The 3 Commandments of Online Marketing You Must Obey
For whatever perverse drive, desire or demon, this morning I worked through Hugh McLeod’s Global Micro Brands archive, Brian Clark’s post on Are You Someone’s User-Generated Content? and in the the same hour, I also read through randfish’s visual tour of the basics of social media marketing, twice.
Something was telling me I was gunning for a connection, searching for concepts to connect to bring this blog post to you.
That’s my convoluted way of saying this was divinely inspired. And that means you must pay attention.
The Moses of Marketing is about to speak. :0
1. You’ll Never Escape the Relationship
What stuck out to me most thoroughly in my research this morning–especially when I scrolled through the Power Point Presentation of social media marketing, which made made a very visual impression on me–was that social media marketing hinges on relationship.
It’s not about the blog, LinkedIn, Twitter or You Tube.
It’s about the relationship. It’s about the fundamental ways you make people follow you. It’s about building that cult. Those junkies.
They like you, and that is the fundamental reason they want to work with you. Joe Girard will tell you that.
But you don’t want to stop there.
2. You Must Build Your Personal Brand
Thing to keep in mind is this: there are lots of opportunities out there to market, whether on a micro scale or a macro scale.
Yet, you have to build your real estate marketing plan first. And your client has to be the cornerstone of that plan. But don’t forget about who you are.
What I mean by that is this: some pundits will say branding is dead or a waste of money. Now, branding for branding sakes is a waste of money.
I agree.
But there is a growing body of research that proves that branding will improve any marketing effort you put forth.
Think about the blogs that you follow most. What is it about them that you hang on them the most?
Definitely the writing, the wit, the humor, the information. But don’t forget about the clean design, the clever logo, the glamorous photo.
Moreover, this branding or presentation appeal exists in the living, breathing type, too.
You’re signature scarf, lavender zoot suit [had to throw that in there] or your charity work for Habitat for Humanity.
The point is you are separating yourself from everyone else, including your company.
Which brings me to my next point, the third commandment….
3. You Must Create Original Digital Content on Your Brand
One point about social media is that so few people are adding valuable content.
Most people linger half-heartedly on any social network at best. [With your striking brand and drop-em dead blog, you are ahead of the curve.]
I think part of people’s problems is the massive opportunity of new technologies flooding us. I stopped caring about the newest apps when I stumbled across a list of the 1,000 best Web 2.0 tools.
It’s like a plague.
And people abandon one thing for the next, helter skelter, void of a plan. The thing to remember about a blog is this:
People who abandon blogging [or neglect it] have gone from developing a digital asset of their own that could have real value, to becoming someone else’s user-generated content.
Blogs like Freelance Switch and Zen Habits have grown big fast because readers tend to value the independent publication approach…
Valuable content on a site you own is a classic win-win for readers and the site owner, while publishing on Facebook is a lopsided relationship that favors Zuckerberg and his data-hoarding cronies. [via]
The same is true with Active Rain.
You must remember this. What is bigger than your blog is your personal brand. Who you are. You are lost on Active Rain, Facebook, because that is not your content. Try and ask them to migrate your content to another independent blog platform.
But also remember that you are bigger than the company you work for. As Hugh McLeod says:
The grand-daddy of this space is probably Robert Scoble, who may work full-time for Microsoft, but whose brand is much, much larger than any job description they could give him; that’s worth far more than anything they’re ever likely to pay him.
Don’t let your company branding swallow you alive. There are certain protocols you have to follow. But you are smart. You’ll figure ways around it.
Very few people outside the blogosphere know what the hell he’s talking about. What I’m talking about. What Greg Swann is talking about.
They’re just now figuring out online stealth marketing, IE4, MySpace.
But perhaps the proliferation of users going online via mobiles will change all that.
Conclusion: Your Biggest Motivation for Obeying These Commandments
In a nutshell, you got three commandments you must obey:
1. Seek the relationship. That is the prize.
2. Become a valuable person by building your brand.
That means you simply must work on identifying what you can do better than anyone else in the entire world…and do that one thing the best. [Even if it means being a literary curmudgeon.]
3. Protect your individuality.
Now, perhaps your biggest motivator for obeying these commandments comes from Seth Godin soapboxing on monopolies:
The defectors know something you don’t. The defectors know that if they hurry, they can build a new monopoly, a monopoly you don’t control. They know that they can build a direct and long-term relationship with the end user, one that will survive competitive incursions and will last a long time. if they hurry.
And so, learn from these folks. you should hurry. You must hurry.
