I wasn’t very articulate. Laura Finaldi, a writer for Raleigh’s News and Observer, interviewed me for several hours. Most of my contribution to our interview was, “Internet marketing isn’t what most people including Small to Medium Sized Businesses think it is”. True but not helpful. Laura did a great job of creating an elegant summary of my wandering Internet marketing nomad interview. Pieces of our interview and two previous posts helped me become more articulate about what Internet marketing is REALLY about.
The Internet Marketing Triptych
- Causes.
- Crowds.
- Cash.
Cause or “Social Marketing”
Long before Facebook there were a group of “marketers for social good” or “social marketers”. Founders of “social marketing” believed in saving the world by using the same marketing tactics P&G and Gillette use to make billions. One of the father’s of social marketing taught me an important lesson – don’t think of “marketing for social good” as charity but marketing with a more broad assessment for Return On Investment (#ROI)”. Lives saved factored into my mentor’s P&L. Since his family planning and aids prevention campaigns in places best to visit with armed guards ran for years thousands and possibly millions of “lives saved” rested on his social marketing balance sheet.
I’ve noted how quickly nonprofits and for profit strategies and tactics are running toward one another in our digital age. My Save The World Marketing Slideshare (now with over 7,300 views) shares how nonprofits need to steal from for profits and Vice Versa. For profit companies understand how to invade Russia in the winter, but logistics lacks emotional connection.
In a flat, connected, social and mobile world stories and emotional connection rule the most fleeting of currencies – Attention. Nonprofits tell great visual stories. For Profits are playing catch the storyteller as fast as they can. Nonprofits don’t understand the web’s massive scale and SPEED (always faster). No matter what you sell understanding how to align your efforts to a CAUSE should be your first step.
If your cause is exciting, honest and fun you are a third of the way to Internet Marketing’s Triptych. How do you know what causes will support your brand? Review Jim Stengel’s Brand Ideals in his book Grow and look for a match. Atlantic BT is helping CureCancerStarter.org, a cool crowdfunding platform for cancer research working with UNC, Duke, City of Hope, Roswell Park and the University of Wisconsin’s Carbone Cancer Center.
CureCancerStarter.org is a great cause and well aligned with Atlantic BT’s software and web design positioning. If your Internet marketing doesn’t have a connection to something larger than making money FIND IT, SUPPORT IT and LEARN from the experience.
Crowds
Crowds create feedback and feedback is more important than oxygen online. 5 Reasons Crowdfunding and Ecommerce Are Stronger Together is a recent post where I suggest everyone should have a store AND the active support of a crowdfunding platform. Such a suggestion may sound crazy radical now, but can we afford to BET on inventory, costs and profits when someone else is ASKING for help first? Crowdfunding and crowdsourcing is bursting out all over. Tapping wisdom of crowds is easier than ever and about to get even easier. Atlantic BT is working hard on a flexible crowdfunding platform adaptable to any business vertical.
When we create our Software As A Service (SaaS) crowdfunding platform can your website afford to be without it? We bet no because FEEDBACK before during and after Internet marketing is possible. Profits go up as costs go down when Internet marketers listen at least as much as they talk in real time.
Cash
5 New Ecommerce Lessons is really about why everyone, no matter what business vertical or stage of online development, should have an online store. Creating an online store teaches more about keywords, navigation and storytelling than ANY exercise. There are lessons such as how some pages go together while others fight each other that can only be fully learned by creating a store.
I work for a B2B web design and development company in Raleigh. Why should Atlantic BT have a store? Yes. Here is Mark Traphagen’s excellent Haiku Deck summary of my 5 New Ecommerce Lessons ScentTrail Marketing Post (or why everyone should have an E-commerce store):
Even if your B2B Internet marketing team never creates a store learning to THINK like an online merchant will help. Look for the “cross-sale” and the “up-sale” of your ideas and content. Solicit User Generated Content (UGC) like a starving man looking for a meal and create content that springs legs and walks around the world.
How does your Internet marketing take a giant leap into the NOW? What is your CAUSE, CROWD and CASH? When you understand Internet Marketing’s Triptych you win. When you understand and use all three ideas when your competitors are only using one or two MAGIC HAPPENS!
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