’t care about your algorithms of how you think you construct clients and new customers. I’m simply giving you advice to make the jump to digital marketing and learn how to talk to your ideal clients.
Let’s go back to that megaphone we were talking about earlier in this piece. Again, imagine that same megaphone, but flip it around so your ideal audience is engaging with you and your business. That is how social media works. Thanks. Mark!
The conversations and dialogue are controlled by the users of the platform to funnel straight down to your business. Of course, you have to put in the work with the right content, the right message and the right time to have the engagement you’re wishing.
Social media is just your first stop in your digital marketing journey. Use this quick checklist to see where your business’ marketing is:
**This checklist could continue until the end of time. Let’s just start with these ones.
InnerAction Media | Digital Marketing Agency in Morgantown, WV
Marketing can be an intimidating thing to tackle on your own. Before you venture off and try it, view some business’ sites similar to yours in outside markets; Boston, Chicago, California, etc. That’s a great place to begin. Jot down the assets you like and dislike. Then, you’re going to give us a call, and we’ll take the torch from there.
If you have 30-minutes, then please take full advantage of the free 30-minute marketing audit that our marketing experts will take you through. I’ll one up that and invite you to a Marketing Blue Print meeting. Our marketing team will meet with you and your team to take you in as a client for two hours and lay out a marketing plan. If you have questions about where to start, just call, and we’ll help!
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