The Big Sort And What It Means For Marketing

The Big Sort And What It Means For Marketing

Garth Beyer

Sorting Skittles

Funny how things come up again, but have a different meaning the second time around.

A tad over a year ago I wrote a short essay on the big sort. The big sort, according to Bill Bishop, is a political, geographical theory. Actually, theory might be too weak. It’s the truth. Americans are sorting themselves out. Moving to places where like-minded people live. Thing is, Bishop (author of the big sort) focuses on such a small part of the big sort and is far too pessimistic. The big sort couldn’t be better for marketers.

In terms of marketing, there’s no need to push anything down anyone’s throat, no need to shove a product into customers’ hands of which are already full, no need to create an ad that appeals to the masses anymore. We finally have a new (dare I say, better) way of reaching people, because that’s what they are now, people, not eyeballs, and they are gathering around other like-minded people, creating tribes.

Marketing is marvelous when the message is received by the right people at the right time. Now people are sorting themselves and as a result making each individual and each tribe more reachable. Best of all, the walls people had to put up from years of brute advertising are becoming more transparent.

When you look at it this way, marketing seems pretty easy. Then again, while it is easier to market, it’s ever more difficult to create a message that’s remarkable. Yin and yang. Ebb and flow. So it goes.

 

Stay Positive & Rainbow Chasers, In One Neat Place For You

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Marketing Cookies And Crumbs

Marketing Cookies And Crumbs

Garth Beyer

And That's The Way The Cookie Crumbles

Some go into marketing and only work on accounts they are passionate about. Others go into marketing merely for the money. That’s alright.

Some consume products because it makes them feel good, builds their ego or gives them something to talk to friends about. Others consume with the mindset “our wants our many, our needs are few.” That’s alright, too.

That’s not just the way the cookie crumbles, that’s how we like it.

Some love the cookies, some love the crumbs.

 

Stay Positive & In The End, We All Feel Fat, But Happy, Too

Isn’t that what life is about? Being happy?

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Where Are You Hanging?

Garth Beyer
w/ Seth Godin
at another awesome conference w/ Seth Godin

Are you on a magnet on a fridge? Are you the starred name in a CEO’s roldex? Does that waitress, Nicole, have your favorite drink ready when you walk in? Has everyone who matters seen your name and profile photo on Twitter? Are you that guy  who is always at the coffee shop drawing, taking shots of espresso?

People are assessed and judged by where they have been, where they are now, and where they will be.

The difference between them is your story.

When they’re all the same place, it’s not that remarkable is it? People die standing still.

So let’s quit standing still. Let’s hang out somewhere different tomorrow. And maybe the day after too. Let’s build our story.

Where you hang matters a ton. And don’t get me started on how important who we hang out with is, either.

 

Stay Positive & Better Get Out There

Well That’s Catchy

Garth Beyer

20140830_100239

There are a few awesome McDonald’s ads around the Madison area.

 

“There’s a cold front ahead.” – advertising their iscream

“Diversify your thirstfolio.” – advertising the variety of beverages they offer

 

My significant other loves the advertising (and she’s not one to care much about ads of any kind, so it’s a big deal if McDonalds can stand out to someone who never pays attention to ads).

McDonalds advertising, I must admit, is extremely catchy and sharable, as in, easy to describe to someone who has never seen it before. “There’s a line of different drinks from McDonalds on the billboard and it says ‘Diversify your thirstfolio.'” Catchy because the billboard is placed right between two college campuses.

The problem is… neither of us have gone to McDonalds for iscream or beverages, and we won’t go either. It’s not our thing.

As a result, I have trouble admitting the advertising is catchy because neither my SO or I have been caught.

Some may believe any publicity is good publicity, but most publicity doesn’t lead to increase in sales, customer conversion or general business success.

It’s one thing to be catchy, it’s a whole other thing to not need to be.

In McDonald’s defense, perhaps they use the billboards to maintain their lighthearted, intelligent but goofy personality. I suppose only the McDonalds marketing team knows. But is that a good thing that we don’t?

 

Stay Positive & What Are Your Thoughts?

An Ounce Of Truth

Garth Beyer

Little ideas are the key to success.

This may be just an ounce of truth, but 15 more ounces and you have a pound.

For the heck of it, here’s 28 ounces, 25 more, and 5 more. That’s more than three pounds of truth.

 

Stay Positive & It’s The Little Things, Always Has Been

 

It’s A Process

Garth Beyer
Long exposure is remarkable
Long exposure is remarkable

Blogging (daily, mind you)… it’s a process

staying active on social media… it’s a process

regular email conversations… it’s a process

hosting google hangouts… it’s a process

writing thank you letters… it’s a process

Processes are difficult. Processes show you’re in it for the long run. Processes are as much branding as branding is a bundle of processes. The more processes the more remarkable. Even the word in plural form is difficult to say. Difficult is good. Difficult isn’t an event. Nor is success.

