"The Future Has Arrived Early": The New Normal For Marketers
“The future has arrived much faster than any of us were prepared for,” says tech social guru, Evan Kirstel. COVID-19 is forcing all of us to reconsider how we do business. As Kirstel points out in the interview below, the sea change to online-centric marketing has been rising for years with digital platforms and social media leading the way. Unfortunately, instead of a gently rising tide, we were struck with a tsunami of forced transformation.
“Teleworking is now work. Telehealth is now health. Digital marketing is now just marketing. We’re all having to throw out the old playbooks and write completely new ones,” Kirstel explains.
He’s right. Events are being canceled for the foreseeable future. Paid promoted posts and digital advertising are in decline. People are on screens connecting with each other and looking for information, but they’re ignoring sponsored posts and ads.
To be relevant, marketers have to provide new meaningful content that helps, informs, and educates people in this time of crisis. We have to throw out the glossy, over-produced, hyper-compliant brand messaging and focus on communicating with customers, providing relevant and purposeful digital experiences.
One silver lining in all of this is that the digital infrastructure exists and is reliable. We have social media to receive information and stay connected. We have digital platforms to keep the world in functioning order. We all just need to make sure we're making the most of what's available.
As Evan eloquently pointed out, “we all have to be tech practitioners, not just observers.” In other words, everyone needs to invest more time where, frankly, they were too busy before - learning about, understanding, embracing, and leveraging the digital platforms they will need to rely upon going forward. This is especially true for tech marketers.
Watch the full video interview, I hope you enjoy!
@Evan, thank you for the dose of pragmatic optimism. It’s a joy to share your insights with my community.
