Modern Marketing.

Seth Godin, one of the best minds we have today in the field of marketing, is notorious for saying that modern marketing boils down to the stories we tell, and the defining belief that, “People like us do things like this.” What that means is that you create impact through empathy and telling true stories that resonate.

PR (changing the story) and Publicity (getting earned media) is only a part of marketing, but in order to get the best results from them, it really helps to take a deep dive into figuring out who you seek to change, and then putting yourself into their shoes to understand their deepest desires. Only then can you solve problems for a specific group of people. 

This is true for building a personal brand. It's why bloggers and YouTubers and podcasters grew into influencers—they didn't try to talk to everyone, but yet resonated with a specific group of people that became a tribe.

It's why actors like Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow have millions of fans now hanging on their every word. 

So—who are you talking to? What value are you providing? What change do you seek to make? 

All of these insights and thought starters are things I learned in The Marketing Seminar, which is Seth Godin's workshop that pushes you out of your comfort zone on the topic of marketing, and forces you to get really clear with the change you seek to make.

 If you're interested in learning more, I highly recommend it (enrollment is open until January 21st). If not, I hope you get some value in the below—the top 5 takeaways I got from learning about Modern Marketing,  and how you can make an inpact starting right now. 

Something I do want to note is that there is not an easy way to figure all of this out. You have to do the work. If you feel any resistance to answering the below questions, I encourage you to push through it.

I know it's hard. But it will be worth it. 
 

1.  Start with Empathy.

Empathy is hard. Why? Because it forces us out of our own worldviews and invites us to see a new perspective. It forces us to put ourselves in other people's shoes. When there is backlash on social media, it's generally due to a lack of empathy. When your marketing isn't connecting with the people you seek to change, it could be that those people don't believe what you believe. They may not want what you want. Empathy isn't about liking the opinions or actions of someone we disagree with, but rather about trying to understand them. Only then can we make change.

2.  Keep Your Promises.

Built into marketing is the promise that you will deliver something desireable. We can't possibly know in advance of buying a movie ticket if the movie is any good. You don't know if the book is any good until you've read it. We rely on marketing to help us understand what that promise is. And so do the people you seek to serve. What's the promise of an Hermes Birkin bag? It's not just a place to put your wallet. It's status. It's bragging rights. It's fulfilling deep desires. Just remember that the bigger the promise, the more trust that is needed. What promise are you making?

3. Brand Marketing vs. Direct Marketing.

Publicity is brand marketing. Advertising with no clear call to action is brand marketing. Buying a Facebook ad is direct marketing. Direct marketing demands to be measured—you can very easily do the math to find out if the cost per click is paying off to give you a high ROI. Brand Marketing is storytelling to build a connection. It is creating a cultural shift like Don Draper did in the now infamous Kodak Carousel episode. Both are important, but understand the difference.

4. Permission Marketing.

Permission marketing is about sharing messages, insights, and resources to people who want to hear from you. It is the opposite of spam. It is talking to people who have chosen to listen to what you have to say. It could be through a blog, a newsletter, a podcast, or sharing on IGTV. How can you add value to the people you want to change? Better yet, how can you provide this in a way that will get people to want to share it with other people. How can you make it so good that people can’t help but talk about it? How can you show up consistently so that you are keeping your promise?

5. Building a Tribe.

The hardest lesson to learn is that building a tribe is not about you. It's about creating something much larger than you through empathy and leadership. Forget demographics; It's about connection. Crossfit created a tribe. Lululemon created a tribe. Deadheads are a tribe, even still, without Jerry Garcia. If you are working to build a tribe, who will you connect? At what scale?

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