“Most modern businesses start out in a niche market. It’s the only way to get off the ground. But as that business grows we must think about who are real audience is and who we want it to be.”
This is often the toughest part about marketing a business or a cause. How can we be both authentic and mainstream at the same time? How can we appear genuine and reach the masses? You can’t. I’ve often found in marketing and branding, realizing who you truly are is the key ingredient into getting people to be apart of your story. Besides, that’s what every marketer and brand manager wants. They want an authentic story that reaches the masses. That story is both authentic (passionate) and massive (popular). No middle of the curve here!
In the age of media blitzes and demographic messaging, it’s good to know that we still have the ability to create an authentic story. And that story is what builds a brand. It’s that story that markets itself. What Seth didn’t say is that it took John Mayer years of playing gigs and college campuses before he made it big. My advice would to allow the story to develop. Yes. It takes some time. And yes, your boss is going to want to see the immediate results of your actions.
(Most CEO’s have no idea how to develop a story oftentimes forgetting the years that it took to create the story that got them in the spot they’re in.)
It takes time and strategy. Patience and creativity. But you will know when you get there. You will know your audience because they followed you from chapter one. It’s your audience that will tell others about you. You go from marketing, to conversation. A conversation is a natural fit for marketers that are doing it the right way.
