The marketing paradigm is shifting with much greater “power to the people” facilitated by social media. If you want to continue to reach your market, it’s not about advertising any more, but about building relationships.
Consider the following differences:
| Advertising | Building Relationships |
| 1. Telling
2. Starts with “me” (the brand, the product, the service) 3. Focuses on “what can you give me?” 4. Goal: instant impact 5. Where’s the money? |
1. Listening, hearing, empathizing, asking,
2. Starts with “you” (the customer’s needs, wants, interests and expectations) 3. Focuses on “how can I serve you?” 4. Goal: ongoing engagement 5. Who are the people? |
1. Telling vs. Listening
It may sound counterintuitive, but if you truly want to be heard above the growing social media “noise,” you need to listen. Listen to what your consumers and potential consumers are saying before you even put one word out there: What are they saying, what are they feeling, what are their pain points, what solutions do they need? Then when you do “speak” (type), empathize with them and ask them questions.