How Marketing Has Changed in the Digital Age.

How Marketing Has Changed in the Digital Age.
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Luis Llerena

A happy customer who tells his friends about the great service he experienced will bring repeat customers. It has been this way since the beginning of time since the very first deal was made. For years, that is how business was done. You build a reputation over time, little by little each year. Having other people talk about you is far better than any ad you can buy. People listen to those they know, like, and trust.

Things are much different now… These days we research people and companies to see what we can find before we make a buying decision. We look for reviews, opinions on blogs and social sites. We look to see what other companies say, what other sites say or what the news can tell us about them.

In a way… not much has changed. We still listen to people (or entities) we know, like, and trust.

Though technology has changed, human behavior has stayed quite the same.

There is a difference, however, in the time it takes you to get yourself in front of people to build a reputation and credibility.

You still need to be good at what you do, you still need to provide the same great service, but you can accelerate the process of building a reputation and a brand for yourself.

This is done by leveraging your knowledge to position YOU as the expert in your field.

What does that mean exactly?

A good number of professionals today are keeping a blog. They write articles about their niche that demonstrate their knowledge. If they are doing this right, they are also educating their prospects and solving problems for them with this information. By educating, your value will go up in the eyes of your prospects. Like I said, a good number of professionals are doing this and more and more are getting this right every day. But what if there was something a whole lot more powerful?

How do you leverage that knowledge to be recognized as the expert in your field?

You can wait for someone to come along one day and give you a badge to wear on your jacket that says “expert”…

But that day will never come…

Knowing that referrals and are the best way to gain business and build a reputation why not leverage that power.

Get people talking about you

  • Blog posts about you
  • Magazine articles about you
  • Interviews with you
  • Quotes in the news
  • Podcast/radio

Instead of spending so much time and money running ads, use your energy and resources for what has always worked best.

Don’t re-invent the wheel, improve on it.

  • Third party mentions work better than an ad, people are numb to the “look at me” approach.
  • When you place an ad, they either work or they don’t and once the purchased time is up you have to re-invest. Citations and media mentions work for you month after month, year after year.
  • By adding screenshots and links to these digital assets in a press room on your website, you will firm up your credibility.
  • Depending on who’s talking about you, the authority from those entities can “rub off”. Having a brand like Fox or CNN quoting you as an expert can go a long way in your positioning.
  • These media mentions are quite often shared through social media giving you a tip of the hat from your colleagues.
  • If your prospects find people or brands they know, like, or trust saying good things about you, your competition won’t stand a chance. These interviews, articles and magazine spotlights work like trust triggers.
  • You can use the logos from the outlets you have been featured in on your website and other marketing.
“Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.” – Richard Branson

Harness the power of media relations

Make yourself available to the media. Position yourself as the expert journalists will want to quote when writing about your area of expertise. To do this, get yourself out there, target the reporters that cover your market by keeping them up-to-date on changes in your industry. By being knowledgeable and easy to work with they’ll call you when they are in need of your expert opinion.

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