The truth is: "doing something different", is just not all that different. At least not anymore. Perhaps 200 years ago a company could honestly open in a niche industry, and actually have an offering different to any of their pre-existing competitors. Nowadays, that just isn't realistic.
To define the viral loop, you can think of it as: The steps a user goes through between entering the site to inviting the next set of new users. Simple enough? Well, because this core loop is repeated so many times over generations and generations of users, getting it right is incredibly important.
Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.
At its core purpose, marketing is supposed to raise awareness to increase business. Too often, however, I observe fellow marketers engaged in campaigns and activities designed merely to do the former without true execution on the latter.
Marketing costs money, but it should also make money.
But suffice it to say that unless your company has money burning a hole in its metaphorical pocket, marketing and business development should be thought of as one and the same.
Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two–and only two–basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs.
But smart companies see marketing as an integral part of doing business — a necessity no less important than the company email system, their computers, or their office lease.
Most of the brands you love like Apple, Southwest Airlines, or Nordstrom inherently appreciate that marketing is a fundamental part of their business. It gets baked into the products and services — it’s not just a line item on a P&L like the heating bill.
Marketing must maintain a level of discipline to be successful, and filtered opinions can help more than a sea of unsolicited ideas.
The mistake I see people making is thinking about marketing like some kind of magic pixie dust sprinkled around when the need arises. Marketing isn't any less important than the products and services you deliver or the people who provide them.
Thinking about the ROI of social media marketing — or any marketing — makes business owners think that marketing is some kind of slot machine, where they put money in and hope more money comes out. Instead, think about how you can generate greater profits with your social media marketing by using social media to reduce expenses and increase revenue.
Landing pages are the key to measuring the effectiveness of what you do with social media. If you’re having trouble figuring out whether your social media marketing is effective, it’s because you haven’t thought through your landing page strategy.
The answer is to use social media sites to get attention in the first place, and show people you’re likable and trustworthy. But when someone is ready to learn more about your business, bring them back to an asset you control — bring them back to your website.
To be on the internet is to exist in a prolonged state of ambient shopping.