COMMENTS
Pete,
I can certainly relate to both sides on this one. As a brand strategist at heart, my natural reaction with every organization is to ask key brand questions: What makes us different? How do we express that diff in words, images and actions? What is our sustainable competitive advantage? What are our messages to each buyer persona?
While this is a critical process for many organizations, as an Internet marketer, you have to ask yourself, will spending months on this process have a direct impact on the growth and success of this business?
Or, are we better off diving into optimization, content marketing and social media?
The answer is that it depends on the organization, and often it's a blend of both.
Good post!
Paul
Pete--
A thought-provoking post. However, I must say that I think branding and messaging is vital to address ahead of an inbound or Internet marketing campaign. As you note in the second graph of that section, messaging work is often key to improving the results of an Internet campaign.
What I like about Internet campaigns is they allow a marketer to test given messages. A PPC campaign is a great way to see how certain messaging ideas resonate (provided the landing page, offer, etc. does not lose visitors by attrition).
Keep up the great discussion,
Ross Levanto
I particularly liked the observation on "a pixel to the right or left". I get very frustrated when we go through 5 or 6 versions of a graphic to satisfy everyone.
I think branding is still important, especially with how dynamic social media interactions are today. You can help improve your positioning and the depth of your network with a good message online. However, I've learned from interacting with bloggers and social media professionals that bad brand and horrible design can be overcome by useful content.
When comparing men and women, there are certain attitudes and value-sets that differentiate how and why they act certain ways (*generalization, I know). Is there a similar difference in any attitudes or values for internet/traditional marketers?
BTW, while I'm endlessly entertained watching your animated logo on Website Grader, I 100% support you changing your logo to a sock puppet ;) HubSock
@PaulRoetzer I appreciate the insight. Selling internet marketing services all day, I sometimes lose sight of that balancing act.
@Mallikarjunan HubSock it is!
Interesting distinction, Pete, but I think the best marketers combine both approaches. What good are 9000 leads a month if those prospects aren't sure what you sell? That's a conversion issue, and conversion still has a lot to do with branding and message (although there are a lot of useful tactical approaches as well). Yes, "one pixel to the left" is annoying, but a site's look and feel does impact visitors’ impressions of the company.
Regarding content, I think the traditional media types generate way more content, but they go about it all wrong! I am continually cutting client copy, mostly because it's boring! I would love it if my clients would write tons of (interesting) content - in 250 word bits. Like, in a blog? :) Instead they write reams about stuff nobody cares about because they think their website is the place to go into excruciating detail about things that won't fit into their brochures.
Thanks for the post!
I would agree with Ann on this - although there are some important distinctions made here the ideal approach is a combination of the two. Liken this to your "Men Are From Mars Women Are From Venus"example. The very differences between men and women are what make for a more effective team combination when compared to a team of all men or all women; men and women generally compliment one another well.
Back to marketing - in my opinion a hybrid of the two approaches works best capitalizing the strengths of each approach which in turn mitigates the weaknesses of each approach.
Well, to address your points, I guess it comes down to how you define online marketing. I don't distinguish between traditional and online marketing. I'm not sure anyone does, anymore. To me, it's simply all marketing -- which means setting up the blog but also getting the colors right. It's not either/or. You have to incorporate all of it to be effective. There are no short-cuts.
You could build a business without devoting any resources to branding, I suppose. You could also build a house without a blue print -- just get started, hammering away. It would look like you were making progress and accomplishing something, wouldn't it? But I wouldn't recommend it. Neither would last very long.
For example, I just checked out the websites of two HubSpot clients, and, among other challenges, they're using text colors that are practically illegible online. Another posts tiny photos that are supposed to show off their work, but don't because they are too small to be effective.
You can drive all the traffic in the world to your website but it does no good if the visitors have to work to understand your content, or if they are simply unimpressed with the look of the site. And that is where design comes in.
It's not just about "pretty;" it's also about content being usable and accessible.
I also feel that online marketers are more relevant and currently hotter than traditional marketers...even though executive salaries may not reflect the fact that is going to dramatically change over the course of the next decade.
Thanks for the fun discussion. Pete - I was waiting for you to comment on the social aspect of online marketing. How a company's positioning has so much to do with what other people are saying about it and less to do with a company's carefully-crafted CVPs and taglines. By the way - Link Love is an awesome example of the combo of traditional and internet marketing. brilliant!
Are you sure you aren't comparing the "branding advertising" with Internet marketing?
Everything I've done off-line as a direct response marketer is working just fine on the Internet medium.
I'm a traditional marketer in the sense of Henry S. Bunting, E. Haldeman-Julius, and John E. Kennedy. Many who were "selling in print" long before any kind of electronic media.
Sincerely,
Justin
Interesting take on the subject, but I think it takes a strong traditional marketer to be a good internet marketer. I think professionals need a solid understanding of branding and positioning concepts in order to bridge the gap between traditional and internet marketing, so that the gap betwee the two doesn't seem so obvious. Not enough people out there are skilled at bridging that gap. I can think of an analogy with photography - digital photographers are great, and the advent of that technology creates enormous benefits to customers, but without a solid understanding of f-stops and aperature, for example, your work may not be on par with a traditional photographer's.
Great analogy. One addition: Traditional marketers talk. Internet marketers actually listen.
I loved your piece...other than your whole Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus comparison in the beginning! What a hideous book. It's done a lot of disservice, I think, to both men and women. Maybe the reason we don't like discussing male/female differences is because it always sounds like slanted, loaded, sexist, repetitive, limiting and just plain off-base rhetoric. In my humble opinion.
Excuse me, I have to go coax my man out of his cave now.
Interesting post and a fascinating discussion. I'm firmly in the
"it's all marketing" camp. Internet marketing can be broken down further into SEO, SEM, SMM, etc., and traditional marketing into direct marketing, broadcast marketing, branding, etc., but none of these subsets exist in a vacuum. SEO is enhanced by an understanding of traditional marketing, and direct marketing improved with an understanding of social media.
Marketing will never be a one-size-fits-all endeavor because each market segment is at least somewhat unique. That's why effective marketers spend so much time gaining an understanding of their market. We have to understand our market before we can create an effective message to reach them, and we have to know where they hang out before we can honestly say which media will most effectively reach them.
In the final analysis, a company's brand has more to do with what it
does than what it
says about itself. It either builds on what it's learned through market research and delivers the product/service as promised in its message, or it fails. If customer service or fulfillment is poor, that speaks louder than any brand positioning statement, especially in today's Web 2.0 world.
Excellent Insite. a must read for everyone.
Have a nice day. Mark A Moment
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