This past weekend, the wife and I danced off Palm Springs, sans Junior… HOLLA!
Yep, Grandma came to town. So, of course, we had to take advantage of a little FREE babysitting. I Mean, we HAAAAAAD to, right? Pretty sure it was a Moral Imperative.
Anyway, whilst dressing for dinner our first night, Wifey was struggling a bit with her dress. It was gorgeous, full length, silk dress.
You know the type? The loose, flowy kind. Ties around the neck. And two triangles cover “the gals.”
“This dress is showing sideboob!” my wife spat. She was totally frustrated over the aforementioned tringles incomplete coverage of her “gals.”
“Sideboob is ‘IN’ right now!” I responded, and quickly jumped on Google to validate my hypothesis.
And sure enough, the search query “is sideboob in right now?” returned a dozen articles proclaiming “cleavage is dead!” and “sideboob is the new cleavage!”
Crisis averted!
From Trends in Cleavage to Trends in Marketing
This passing of the feminine chestal exposure baton, however, got me thinking about trends in marketing…
20 years ago, the marketing landscape looked vastly different than today: Direct marketing lay at one end of the spectrum. While broadcast advertising (radio + television) occupied the other pole.
And display ads in print publications sat roughly in the middle.
But the two decades since, digital media, the “sideboob” of new marketing, has replaced the “cleavage” of traditional marketing.
From Marketing Trad to Digital Media Rad
It started in the late ‘90s and early aughts with websites and email, which, at the time, were consider “cute” new marketing “options.”
The “optional” status of websites gave way to: “You’ve gotta have a website, because that’s how people vet your business now.”
And that led to: “You’ve gotta have a Search Engine Optimized website,” to reach the top of Google search ranking “because that’s how people actually find your business now.”
That crazy fervor has now given way to latest marketing “sideboob,” social media marketing. Which now, according to “leading” marketing gooroos + pundits, is the KEY to effective marketing.
But there’s one thing that hasn’t changed amid all the sexy new “sibeboob” marketing…
“The Medium is The Message”
The phrase above is an old adage in marketing circles. And in many ways, is true now more than ever…
The web, thanks to Google; email, thanks to it pervasiveness; and social media, thanks to human nature and our constant desire to cabitz, are all ubiquitous. These mediums are “everywhere” and “everyone” uses them.
In other words, there’s nothing new, revolutionary or even unique about these platforms. They are simply communication channels.
So how do you stand out? How do hawk your wares? Well, an adage almost as old as “the medium is the message” comes to mind…
Strategy Trumps ALL
Your Business Website…
Just having a website does NOTHING for your business. To make an impact, your website must be positioned toward your specific industry niche. And moreover, target your idea client within that niche.
Because without positioning + targeting, your website’s just an electronic brochure that, sadly, no one will ever visit.
Email + Social Media Marketing…
Similarly, launching an email marketing campaign or creating a social media page… Just because everyone else is or because it seems like the thing to do or because of any other arbitrary reason is pointless.
Before a single email is written or social media page even contemplated you MUST ask yourself these important questions:
== > Why am I doing this?
== > Does this make sense in my industry niche?
== > Will it resonate with my ideal clients?
== > What’s my desired outcome?
== > How do I get my ideal client to take the action that will achieve my desired outcome?
The Basis of Your Marketing Strategy
The collective answers to these questions form the basis of your marketing strategy. And if you hope to succeed, you MUST apply this strategy to any and every marketing vehicle you consider.
Because if you don’t, you’ll find yourself caught up in the latest sexy “sidebood” marketing trend, wondering why you invested so much time, effort + money only to see ZERO tangible results.
What’s Your Why?
All fired to dive into some sexy new “sideboob” marketing tool or tactic? Before you take the plunge, drop by my Google+ page and tell me your “why?”