Matt's Marketing Minute

When you think about it, we humans are funny creatures. We argue, we’re incredibly self-focused, and we tend to make the same mistakes over and over again.

At the same time, we humans can be extremely generous, hospitable, and loving. Many genuine interactions of kindness and humility go unnoticed every day around the world, much of this overshadowed by a constant stream of breaking news and the flood of social media.

We marketers and communicators are tasked with a simple goal: Understand humanity so that we can communicate messages more clearly and effectively.

At the end of the day...that’s it. We can be doing this for a small business, a for-profit corporation, or a non-profit organization.

Flashy commercials, creative taglines, unique characters, and in-your-face marketing designed to sell, sell, sell are what most people think when they think about advertising. The last decade has disrupted the industry with a heavy focus being put on shorter and more diverse advertisements, extreme targeting, and the post-click stage where personalization is everything. On top of this, analytics, undeniably sometimes overstated, have changed how advertising feels, where it’s placed, and who it targets.

Advertising agencies have responded to the changing business demands and economic environment by embracing tech-focused solutions. Major management consulting firms have gone so far as to even purchase advertising agencies for their broad capabilities and tactical execution. Overall, public relations agencies have moved quicker than many of the large advertising-specific firms. As we discussed yesterday, PR firms have embraced strategic brand planning and services once only offered by advertising agencies. Many advertising firms have had a tougher time introducing public relations services into their portfolio of offerings.

The one area advertising almost always succeeds is in the creative space. Advertising agencies dominate art direction and creative campaign development. However, for many small businesses, advertising is still a long shot as the initial upfront cost is significantly higher than PR. Nonetheless, small businesses can turn to ad agencies for creative-focused campaigns and projects where more production pizazz is needed. Of course, if your small business is looking to focus less on long-term brand awareness and more on sales and immediacy, advertising is definitely the way to go.

Next week we’ll discuss how PR is going to dominate the decade and where advertising agencies will stand out and make significant waves.

Have a great weekend, I’ll talk with you on Monday.

Press releases, media relations, and internal communications are all historic offerings of many public relations agencies. But PR has changed over the last decade and grown to encompass more than just its past.

Storytelling-based initiatives, including strategic brand planning, thought leadership, and digital marketing are all growing as popular offerings from many agencies. Over the last decade, many PR agencies have morphed into strategic communications firms that offer a broader set of services beyond what traditional public relations encompasses. The big question is, what has this accomplished for small businesses?

More than anything else, small businesses, previously limited in their ability to work with PR firms, can now turn to agencies for everything from long-term strategic planning to day-to-day tactical applications. Small businesses with limited budgets are often challenged by the daunting cost of working with multiple companies to accomplish their marketing objects.

For example, many small businesses employ this approach. A company’s advertising and marketing may go through one specialized firm and PR and communications through another specialized firm. On top of this, day-to-day management and implementation may even go through an in-house employee.

While in the past this system worked, in the post-COVID era, where many small businesses are on even tighter budgets, many business owners are looking for agencies that offer more than one or two specialties. Luckily, many PR firms have embraced and pivoted to match this desire.

Tomorrow we’ll look at the advertising industry and see how it’s changed over the past decade.

Yesterday we talked about how, according to Rival IQ’s 2021 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report, Facebook’s organic reach across all business sectors is just 8%. What this tells me, above all, is that focusing on Facebook for major marketing campaigns just isn’t viable for most small businesses.

Of course, the caveat would be the total campaign budget and strategy. If your campaign is well-funded and has a clear strategy of reaching a well-defined audience, Facebook can be a great platform for advertising-based campaigns. However, for most small businesses on a budget, Facebook isn’t the viable option it was just a few years ago.

We’ve talked about how storytelling-based marketing is an important approach from an overall strategy and brand identity perspective. However, why should you view social media as less of a marketing and paid advertising platform and more of a public relations platform? Here are three big reasons.

Number one, public relations is cost-effective. One of the most common questions I get from small businesses and non-profit organizations is how to keep marketing costs low. Seeing social media as a tool to build genuine brand relationships doesn’t take a massive budget. What it does take is time. Spending just a few hours per week on posting interesting content, responding to messages from customers, and interacting with comments can go a long way in building trust between consumers and businesses.

