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Turn on. Tune in. Connect.
October 6, 2009
Being in the marketing industry I have obviously visited tons of “marketing” websites over the years. What still amazes me is that for every 1 great site out there there has to be about 20 monstrosities.
What makes them so scary?
Poor design, too much/too little information, misinformation, half-truths, cliché stock photos, and most importantly – not enough emotional connection.
There are so many self-proclaimed marketing geniuses are out there. Each have of course professed to have made hundreds of millions of dollars practicing “the secrets to marketing that they don’t want you to know about.”
First. Just who is “they” anyway?
I don’t know but I’m sure to get to the bottom of it. I just reserved the domain name whoisthey.ca. One of these days I will uncover the truth.
Second. There aren’t any secrets to marketing.
Marketing is listening. Marketing is teaching. Marketing is building relationships. Marketing is making deep and relevant connections with people. Yes, marketing is that simple, but unfortunately it’s not that simple. Making those connections can be pretty difficult, especially for those that don’t know how, don’t practice, or don’t have time; but I digress.
Third. We are emotional beings; not informational robots.
Another thing that annoys me with these “experts” is that they all say the key to marketing yourself is giving people information.
“Don’t use pictures – they are a waste of space.”
“Give your visitors as much information as possible and then they will buy from you.”
In the information world companies tend to market by going faster, making things brighter, and TALKING LOUDER!
Billy Mays (RIP), the infomercial boob is a perfect example of this. HOW ARE PEOPLE GOING TO BUY MORE OXICLEAN WITHOUT BILLY MAYS YELLING AT THEM?!! I don’t know but maybe SlapChop guy can help us have a great day slap, slap, slapping our troubles away.
Ya right. I don’t think so. Those outdated strategies don’t work quite like they used to. We are inundated with so many messages on a daily basis, that we have become much better trained to sift the good from the crap. (Although I do find Vince pretty funny. “Quit having a boring tuna, quit having a boring life.”)
Today we live in a much more exciting world that I like to call the ‘sensual world.’ People long for more in the sensual world, which is one major reason why social mediums like Twitter and Flickr have taken off. In the relationship-driven sensual world, faster, brighter, louder hit the wall real quick. For those of us that find our lives become increasingly more hectic, it will always be the sensual world that reigns supreme. At heart, we are emotional beings and the senses are the fast track to human emotions.
Our senses lead us.
They are direct, powerful, provocative, immediate. They are tough to fool and even tougher to override.
The senses speak to the mind in the language of emotions, not words. Emotions are more powerful than any word. Emotions alert us and tell us how important our senses are; not only to our well-being but indeed to our very survival. The senses interpret and prioritize and when we feel emotionally connected to something we say, “That makes sense.”
I do not consider myself an expert by any means so you don’t have to take my word for it but I say, lead by example. Be real. Choose the right words. Exploit great design to your advantage. Embrace white space. Have fun with color. Use great imagery. Excite the senses. Inspire the heart. Create emotion. Create cool.
Posted by Craig Blackburn
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