The M Word
Recently an acquaintance of mine, Karl Vaters, did a podcast on the “M” word. For churches this would be marketing. We have seen too much misuse of marketing – for the sake of power, wealth and selfishness. But Marketing, rightly done, is about letting other know what you know that may be of interest to them.
I asked anther friend of mine, Andrew Glass, to drop by and chat about marketing. He is a bachelor’s student in business management. He laid out the basics from one of his classes. He’s a great teacher and very articulate (along with fun stories).
On the other hand, I have become increasingly frustrated with a digital world where sending out marketing data is a mere push of a button – and can be very inexpensive. Spam is ubiquitous (with various digital platforms trying to distinguish the spam from the important). And even the data that gets through to us always seems to persuade us that their sense of important is also your sense of what is important. The delete button is so easily used.
A few things I have taken away lately:
1. Most of us have something great to share, we just don’t know how to get it out there. OR more rightly, we don’t know who really needs to hear what we have to say. That’s perhaps the hardest part, figuring out your audience.
2. At the same time, people are looking to understand who you are. This is your personna. Once they understand your heart and your delivery of that heart, they know when and what to look for from you.
3. People don’t always want to be looking for you. That tends to be a frustrating game. Rather, as much as possible, directly contact people with updates – whether through regular updates or a way to make sure they are sent automatically generated information each time there is something new.
4. Most information is now subscription based – which then means what you find important can disappear from your view if you do not continue your loyalty. Less and less can you find something you actually own outright. At the same time, Open Source information (that which is free for all) rears its head. This is the next player on the information scene.
5. People have resources to use for what they find is important to them. They will pay, volunteer or even become a patron of the important. The ask for resources should be voluntary and based where there is a win/win in both directions – as much as possible. Providing “free” and unlimited resources best meets the needs of those who generously give.