Number two, public relations brings credibility. The easiest way to tell the difference between advertising and public relations is that advertising is paid and public relations is earned. Earned media, specifically, coverage that stems from outside sources such as genuine customer reviews, comments, and likes interactions, combined with press-released coverage from publications, influencers, or media organizations, has the credible, third-party validation built-in. When potential customers see positive reviews highlighted from current customers, third-party validation is strong. On top of this, when potential customers see coverage from respected publications, this same third-party validation and credibility is front-and-center.

Number three, public relations is relationship-based. Advertising is great at building exposure and overall reach. Where public relations shines, is in building genuine relationships and trust and between customers and a brand. Facebook products such as groups and CTAs (call-to-actions) are effective tools that businesses can use to build strong, more personal relationships, on the platform. Encouraging customers to not only connect with your organization but with other customers who are passionate about your organization, builds stronger brand-focused relationships.

Tomorrow we’ll uncover how public relations has changed over time, how it has become more accessible for small businesses, and how you can use it on other social media platforms to take your brand to the next level.

The largest and most powerful social media companies all claim to help small businesses reach their existing customers and engage new customers in innovative ways. Facebook business “pages” promised from the beginning improved ways for businesses to reach their “fans,” whether to share important updates about the business, promote specials, or genuinely build brand awareness and connection.

Last month, Rival IQ, one of the leading social media analytics and benchmarking companies posted their 2021 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report where they found Facebook’s organic reach is just 8%. Put another way, organic reach is your ability as a business to reach customers who liked your pages without paying Facebook directly to boost individual posts or run paid ad campaigns. 8% is striking and should cause most small businesses to rethink their social media marketing efforts on Facebook.

One of the most common questions I get from small business owners is the following: "I have 15,000 Facebook page likes but hardly any engagement. How is this possible?"

Well, now we know. The medium across all industries is just 8%. 8%!

As a marketing consultant, my social media strategy advising has changed over the past few years. As Facebook and other leading social media companies change their algorithms, small businesses, time and time again, are the ones to suffer. Remember, Facebook needs small businesses to build their platform. That’s why they wanted small businesses to sign up in the first place. Not only does it help your business gain credibility and a connection to your customers, but it also builds Facebook’s credibility as the leading social media platform for small businesses.

The problem I see, over and over, is that Facebook is the ultimate winner. When businesses can’t even reach half of their own customers without paying, that system is not working.

Don’t get me wrong, Facebook is still a powerful tool for building brand awareness and credibility. However, for most small businesses, building major campaigns around Facebook isn’t the way to go in 2021. Unless you have a pile of cash you’re willing to spend to reach a very specific audience, planning marketing efforts around Facebook alone isn’t the right move for most businesses.

Now, what’s the solution? Two come to mind. The first, storytelling-based marketing allows businesses to build campaigns that transcend boundaries created by social media companies. When you focus on understanding your customers, you understand yourself as a business. This understanding, this shared understanding, will make your brand and customer relationships stronger where social media just isn’t as vital.

Think of it as a long-term relationship. The stronger the shared trust between two people, the business and the customer, in this case, the fewer outside factors affect that relationship.

Now, the second solution is to see social media less as a marketing platform and more of an earned media, or public relations platform. Small businesses can use social media as a PR tool. No, not presses releases, but a platform to build relationships with customers.

Tomorrow’s episode will cover how to do this in more detail. I’m looking forward to talking to you then.

Digital marketing experts in 2020 estimated that the average American is exposed to roughly 10,000 advertisements each day. This figure is up from between 5,000 and 7,000 in 2010.

Think about the sheer amount of messaging we see, hear, and experience on a daily basis. From the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep, brands and businesses from across the globe are trying to sell us something and make their product bounce around inside our heads, if only for a few minutes.

What it all adds up to is noise. Lots and lots of noise. An abundance of noise. Of course, maybe one or two ads per day cut through the noise. It’s a product that piques your interest just enough to click “Learn More” or maybe it’s an ad you’ve heard three of four times before and this time you decide it’s worth thirty seconds to Google it.

With all this noise surrounding us, all day, every day, having a storytelling-based marketing strategy is essential in standing out and creating that rare message that breaks through. Remember, out of the 10,000 advertisements per day the average American experiences, you want to be that one or two that cuts through.

Tomorrow we’ll discover a marketing secret that helps some of the best brands engage their customers better. Here’s a hint…it’s all about storytelling, getting to know who your customers really are, and what your brand is at its core.

Every powerful narrative has a guide figure, a mentor, that helps the hero along his or her journey.

Luke Skywalker had Obi-wan. Frodo had Gandalf. Harry Potter had Dumbledore. The Karate Kid had Mr. Miyagi. Pinocchio had Jiminy Cricket. And the students in Dead Poet’s Society had Professor John Keating.

