Dear ,
In the US, we’re celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day or MLK Day for short.
Bear with me, this letter isn’t about transforming this great man’s words for
marketing ends but rather to show that his words still matter.
Trained as a pastor, Martin Luther King Jr. used the power of his speeches built with simple words and straight-forward language to reach the maximum number of people.
How?
By infusing his speeches with references his audience knew and were receptive to.
He knew the power of showing up and delivering those words. Even more important King knew the value of incorporating images his audience knew and understood.
While his “I Have A Dream” speech remains vibrant today, King used the same core themes in other speeches before his famous one at The March on
Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963.
Regardless of your race, country of origin or beliefs, King’s speech moves us to dream bigger. To think beyond our own needs.
Last week on the Daily Show, Actor Don Cheedle made the point that he supports
many important causes because he has a public platform and the ability to shed light on issues. (Note: Cheedle’s comments start around 25:00.)
In this context, I ask: “How many
of us take the time to use our platforms for something greater than us or our business goals?”
It’s not just you that I ask that question of but also myself.
Now that we’re more than halfway through January, have your resolutions faded like a blurry image in your rearview mirror? (Fun fact: January 17th was "National Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day".)
Is your real trouble the fact that you were too focused on your big goal that you never developed an on-ramp to help you achieve those objectives?
For example, if you’re traveling by plane, just because you make it through
the airport’s hurdles of checking in, getting through security, waiting to board and getting into your seat with your carry-on, doesn’t mean that the plane will immediately take off.
You must still wait for the pilots, other cabin crew, and ground control to give the plane the okay to leave the gate, move to takeoff position and be cleared to go.
Therefore, integrate similar steps to
achieve your objective. If not, chances are that you’re setting yourself up for failure. (BTW, Atul Gawande's, The Checklist Manifesto, is based on this process.)
Don’t worry you’re not alone. I did the same thing.
I decided to get into better physical shape this year. So I joined a gym. Even better, I did so on December 31st since gym memberships prices go up on January 1st.
Yeah me! <Happy Dance!>
Guess how many times I’ve gone to the gym?
ZERO!
So my return on gym membership to-date = 0!
More important is why I failed. (Note: Everyone fails until they figure out how to succeed. They just don't talk about it. We are not alone.)
I failed to integrate going to the gym into my weekly schedule. Here’s the thing—if it were a doctor’s appointment, I’d move around everything else to accommodate it.
Does that mean that I don’t think that I need to go to the gym?
No.
Do I think that my gym decision was wrong?
No—But I do need to change my schedule to get regular workouts in every week. Also, I need to build up my workouts over time.
Years ago, before a trekking trip across South America, I joined the same gym. The salesperson easily convinced me to get a trainer since my time before I left was short and I was not in shape for the extreme level of the trip.
While most people pay for training sessions to get themselves to to workout, I had the fear of getting left behind in the Andes. As as result, I scheduled my life around my 3 day workouts and one day off.
Since my health and well being extend beyond the month of January, I must change my schedule or I won’t get into shape.
The same goes for marketing.
After the end of year push, I get that you want to lay back and take it
easy.
But if we want our marketing to matter, we have to keep going. We need to build on-ramps to get our marketing on track to succeed since 2019 is only going to last 365 days and over 20 of are already gone.
Heidi Cohen,
Actionable Marketing Guide
Happy Marketing,
Heidi
 To help you get your content on track for 2019, use this 5 step approach to content creation to develop the content your business needs.
When less than 60% of digital traffic is non-human, you need to ensure that your marketing is better at reaching people! This includes your:
- Advertising
- Owned Media
- Content Marketing on other sites including social media
Get the inside scoop on Andrea Vahl’s latest book, Facebook Ads Made Simple.
I love this interview with Andrea who has been on the inside track of Facebook Marketing for years.
BTW—What to meet Andrea IRL? Attend SMMW19!
Join Me and top social media marketers in San Diego, March 20th – March 22. Register now and save – prices go up every week! Heidi Cohen Around the Internet
Photos: Martin Luther
King Jr. at The March On Washington via Wikipedia
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=294345
Photo of Don Cheedle and Trevor Noah: courtesy The Daily Show, Comedy Central
Terrific! You made it this far. Now here's the fine print:
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Social Media Marketing World 2019