If you're into inbound marketing even just a little bit, you should know the name Tom Fishburne. Founder and CEO of Marketoonist, which parodies the world of marketing in the form of comics, Tom delights with his creative take on various marketing ideologies and subtopics.
But of my many favorite Fishburne-isms, it's something he says in a recent CustomerThink interview that rings truest of all for me:
"The best marketing doesn't feel like marketing"
I couldn't agree more. In a world of research-at-our-fingertips and Google-searches-galore, consumers are savvier than ever. In-authenticity reeks, and brands that aren't true to their mission (or those who haven't taken the time to explore what their mission actually is) are going to have an increasingly harder time finding marketing that works.
Worse? Those same savvy consumers are also unforgiving. Making the wrong move with your inbound strategy could just mean the death of your brand. Don't get me wrong, we all make honest mistakes, and the brands who make them (and get caught), if they're smart, will own up and charge forward. But the brands who think they can scheme their way into the hearts and wallets of their consumers are in for a rude awakening.
Marketing, inbound marketing, is about taking the time to:
- Understand your audience
- Think about how you can help them
- Figure out what problem you'll solve
- Create content that speaks to them
- Publish on a dependable schedule
