The world is going through growing pains and it’s leaving a lot of people very confused, hurting, and unemployed.
We’re in a new world of “on demand” information and entertainment, and many traditional companies are acting like deer in the headlights.
Not moving. Not sure.
For them, familiar methods of bringing products and services to market are floundering and they aren’t hiring or growing domestically. Some are waiting for things to return to “normal”, but we’re living in the new normal right now.
DVRs helps people skip commercials, the internet is replacing newspapers and magazines (I love Flipboard), and only 1 out of 10 people open corporate emails on average. As Gary Vaynerchuk said at a tweetup event last night in Milwaukee, “People aren’t looking at billboards…they aren’t even looking at the ****ing road!”
The same goes for nearly all marketing communications from unfamiliar faces or brands. Everyone is too busy texing, tweeting, and “facebooking” to pay attention.
Times are changing and we’re not going back.
We’re now in the Attention Age, and companies are going to have to find new ways to get our attention. It won’t be easy. Wives may think husbands are bad at listening, but the modern world is even worse when it comes to traditional advertising.
In one ear and out the other.
Another thing Gary said got my attention. He said that everything in his latest book “The Thank You Economy” would be irrelevant in 5 years as marketers (like me) find ways to crawl into every successful way of getting our attention. As they actively seek our eyes and ears, marketers always find a way to ruin what’s working (email, banner ads, etc.) and they’ll ruin social media too.
So what is a safe long term investment?
Relationships.
People are usually loyal to their friends, business partners, and favorite brands. No matter what happens in the future, if you build real relationships and take care of your clients, friends, and followers, they will take care of you.
How? If you don’t start using social media tools now, you may not figure it in time. These tools are valuable for creating and strengthening relationships, but you need to get on it before it is ruined by marketers and the window of opportunity closes.
Seize the day! Engage on social media. Invest in relationships. Do some business.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” – Unknown
New tools, same rules.
Have a great night,
Aaron@Biebert
__________________________
Like this article? Subscribe to “Thoughts from an 8pm Warrior” via email
Google+