Where do I start... I’m not sure I’ll get all my thoughts and feelings on this subject out in one blog post, however (big deep breath) here goes...
There’s a lot of bollocks advice, seminars, sign-ups, mastermind groups, funnels and products being presented (ie: shoved) at you wherever you go online by a slick new breed of digitally savvy marketers.
Most of it is crap, not tailored for you, your services or your audience.
You’re just “sold” with the right level of impressive metrics, fear and snake juice.
There you go...
I said it...
Finally...
(phew).
I’m sick to death of hearing horror stories from small to medium business owners who have ploughed cash (they didn’t have to lose) into these endless money pits.
So where did it all go wrong...?
My feelings are that the old school marketers who have focused on story telling, copy writing, clever call to actions and the value the product/service will bring to the customer got lazy - they didn’t embrace technology or move fast enough to bring their years of experience into the new platforms we have available to us these days.
This has left the door wide open for a new breed of marketers that are platform experts, they are digital technicians whether it be Social Media Channels, Google Ads, Messenger or SEO Services and they strive towards digital metrics and reports because that’s how they prove their worth.
The problem I see is that this new breed don’t actually have any real world marketing experience, they’re not natural story tellers and they’re not interested in helping your customers in any way other than to get them to give up their email address so their metrics can be achieved and the next automated part of the funnel can kick into gear.
This has lead to buyers (your customers) becoming far more savvy... nobody “gives up” their “real” email address anymore, admit it, we all have an old hotmail or gmail address we use to “sign up” to these things! If I ever have to “verify” one of these signups and I get lucky enough to remember my old password there’s usually a couple of thousand unread messages sitting there for me to “delete all”.
So, if you’re still with me and understand my frustrations here’s some advice...
Don’t buy what people say - buy what they do!
If someone is selling you SEO services... Google them, if they don’t show up on the first page of search results - don’t give them your money.
Social Media Services: before paying someone to manage you social accounts, check theirs... do they have an engaged audience? ie: If they have 5000 followers yet get 10 likes and 1 comment on a post, then they are likely to be full of it! Also, how often do they post? The reality is, if they aren’t doing it for themselves I bet they’re less motivated to do it for you, even with your money in their pockets.
Don’t buy the promises or case studies... buy the actionable items and activities.
There are more products and services in the marketing space than ever before and unfortunately for most of us there is no magic pill.
Always think of marketing as an investment, not a cost - you need to spend wisely and get results or there will come a time where you have no money left.
Good luck navigating these troubled waters... there’s a lot of sharks out there!