An easy way to understand where to focus your marketing.
If you're trying to build something, something that will last, something beautiful, something worth building...what do you focus on? Sure, you need the wood, the plans. You need the vision. You need the motivation and the drive. Skill and expertise, each optional!
You also need the building materials. The tools and the nails. But in my experience, I spend my time and most of my money on the tools.
How much do I spend, what do I need in my box, what will make it easier, more efficient. Which new tool is really powerful and cool (cue Tim Allen "argh argh argh")?
But I spend little time worrying about the nail. I just grab a box and go. Good enough.
That's backwards. Because the nail is what lasts. The nail is what holds everything together. Without the right nail, the whole thing falls apart, regardless of what I hit it with.
Speaking of which, I can use anything for a hammer. I can use the back of a screwdriver. I can use a rock if I have to. I know that is a stretch, but the bottom line is, with the right nail, I can make almost any tool work.
All of this to say...in marketing, it's the message that matters. The message is your nail.
Facebook, Google ads, TikTok, email marketing...those are tools. The right message makes any one of them powerful. The wrong message, like a bad nail, renders each of these tools useless.
Many people think "I need help with social media". "I need to show up better in Google". "No one opens my emails". Check your message first.
Think of your most powerful marketing tool. Word of mouth, right? Of course it is! That's proof that it is all about the message. Get the message right, and the rest falls in line.
Marketing tools work, and they work well. But they are a means to the end, not the end. Messaging is what lives on, and messaging keeps it together.
Spend your time and money on message. Get it right, and any old tool will do.
Bryan Lefelhoc is a 32 year marketing veteran, owner of Bryan Media Strategies. Bryan Media Strategies is a "company of one' marketing firm designed to serve small businesses with back to basics brand awareness marketing. For Brand Building Strategies, done "On Target, On Budget, and On Purpose", schedule some time to talk.