Traditional marketing tirelessly hails the "4 P's" of marketing: product, price, place and promotion.
Today, however, traditional and digital are antonyms. Digital is a paradigm shift. So for today's different marketing world, Mashable offers the "4 C's" of digital marketing. Here are my reasons why marketing needs to change its tune and follow the 4 C's:
1. Creating
2. Curating
3. Connecting
4. Culture
1. Creating. Creating new content has always been important. Timeliness creates relevancy and people never consume the irrelevant. Yet creating today has more to do with creativity. The social media managers at OREO were insanely creative when they made the "Dunk in the Dark" tweet during the Superbowl blackout of 2013. In a matter of minutes. That takes creativity. Today's marketers must think on their feet when the ad is going out now, not tomorrow morning when the presses start rolling.
2. Curating. This is something I've been stressing for years. Curation is the ability to sort through information. Your brand needs to voice its opinion on other brands, cultural trends and news stories. News aggregation sites are the masters of curating. They sift through the mess of information that's online. Bloggers, tweeters and pinners on Pinterest are curators by giving product reviews and simply talking about what they feel is relevant. In a world overflowing with information (textual, audio, visual), people need others to sift through the clutter. Curation is also the reason "Top 10 ____" lists are so successful. If you curate, people will listen and take your word for it. Don't be afraid to talk about things other than your brand. Curating is not a cop-out for marketers. Like a good friend giving advice, curation is essential to show your brand's discernment and helpfulness.
3. Connecting. Connection goes two ways, both brand-to-audience and audience-to-audience. Ideally, the brand would feel like a (friendly, knowledgeable) member of the large virtual/social group. Connecting in the Digital Age goes beyond newsletters and the occasional call to customer service if you have an issue. Connecting means audiences will see your tweets sandwiched in between tweets from college friends and their favorite sports team. Stay relevant, knowledgeable, humorous and friendly. You will connect with your audience on a personal level never possible with traditional marketing.
4. Culture. Culture is being a part of a community, tied together with common beliefs and interests. The first question to ask yourself is, "What is my brand's culture?" If your brand is only about product, place, price and promotion, you've failed the culture test. An environmentally-conscious brand is about conscientiousness, concern for the future, loyalty to plants and animals, and intentional living. A technology brand is about innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, attention to product design and has a certain "chutzpah" that goes along the ability to hack. Your brand needs personality. This is your guiding light for what to create, what to curate, and how to connect with your audience. A brand gains audience loyalty on one level if they buy your product at a good price. But it's a whole other level when your audience connects with you on a cultural level. Very little can break that bond.
-Carissa
Today, however, traditional and digital are antonyms. Digital is a paradigm shift. So for today's different marketing world, Mashable offers the "4 C's" of digital marketing. Here are my reasons why marketing needs to change its tune and follow the 4 C's:
1. Creating
2. Curating
3. Connecting
4. Culture
1. Creating. Creating new content has always been important. Timeliness creates relevancy and people never consume the irrelevant. Yet creating today has more to do with creativity. The social media managers at OREO were insanely creative when they made the "Dunk in the Dark" tweet during the Superbowl blackout of 2013. In a matter of minutes. That takes creativity. Today's marketers must think on their feet when the ad is going out now, not tomorrow morning when the presses start rolling.
2. Curating. This is something I've been stressing for years. Curation is the ability to sort through information. Your brand needs to voice its opinion on other brands, cultural trends and news stories. News aggregation sites are the masters of curating. They sift through the mess of information that's online. Bloggers, tweeters and pinners on Pinterest are curators by giving product reviews and simply talking about what they feel is relevant. In a world overflowing with information (textual, audio, visual), people need others to sift through the clutter. Curation is also the reason "Top 10 ____" lists are so successful. If you curate, people will listen and take your word for it. Don't be afraid to talk about things other than your brand. Curating is not a cop-out for marketers. Like a good friend giving advice, curation is essential to show your brand's discernment and helpfulness.
3. Connecting. Connection goes two ways, both brand-to-audience and audience-to-audience. Ideally, the brand would feel like a (friendly, knowledgeable) member of the large virtual/social group. Connecting in the Digital Age goes beyond newsletters and the occasional call to customer service if you have an issue. Connecting means audiences will see your tweets sandwiched in between tweets from college friends and their favorite sports team. Stay relevant, knowledgeable, humorous and friendly. You will connect with your audience on a personal level never possible with traditional marketing.
4. Culture. Culture is being a part of a community, tied together with common beliefs and interests. The first question to ask yourself is, "What is my brand's culture?" If your brand is only about product, place, price and promotion, you've failed the culture test. An environmentally-conscious brand is about conscientiousness, concern for the future, loyalty to plants and animals, and intentional living. A technology brand is about innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, attention to product design and has a certain "chutzpah" that goes along the ability to hack. Your brand needs personality. This is your guiding light for what to create, what to curate, and how to connect with your audience. A brand gains audience loyalty on one level if they buy your product at a good price. But it's a whole other level when your audience connects with you on a cultural level. Very little can break that bond.
-Carissa