Me, Myself & Marketing
A few years ago, I would have never thought that I would be a Marketing Assistant. I have always had an interest in marketing, and I have done a few courses related to it, but I never thought that what was my interest, would become my main field of work. I love marketing and to constantly learn something new about it, is what I strive for.
Let’s look at the definition of MARKETING:
Marketing as defined by the American Marketing Association: “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large”. The term was developed from the original meaning which referred to going to market with goods for sale.
In 2017 The New York Times described it as “the art of telling stories so enthralling that people lose track of their wallets.”
Think platforms
There are so many platforms that can be used to help you with Marketing. I think the task is a lot easier today than it was thirty years ago. We have Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn to name just a few. And if you do a little bit of research and a course or two, you will be able to gain the skills to effectively use them in your marketing strategy.
Tools, tools & more tools
You will definitely need a trusted friend to make life easier for you… a friend like Asana or any app that will help you to keep your marketing strategy organized. Believe me, this will help you A LOT! There are so many useful tools out there to choose from. When you have a moment to spare, have a coffee date with Mr. Google and you will be amazed to find out what is available out there to use.
Marketing and Branding, isn’t it the same thing?
What is branding and what is marketing? Isn’t it the same thing?
According to Wikipedia, “Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand” (Kotler & Keller, 2015).
According to (Hislop, 2001), Branding is the process of creating a relationship or a connection between a company’s product and emotional perception of the customer for the purpose of generating segregation among competition and building loyalty among customers.”
So, in a nutshell, branding is what you need to give your company/product/service a ‘face’, marketing is what you need to make this ‘face’ known and how you will use this ‘face’ to get sales. You will need a strategy for both of them.
You will work on your branding until you have completed it, but you will constantly work on your marketing.
A few Marketing secrets to keep in mind
- You need to know who you will be targeting: who will be your customers?
- You need to have your branding set up first
- Work with a plan, do not just do something because you read it someone and now decide to try it out. Plan what you want to do.
- Keep in mind how many people there are out there. Your target market does not have to include all of them. Keep your target market specific to the product/service you have to offer.
- There are certain ‘strong words’ that you can use in your marketing that will catch your customer’s attention. Words like “Free, How To, Secret, Limited offer, Don’t miss”. Words like these will create curiosity with a potential customer.
Types of Marketing Strategies
- Content Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Pay Per Click
- Search Engine Optimization
- Viral Marketing
- Influence Marketing
- Mobile Marketing
- Electronic Billboards
- Affiliate Marketing
- Networking
What I would recommend, is once you have decided on your niche/product/service, take the time to develop your branding first and then take the time to work on an effective marketing strategy. Do research on marketing to become familiar with the possibilities that are available to use. Do research on your competitors and what they are using for marketing, this might just benefit you more than you think.
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