I will start by saying that headline is not one I would’ve thought I’d ever write. But events of the last week or so showed me there was something all marketers could learn – or at least be reminded of – from Donald Trump.
What should we all glean from Trump? Don’t depend on outlets you don’t own.
No matter your party affiliation or personal feelings on Trump or his actions over the last week, the last four or five years, etc, we should all be able to agree on the fact that his de facto method of communication has been Twitter. He opted to forgo addressing the nation through traditional platforms such as press conferences with himself or his press staff, for the most part.
The problem with this, as I addressed in a blog post last year, is that this put Trump at the mercy of the powers that be at Twitter. (And Facebook. And Instagram, And YouTube. And Parler. And every other outlet that either banned him or got banned themselves.)
As Christopher Penn, one of my favorite marketing gurus, said in his newsletter, Trump built his home on rented land. And it ended up backfiring on him.
So when you’re looking at your marketing efforts, and you’re putting everything on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, but you’re putting no effort into driving traffic to your website or building your own email list, you’re basically following the same path as Donald Trump. No, here’s to hoping you don’t get banned for inciting violence against our country. But there are other reasons you could be shut down, literally or figuratively, such as:
- Promoting your business too heavily from a personal profile. (Yes, that is against the TOS of Facebook, and your profile can be shut down for it. Look it up.)
- Algorithm changes that focus on engagement rates you don’t meet.
- Algorithm changes that focus on paid ads over organic reach, and you don’t have the budget for paid ads.
Don’t get us wrong! We’re still huge proponents of social media, and we advocate incorporating it your overall marketing plans appropriately. But we also advocate a focus on building the marketing avenues you own. Invest in SEO so your site is found organically. Invest in campaigns to grow your email marketing list, and invest in actively marketing to those subscribers.
Need help on any or all of those efforts? We can help! Use the button below to give us a shout, and let’s see if we’re a good fit for you!
Image by Raven_C from Pixabay