All of these represent guide figures in the lives of the heroes. The wise old man that holds wisdom. Wisdom that understands the hero’s fear and plight. Wisdom that gives them a plan, or helps them find the plan inside themselves, and then motivates them, calls them to action and sends the hero on their journey. It’s an essential part of every story and narrative arc.

You, as a business, as a brand, are the wise old man to your customers and clients. You have the power to be the guide, the mentor, the figure there to support the hero on their journey to success.

Next week we’ll discover more about the power of storytelling and implement some practical tips that can help you be a better guide for your customers. Have a great weekend. I’ll see you on Monday.

Yesterday we talked about how it’s not about you. That’s still true and always will be. Your brand, your business, doesn’t exist to be the star of the show. Your customers, your clients, your audience, they should always be number one. So, where does your business come in?

First, I’m going to teach you about the hero’s journey. It’s the core foundation of narratives used throughout history in every major myth and in to-many-to-name folktales. Every successful film or movie franchise, TV show, audio drama, novel, or book series follows this formula. And it’s something you’re hardwired to recognize.

Okay so this is how it goes: Every story has a hero, the main character, a protagonist who is going on a journey. He or she wants to complete that journey but faces some sort of obstacle or problem standing in the way of them achieving their goal. It can be a villain or a competitor, an external factor like needing a special object (think, a magic ring or an infinity stone), it can an internal factor, like crippling self-doubt, ambition, or personal greed, or even philosophical factors, like personal determination or altruism.

Put in a short way, a hero goes on a journey or wants to go on a journey and faces an obstacle. Conflict. Something preventing him or her from fully realizing and/or achieving their goal.

Now let’s synthesize this and put it in business terms. Your customer wakes up every morning wanting to live a successful day. They are going to go on a journey through life but will face obstacles along the way. Maybe they are facing a fierce competitor at work, maybe they need a solution to an ongoing issue, maybe they are looking for a way to speed up their workflow and focus on more of the things that matter, or maybe they just want mental clarity and peace.

Here’s where you can come in. You’re the solution to their problem. You’re not the hero. It’s not about you. You’re the wise guide, the individual, the business, the company, the solution that helps your customer reach their goal successfully. You exist to be a conduit for their transformation, for their success as a hero.

You exist to help them win the day. In the process, of course, you’ll also win the day and build a successful business. But remember, it can’t be about you. If you’re the hero, who is your customer? Your customer must be the hero. It’s all in how you see business. Are you going to be internally or externally focused? Are you going to make it about you or are you going to step back and let your customers shine?

Tomorrow we’ll discuss your role as a guide further. We’ll talk about some popular guides in entertainment and how you can build a successful business by focusing on the success of your customers.

Let’s just get this out of the way….it’s not about you. Your business, your brand, your image…it doesn’t matter. It’s not about you.

So, who’s it about? We’ll get to that in a moment. Remember we’ve been talking about stories and the power of narratives? We’ve learned that storytelling matters and that your customers love stories. We’ve learned that 92% of consumers want brands to make ads feel like a story. Always keep that in mind.

Now, back to reminding you it’s not about you. And if it’s not about you, who’s it about? I’m glad you asked. It’s about your customers. This is an eternal truth. They are number one. They are the heroes in their stories.

It’s human nature. You…me…we put ourselves in the driver’s seat of our stories every day when we wake up to our next adventure. We’re the main protagonist. The hero that swoops in at the end. Where do you come along? Where does your mighty brand make a showing? We’ll talk about that tomorrow. And bring some popcorn…it’s going to get good.

Are certain stories more effective than others?

What makes a story captivate an audience?

Think about your favorite stories.

Humans are hardwired to experience narratives in extraordinary ways. Research from a leading marketing company found 92% of consumers want brands to make ads feel like a story.

You see…stories are universal, they instill in us values and teach us about the world…they show us what companionship is…. they help us become more compassionate… and of course, they entertain us.

Your customers love stories. Why? Because they, just like you, envision themselves and see their lives in the context of grand narrative. A forgotten tale. An epic….story.

The stories that matter most to them are the stories that make them feel a connection. A relationship. A spark of passion. A fit of anger. A flash of hope.

Tomorrow we’ll meet the hero in your customer’s story. Is your brand coming to the rescue? Is your customer the hero? Think about it. I’m looking forward to discovering it tomorrow, together.