A couple of thoughts about Marketing in 2019

Happy New Year … again. Good grief, time passes quickly when you’re in your 20’s 😉.

I read an interesting article on why that is – according to the author as you age, one year becomes a less and less significant proportion of your life. Think about it. When you’re 5, and a year takes forever to pass, it’s because that year is one full fifth of your entire life! But at 50, when that same year represents only 1/50^th of your life, it seems like a proportionally smaller collection of memories and the perception of the same time period seems shorter … or so the theory goes. But I digress…

Marketers have always used content to sell products and services in one way, shape or form.

I tell this story only as an attempt at motivation. In about 5 minutes we’ll be looking back at 2019 and wonder what we got accomplished … so get going!

 But until then, let’s take a look at a few marketing ideas that could be a thing in 2019.

Content Marketing … sort of. 2019 is destined to be the year of Content Marketing … for the x^th time. I say that half-tongue-in-cheek because 1) it will be, and 2) how we view and actually market with content will change. First let me say this – content marketing has ALWAYS been a thing … period! Marketers have always used content to sell products and services in one way, shape or form. So what has changed? Well, from the consumer’s perspective nothing, really. The need for information to make decisions is as strong as ever. Fortunately for consumers, marketers everywhere have been focused on producing content by the truckload to make them look smart (aka, differentiated). And the true winners in this content arms race has been the consumer. Never has it been easier to learn or compare or evaluate or…???

The need for information to make decisions is as strong as ever.

So what will change in 2019? With all this content proliferated across the internet marketers will be forced to be more strategic with the delivery of that information. The days of, write 500 blogposts and they will come, are gone. In 2019 the best marketers will take their prospects/customers on a content journey – strategically mapped and measured to ensure whatever they call a conversion is occurring after the content is consumed. The marketers that are content with just providing reading material will go the way of the Library of Alexandra … without the “Wonder” part 😉. Journey mapping and TRUE content “marketing” will replace what has really been several years of content “creation”. Neil Patel has a good article that details how exactly to accomplish this feat for yourself (https://neilpatel.com/blog/9-essential-content-marketing-apps-that-will-grow-your-blog-traffic/).

Synergistic Marketing. I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s next? For quite a while we’ve been focused on the Flavor of the Month (aka, Flavor of the Past Eight Years), Content Marketing. Although I’m a strong proponent of the power of content, and believe it should be a cornerstone of all marketing efforts, as with all trends it’s hype (not importance) will fade. Mobile was a “trend” once, too. So what will follow Content Marketing? I started thinking about synergistic marketing a few years ago. The principle being, as marketing as a discipline matures, so does the necessity for the sophistication of the approach.

A comprehensive, synergistic plan that strategically leverages pieces of the marketing toolkit. Everybody tries to do this now, few do it well – just like content. Think of it through a sports metaphor. The 1936 thru 39 Yankees were great – one of the greatest teams ever. They won four straight World Series, sweeping the last two from the Cubs and Reds. But can you imagine the look on DiMaggio or Gehrig’s face if they ever saw a 100+MPH fastball from Aroldis Chapman? With all due respect you get the idea – things change and people get better. Marketing is no different. And as people, and disciplines, mature the cream will always rise to the top. So if you want to compete my recommendation is to become cream, also.