Women, diversity, and the new “era” of marketing
Hey friend,
When it comes to the current state of online marketing, we’re experiencing the end of an era.
Just think about it …
As a business: You’re marketing/selling to followers who are constantly taking social media “breaks”, complaining about Facebook/Instagram ads, swearing off buying anything new, and overwhelmed by the amount of influencers who are constantly trying to market/sell to them.
As a business owner: You’re burnt out by your own noisy and hype-y industry and are sick of worrying about your organic reach decreasing, or the cost of paid advertising rising, or how much the algorithm is working “against” you.
And as a human being: You’re battling your own decision fatigue, monitoring your own social media consumption, and equally annoyed and worn out by all the “proven” step-by-step systems that are currently being marketed and sold to by the noisy and hype-y online educational industry.
And YET. The people at the top of this same online educational industry aren’t offering any real-world solutions to these problems and are scrambling (just as much as you are) to overcome them.
The super quick summary (as to WHY this is happening) can be boiled down to this: The online marketing industry has predominantly been a “bro” industry ever since its origination.
Which is why, 15-20 years back, when a few very successful men figured out their own hacks/templates/scripts that WORKED (during the golden era of digital marketing), they decided to package up all this knowledge and sell these “proven” step-by-step systems to their clients.
Next up: Their clients experienced such wonderful results from this insider knowledge, that they decided to package up this same info and sell it to their clients.
You see where I’m going with this, right?
Fast forward 15-20 years, and now the online marketing industry is more pyramid-like than ever before. Except now, all those original “tactics” don’t work (“tactics” = flashy ads, formulaic funnels, big promises, fake scarcity, high-pressure sales convos, etc.).
1) Because technology and culture have changed and made it even easier for more and more people (from all walks of life) to start a business.
And, 2) because the most common advice/rhetoric/clichés (that can all be traced back to a few successful men) no longer align with the millions of diverse female entrepreneurs who WANT to buy, market, and sell differently.
So when I say this is the “end of an era”, that’s actually a GOOD thing.
Because more and more people, like me and you, are waking up to the fact that we’re DONE with the pyramid, done with the templates, and done with all the ways in which we’ve accidentally bought into OR contributed to an industry that has packaged and sold “success” as if it’s a final destination vs. a lifestyle of creativity, grit, and never-ending leadership.
This is why, more than ever before, I’m focused on helping the women (and men) in our community EXPAND their skill sets, master new challenges, and step into their true role as Owner/Visionary/CEO of their company.
Because unlike what every other course/coach is selling you right now, there is no moment of “arrival” when it comes to business.
Which means, as social media changes, you—as a business—must change. And as your people and your industry change, you—as the business owner—must grow, expand, and change, too.
And this … this requires a “Strategist Mindset” that evolves with changes in culture/technology and that reflects you (as both a human + a leader) as you continuously grow and change over time.
With this shift in perspective, the “trickle-down effect” (i.e. the way in which advice slowly works its way down the entrepreneurial pyramid) doesn’t matter, or the way in which Instagram used to work (before the algorithm changed) doesn’t matter, or even the way in which you used to market/sell to your audience doesn’t matter.
All that matters is staying in tune with what’s happening NOW and what will happen in the future. And to do that, it always, always, always comes back to these 4 key areas:
- Staying in tune with your people and on top of your data. There is never a time in our business when I do NOT know what our people are talking about, writing about, complaining about, messaging us about, posting about, etc. That’s exactly why our opt-in page for this “Unhidden” email series is currently converting at 55% (when the industry standard for splash pages is 10-20%). Because no matter how much our company grows or what’s on my plate as our CEO, my job is to deeply understand our people and to envision new ways in which we can reach them, help them, and serve them better.
- Staying in tune with what’s happening inside AND outside of your industry. I’m deeply influenced and inspired by the amazing ways in which creatives from other disciplines are constantly thinking outside the box. Whether it’s musicians, actors, artists, or comedians … they’re at the forefront of what’s happening in our culture. So instead of looking inwards at the online marketing industry, I look outwards for inspiration. All the while, I’m constantly making note of what annoys me and angers me most about my own industry.
- Staying in tune with market sophistication. No matter what you sell, your target market is currently overwhelmed, burnt out, and worn-out by your industry. So the more your industry tries to sell the same way, by using the same tactics, the more these tactics won’t work and the smarter/savvier your audience becomes. This is why I make special note of every cliché, myth, template, and buzzword that the online marketing industry uses … so I know the EXACT topics I’m going to talk about differently and the rules I’m going to break next.
- Staying in tune with yourself, above all else. Earlier this week, on Instagram Stories, I shared about the importance of “CEO time.” CEO time = white space in your schedule that you fiercely protect and use to reflect, strategize, write, research, up-level and take action on your OWN vision, ideas, and goals. To me, this time is more important to the success of our business than any other “task” on my to-do list. Because this is HOW I’m able to come up with new ideas, new products, new words, and new ways in which we can market/sell what we do. Without this time, I’d constantly be ignoring my best ideas, doubting my own vision/wisdom, and self-sabotaging my own progress. Simply put: The more I, as the CEO, explore my “gut instincts”, the far greater our results become and the more aligned, excited, and fulfilled I feel.
So my question for you today is: As the CEO of your company, what are you *most excited* and READY to start tuning into? Your people? Your data? Your industry? Yourself?
We read (and respond) to every single message you send us via email or Instagram. So if you’re open to sharing with us today, we’d really LOVE to know your answer!
Until the next email in our “Unhidden” series …
All our love,
Elise + Scott
PS: Thank you to everyone who’s forwarded this email series on to a friend or sent us back messages of support! We had a pretty good feeling this series would resonate with you (because of #1-4) … but your response has truly blown us away.
So thank you, thank you, thank you for all the ways in which you consistently show up, love on us, and do life/business right alongside us.
It’s truly an honor we don’t take for granted.