 

Stay Positive & Remember Every Process Needs A Purpose

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Reaching The Market Outside Your Home Town

Reaching The Market Outside Your Home Town

Garth Beyer

Marketing Outreach

This is a longer post than I usually write. You could easily skip it and respond to the notification awaiting you on your phone. Alas, I hope you find this as practical, if not more.

We’re All Marketers

I’ve never understood PR folk talking about “outreach” in their own community. To me, that’s inreach, as in, easily in reach; as in, if your business is remarkable enough, the success of it will have enough momentum to touch all those in reach. A great business has inreach built in. Steven P. Dennis calls the hometown diehard fans of a business the obsessive core. Marketers, therefore, are for reaching out beyond the core.

Business plan = inreach.

Marketing = outreach.

Clear? Now let’s tackle the outreach by going over a few tools every marketer needs to understand to reach the market outside their zone, their base, their marked territory.

Not Your Average Advertising

As complicated as Facebook advertising is to understand, it’s quite easy to use to target consumers outside common ground.

Say you’re marketing MobCraft Beer to a state other than Wisconsin where they are based and a current Wisconsin resident follows Mobcraft’s FB page. This follower also has a few out-of-state friends she regularly interacts with. Facebook’s advertising algorithm will pick them up and advertise directly, noting to them there Wisconsin resident friend has liked MobCraft Beer’s FB page and they should too.

All social network advertising, not just social media networks are taking into consideration the value of connections, of handshakes, of conversations over the value of eyeballs. You don’t want the mass, anyway. You want those who matter. Right? Advertising isn’t what it used to be. (That’s a good thing for us marketers.)

Working Email and Mailing Address Lists

There’s no reason not to be A/B testing.

A/B testing in its most simplified definition is trying two different things and seeing which works better. Does a zen-like website page get more click-throughs than a collage-designed page? Will a handwritten card with a great photo on the front work better than a brochure? Will emailing small-time bloggers be more effective than a press release to those in authority? It’s time to find out.

Test and measure, test and measure.

And remember: Don’t get on the scale unless you’re willing to change your diet and exercise routine and don’t change your diet and exercise routine unless you will regularly step on the scale. Test and measure.

Surfing the Internet

If I’m not doing some grunt work, I know I’m not doing the best marketing I can. No matter what client I’m working with, I search on multiple search engines to find forums, blogs, and other places where the tribes have gathered. (And, yes, I go into the depths of Google, far beyond the first, second and third pages of results.) The long tail matters. Every small tribe matters.

A smart place to start is Reddit. A fellow PR daily contributor, Mickie Kennedy wrote a short bit on how to use Reddit for PR.

Through surfing the Internet, you’ll realize very quickly (if you haven’t already) how critical being human is. Most online tribes are skeptical; they will downvote blatant advertising and seek clarification of credibility before they upvote, make a purchase or share what you offer.

You’ll also learn (if you haven’t already) those who are the most loyal to brands are the most likely to turn their shoulder to a brand if they feel the outreach is robotic, if they believe the email they received is the same email everyone else on the list received, if they think you’re just in it for the money or job security or because it’s what your boss told you to do.

Moreover, Outreach has Changed/Improved/Realligned

When I get a pitch that tells me I am part of a company’s ‘blogger outreach program,’ it feels condescending to me. My inclination is to get bristly with the person doing the pitching. Other social journalists feel the same way.” – Shel Israel

Now, I wouldn’t be the first to say you have permission to market to everyone, but why would you need 10,000 strangers when you can make 10 friends, 10 people who trust you, 10 acquaintances who respect you, 10 passionate folk who need you.

Permission is one thing, participation is another. Participation is what matters. Find the 10 avid bloggers who need your product or service and connect with them. Find 10 die-hard craft beer drinkers and get on a Google Hangout together. Successful outreach rarely comes from a single click of “send;” it comes from continuous care, effort, and conversation. There’s another obsessive core out there. Reach out to them.

Successful outreach has improved since the days of mass advertising. It’s not about eye balls anymore; it’s about eye contact.

Now is your chance to build your tribe, to establish connections that matter. As for my last PR/marketing tip: never refer to people you are reaching out to as your target market, as part of your outreach program, as part of your market. They are not a special case because they are outside your hometown, your normal campaign realm, your regular target market. They are all strangers at first, then friends, then customers, no matter what geographical market they are in.

 

Stay Positive & Only Reach Out If You Plan To Truly Lift Someone Up

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