Image by Till Krech
Tangled in terminology
I just read a great article by digital marketing guru Mitch Joel about the goals of marketing in the wild world of social media. He talked about the difference between huge social media numbers compared to smaller numbers of the right people, and the difference between loud and thoughtful messages to that audience (I’m oversimplifying for the sake of brevity – check out the full article here).
The heading “Built to touch” jumped out at me, for what I hope are obvious reasons: the layers of meaning can become a seamless transition from the work you make to the way you reach your audience.
I left a comment about how so many creatives don’t trust the simplicity of engaging their audiences and used the word “marketing” instead of “promotion.”
I forgot where I was and went into blurt mode. Open keyboard, insert foot.
Image by Rachael Towne
Now that the holiday dust has settled…
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions?
Did you really want to make New Year’s resolutions?
I’m guessing you didn’t.
I’m guessing what you really want is for a bunch of things to happen for your business this year.
Say, for example, you want to finish your taxes done before the deadline, so you’re not in a panic.
Or you want to get more organized.
Or you have this vague notion about getting your marketing butt in gear. You know you need to do something, but you’re not sure where to begin.
Forget the resolutions.
Resolutions sound noble and courageous, but resolve is pointless if you don’t take action.
As in, right now.
Image by Kevin Dooley
A Christmas gift gone way wrong
Once upon a time there was a couple named Dick and Jane (not their real names).
Dick wasn’t the greatest gift buyer in the world.
One Christmas Dick was especially stumped. He had to get Jane stocking stuffers and buy her a proper gift, and that particular year he ran out of ideas.
He’s wasn’t sure what to do, so he froze up. He didn’t think much about Jane’s reaction, he just wanted to get the whole painful thing over with.
Then Dick made a mistake. He bought a Very Bad Gift.
Fortunately, Dick enlisted the help of a family member to wrap his gifts. When Betty (not her real name) saw the item in question, she knew Jane would not respond well to her Christmas celebration being turned into that meaningless ritual of I-have-to-buy-you-something-so-what-the-hell.
Betty realized Dick was in serious danger of being bludgeoned with a gravy-soaked turkey leg. She concealed Dick’s Very Bad Gift in a closet.
Crisis averted.
This is not a new story
Dick’s dilemma may sound painfully familiar.
And you probably figured out we’re not really talking about buying Christmas gifts here.
