When marketing fails 😫
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Hello Reader, I actually don't consider marketing that doesn't work (i.e. doesn't get the results you hoped for) to be "failures," that's just data. I've tried loads of things over the years that didn't work in terms of the outcomes I wanted, but those efforts provided lots of great information that I still use. But sometimes we do have straight up fails: No usable information, people left confused, and a lot of wasted time and resources. Most of the time this is for a singular reason: No strategy. Here's my model for sustainable, evergreen marketing, Alignthority®: You'll see that if we move left to right, there are a lot of steps we take PRIOR to actually implementing tactics, which begin at the very top of the Venn diagram with "Commit to Content." This placement of planning and strategizing first is extremely on purpose—thanks to lots of marketing failures I experienced when I worked inside institutions. Here's a fun story that illustrates just that. Back in the day, I worked in communications, focusing on PR and starting our social media program, for my city's Parks department (yes, it was exactly like the TV show Parks & Rec). One day, I got a call from one of our elected official's staff members who said that they wanted me to do an event celebrating what was then the world's smallest park. I was pretty new on the job and asked the usual questions, such as "Who is this for" and "Why are we doing this," which are typical when putting together a promotional strategy. Naturally, electeds being electeds, the poor staffer had no answer to my questions. So we did the usual: press releases, calls to reports, invites to groups that may be interested the super exciting event of moving a very tiny park from Point A to Point B. And, folks, it was kind of flop. And, sure, this is a niche, mildly comical marketing fail, but it's such a good example of going straight to, "This is a good promo opportunity," before asking, "Why are we doing this? Who's going to care? Does this fit our overall movement?" We're right in the thick of the final edition of Summer of SEO, and I know my awesome students are itching to jump into doing all the things, but I've been mean and making them analyze their audiences, get super clear on their internal Sphere of Authority, and identifying their points of view. Because I know that if they skip steps, they're far less likely to be set up for success. That's also why when I work on SEO projects, for example, we always start with an Alignthority® SEO Roadmap. I tried so many times to skip to tactics like "The Market" demanded, but in the end skipping the strategy and clarity meant doing the implementation on hard mode—and that's not a recipe for ease and success. (We like both those things a lot, right?) So, before you declare, "Well, I tried and it didn't work," ask yourself if you skipped steps. Did you start with a strategy? A written strategy? Or did you leap into tactics before knowing the destination? Talk soon, Sarah |