How To Market Effectively For 2020 And Beyond

Many years ago, the rule of thumb was to Write for Print, Record for Radio, Shoot for Television. It was hard manual work back in the day, but at least you know where you can find your customers.

Remember the yellow pages?  Who uses them anymore?

Nowadays, life is so different.

We started sharing recipes on social media. We started taking pictures of food with our phones. We started fast-forwarding through commercials on DVR’s. We started bidding on eBay. We started Googling for deals before we spent money.

We did these tasks whenever and wherever we wanted to.

At home. At work. At sunrise. At midnight. On a computer. On a tablet. On our mobile phones.

Suddenly, television wasn’t the only place to watch TV. Magazines weren’t the only way to read magazines. Newspapers were no longer necessary to get our news. The post office wasn’t the only way to get mail. Traditional radio wasn’t the only place to hear music.

You get the message.

Methods of communication has changed drastically over the last 20 years.

So you should ask yourself, “How do I market my business in today’s environment?”

That’s a tricky question, but we have some ideas. Big ones.

First: Forget what you think you know because it’s already obsolete.

The old world is ruled by history.

The new world is ruled by velocity, ingenuity and the evolution of technology.

Next: Stop advertising to customers and start engaging with people. As in actual people.

Think about what puts people off.

Don’t interrupt their favorite show, but give them something worth watching. Don’t just buy a page in the newspaper, but become newsworthy. Don’t yell answers, but listen to the questions.

Try to use your marketing time wisely by entertaining people with fun facts and humor.

Don’t always try to “sell” your business. Provide some value to keep them engaged.

People love to laugh. So engage with people and use your sense of humor.

You might bring them back with a few discounts, but they will stay for the entertainment.

Here’s another good example:

Influencer Marketing is trending fast because it works.

But you shouldn’t have to pay an influencer to do some marketing for you or your business.

Try becoming your own brand ambassador but stick to your corporate identity in appearance, demeanor, values and ethics.

Simply find some simple ways to represent your brand in a positive light to perpetuate your brand awareness and help increase sales.

Remember that technology changes, time marches on, but people –real people– mostly want the same things they’ve always wanted:

Information. Entertainment. Honesty.