 |
| "Sure we're a unique demographic...for 1981. But we'll be busting out big time in 2015!" |
Back when we would willingly sit through seven-and-a-half
minutes of commercials to watch 22-and-a-half minutes of Bosom Buddies, corporations spent literally billions of dollars
on advertising to convince us to trust their brands.
Brand-building was strictly the purview of corporate America
because it was prohibitively expensive. In order to reach lil ol’ you,
advertisers had to blast their messages repeatedly to one of the demographic
groups you belonged to. Target demographics, as defined by Madison Avenue, were
massive chunks of the US population awkwardly grouped in the tens of millions
by a handful of characteristics like gender, age, income, race, and geography.
It took a lot of money to make an impression on such
enormous clusters of society. But there was no alternative. You needed clear
and compelling communication in order to effectively build your brand. Today
the opposite is true. Literally. You need a clear and compelling brand in order
to communicate effectively.
You see, social media has splintered the 20th
century demographic model into untold millions of self-selected communities. These
online communities have come together organically based on common values, experiences,
and interests. And communication within these communities is generally restricted
to people they trust … others in their communities. Outsiders simply haven’t earned
their trust.
So if you—an outsider—want to communicate with them, you
need to first present a clear brand that shows you share their values,
experiences or interests.
The good news is that it’s a lot easier and cheaper build a
trusted brand than ever before. Social media has turned us all into Mad Men, giving us powerful production
and distribution tools we need to create and manage our brands.
The bad news is that many people—particularly those who have
built successful pre-Internet careers without giving a second though to building
a brand—are intimidated by the prospect of having to take responsibility for
their own brand.
But unless you’re planning to retire in the next year or
two, brand building is in your future. If you’re ready and willing to learn
more, we’re ready and willing to answer your questions … for free! Just click here and we’ll get
things started.
