Since the beginning of 2017, a million things have changed in digital marketing. But a few marketing mindsets I’ve learned that have proven to be consistently true over the years. Seven of them, to be exact. In this post, I’ll share them so that you can focus on what’ll continue to matter in the next seven years. And beyond.
#1 Branding and storytelling won’t drive sales on their own.
The use of branding and storytelling in marketing has proven its effectiveness. But having a consistent brand with a great story won’t necessarily drive sales. If done well, they will make our brands more recognizable and might even inspire strangers to trust us.
But it’ll take a great offer and a solid pitch to move your audience from engaged to sold. And if there are logistics involved? Satisfaction guarantees, efficient customer support, and timely order fulfillment will always be defining factors for sales. Especially if you’re selling a high-ticket product or service.
Customer experience optimization wins first place; awesome marketing is a very close second.
#2 Goals drive the strategy, but empathy fuels content marketing.
When crafting our marketing strategies, it’s all about finding a way to get us closer to our goals. But we need to leave that approach behind when moving from planning to execution. Whenever we create a marketing asset, regardless of the format or platform, our goals take the back seat.
I know this is a scary mindset shift, but bear with me a moment. This shift is the key to truly connecting with your audience.
Customers will only stay around for something that satisfies their needs and desires. As they should. That’s why we must develop a goal-driven strategy to guide our content marketing, but in the content creation phase, we should care more about how our audience will perceive the message. Otherwise, there will always be a wall standing between what we share and what our ideal customers want to hear.
When it comes to content marketing, you need to step into your customer’s shoes and let their needs guide you.
#3 In copywriting, ultra-specific messaging beats generic inclusivity.
Marketing goes hand-in-hand with psychology. And there’s really only one way to make our marketing resonate deeply with an audience. It’s by understanding their customer journey and pushing psychological triggers to stimulate an emotional response.
You won’t get that kind of response with a diluted message.
That’s why saying, “This perfume is perfect for anyone who wants to feel special — after work or on a date…” is kinda good. But “Splash it all over and feel like a million bucks wherever you go” is a thousand times more powerful. The trick is capturing the emotion of a very particular situation.
Don’t fear people won’t get it; we’re all wired to make everything about ourselves. It’s human nature!
#4 Being consistent is more effective than chasing perfect timing.
Social media is like a vast multiverse, with each platform a different dimension operating under its own rules. Decoding this multiverse would take us, mere humans, years if not decades. Yet, just like on our very own planet Earth, a subset of those rules holds true in all dimensions. Those are the constants.
In social media, the main constant isn’t time; it’s consistency.
Posting exactly what people want when they’re looking for it — and having the results match your goals — is good timing. It’s also very rare and almost impossible to predict, like a supernova. But time goes on, and longer processes remain, producing the energy and resources the multiverse (social media) requires for dimensions (platforms) to exist. That’s consistency.
I’ve seen very few perfect timing successes, but thousands of cases in which consistency paid off long-term.
You have a better chance by staying consistent on social media than by trying to “hack the fiber of the multiverse.” Or, the algorithm.
#5 What’s a hot trend today might be passé tomorrow.
We should never, ever base our marketing solely on trending topics or viral formats. Trends are fun, fresh, and cool while they last. But just like there’s nothing iconic about people who change their entire sense of fashion to match whatever’s “in” today…
No one remembers how cool your brand was the week a trend peaked.
It’s safer (and smarter) to focus on building a long-term strategy. If a trend aligns with your strategy and brand identity, by all means, ride that wave. But don’t make trend-following your default creative decision.
You want a brand strategy that builds up, not a trend that burns down.
#6 Marketing is like chess; you better play it like you’re at war.
It’s easy to focus on how we’ll execute our marketing but sometimes forget the why. This is especially important because the options seem limitless most times. But limitless is distracting… and exhausting.
We don’t need to fight every battle. We need to choose the ones that matter, then cherry-pick tactics that’ll win those with the least amount of losses.
This applies to everything in marketing: from choosing your channels to how often you post to who your real target is. The smartest strategies are the simplest to execute.
To identify which “battles” are worth fighting for, you can use the Pareto principle and its 80-20 rule.
#7 The road to hell is paved with good intentions; trust your KPIs.
Marketing is part art and part science; that’s why it’s incredibly challenging to predict its success. But one thing is for sure. We won’t win by following our hunches or external, uninformed input. That’s why a data-driven approach is non-negotiable.
Not that we all need to become some data nerd to make our marketing work, but dipping our toes into the numbers is essential. As an old boss of mine used to quote all the time, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
Let numbers guide your creativity, and you’ll watch art and science take you places.
You Can Shift Your Marketing Mindsets Right Now
The best thing about shifting your marketing mindsets? It only takes small shifts in perspective to see real benefits.
It doesn’t ask you to switch platforms, overhaul your products or services, or throw your marketing budget out the window.
You just need to have the right focus when making marketing choices.