The best marketing tips and tricks vary from industry to industry. Marketing is a complex process that requires a lot of time and effort. However, the best marketing tips and tricks all have on thing in common: they require an in depth understanding of the Goals, Desires and Problems facing your niche market.
Creating a successful marketing marketing strategies begins and ends with knowing your target audience. This is critically important if you want to find small business marketing success with blogs. However, it can be difficult to get outside your head and into the heads of your target customers. Instead many chase after the “softer, easier way.” In today’s social media wilderness, the softer easier way is known as Viral Marketing.
Creating a viral marketing message is the holy grail of modern marketing. When it works, the results can be amazing. Of course, this is assuming that you’ve already built the foundation to be able to process the high volume of sales or subscriptions viral marketing can drive. Unfortunately, when viral marketing doesn’t work, the best case scenario is that no one notices. The worst case scenario is that the buzz generated is negative.
Marketing Tricks and Tips
Storytelling is a powerful tool in marketing. Storytelling can be used to create a connection with the audience. It can make them feel like they are part of the story.
The best stories are those that have a clear beginning, middle, and end. They should also have an emotional connection with the audience.
On the surface, a 2009 campaign orchestrated by Naked Communications on behalf of the Australian fashion designer Witchery met this criteria. The agency was behind a fake video that appeared on YouTube featuring “Heidi”. She was supposed to be a girl who was trying to find the man who left his jacket in a café. While it was engaging, this wasn’t a story with a happy ending.
Quickly outed as a fake, the video attained viral status for all the wrong reasons. People felt like they had been played. This left Naked and Witchery with a social media mess. Adam Broitman wrote in a now deleted post:
But the bottom line is that it is a farce, and I am sure that those who were fooled by it did not enjoy finding out that:
1. Their dream girl with the coat is a corporate shill, or
2. This reverse-Cinderella storybook tale was nothing more than corporations abusing our emotions.
OUCH!
When viral marketing goes awry
According to an article on Mumbrella, Naked Communications commissioned independent research at their own expense in response to the backlash. In the article, Naked Communications’ CEO spends a lot of time defending the campaign. Even while was claiming victory, he did admit that things had “gone awry” from the unexpected viral nature of the ad. The final result: the planned follow-up “episodic videos” and print ads were cancelled.
NOTE: To put this into marketing “victory” in perspective, you need to know that an ad agency only makes money when a client spends money on advertising. Naked Communications commissioned a poll to defend the “success” of the initial video. I’m certain the goal was not to silence their critics. Instead, I’d guess that it was an attempt to try to keep the save the planned follow up videos and print ads. The fact the rest of the campaign had to be cancelled means this was anything but a financial success.
Marketing tips and tricks for primitive terrain
While 2009 seems like a lifetime ago, the internet hasn’t become more civilized since then.
Business and warfare share a lot of similarities. It’s no coincidence that business leaders often apply the principles of war to the execution of business operations.
A documentary on the history of Alaska illustrated why you need to understand your niche market.
When the Japanese invaded the Aleutians Islands during WWII, the 1st Alaskan Combat Intelligence Platoon played a pivotal role in the determining the outcome of war.
When Army Generals were assessing the Alaskan terrain, they were horrified by the harsh climate and the lack of “modern” essentials. At the time, Alaska lacked paved roads and an effective means of widespread communication. These two obstacles both made defense of the Aleutians Islands a seemingly impossible task.
Creating a niche product: Alaskan Scouts
Colonel Lawrence V. Castner created a niche product for the defense of the Aleutians Islands. Instead of using traditionally trained soldiers, he chose men skilled at thriving in the tough conditions of the Alaskan wilderness. Castner didn’t enforce traditional standard military procedures on these men. He organized a unit that required minimal outfitting and operated at maximum efficiency. The press dubbed them “Castner’s Cutthroats” but the band preferred the name Alaskan Scouts.
Traditionally trained soldiers were the standard “product” during WWII. The defense of the Aleutians Islands required a niche product. As a result, these brave men were instrumental in defeating the Japanese during the Aleutian Islands Campaign.
While the Alaskan terrain in the 1940’s may have been primitive, it wasn’t nearly as harsh as today’s online environment. It’s especially harsh for anyone who is not authentic in their dealings with customers.
Three participants in your marketing campaign
There were three participants in the WWII battle for Alaska: the US, the Japanese and the weather.
Today, there are three participants in your marketing campaign: You, your customers and the rest of the internet.
There are tens of millions of bloggers seeking a story. Your social media misstep may become the focus of the next wave of viral communications.
Respect your target audience
You’ll never go wrong if you approach your next marketing campaign from a position of respecting your target audience. Social media is really radically transparent – it’s just like showing up naked to a cocktail party.
Want to create messages that break through the clutter without offending your target audience?
Pick up a digital copy of my book Beyond the Niche: Essential Tools You Need to Create Marketing Messages that Deliver Results. It’s only $9.99. Pick up your copy by clicking the link below.
This post was edited for content on 4/29/2022
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