September 5, 2013

Is Your Marketing Connecting People?

Kelly Jackson

The Connection Economy & other take aways from Seth Godin’s Keynote at Inbound13

“In the connection economy, there's a dividing line between two kinds of projects: those that exist to create connections, and those that don't.” - Seth Godin

In the lead up to Inbound13, the speaker I was most excited to hear was Seth Godin. His talk was inspirational, not just as a marketer, but as a business owner. I’ve followed his work for many years and have seen how it has influenced inbound marketing. Godin’s keynote helped me to take a step back and understand how our economy has changed from an industrial economy where everything was mass produced and into a connection economy where relationships are a business’s most valuable asset.

connections_inbound13_video

In the past, companies made average products for average people. They then mass marketed them through the mass media. That worked for a long time. Godin’s message was clear: This doesn’t work anymore. Companies that don’t embrace the power of building and communicating with their network will be left behind.

We all know that we don’t have to listen to disruptive advertising anymore. We can choose to cut out the noise, whether it’s skipping commercials with our DVR, signing up for a do not call list or by unsubscribing from emails that you don’t want. If a message isn’t relevant people won’t listen.

Seth highlighted this, saying “You can no longer buy share of voice”. Telling people what they should want won’t work anymore. This is why executives must learn how to grow an audience and to make real connections with humans. They must provide products and services that people actually care about and create value by providing a solution. Focus on the people who care. Create connections. Share knowledge to help others and lead your tribe.

Seth further voiced that people want to connect, we want to exchange ideas and learn from each other. The power is within our network. The internet wasn’t made for advertising and it has opened up a platform for people to communicate. We share when we have both good and bad experiences with a brand. Companies that use online tools to engage with people will build those necessary connections. Seth reasoned that “Humans like to fit in. Humans are good at connecting.”He also advised that there are no shortcuts to building connection and “Integration is the key to the connection economy.

Failure was a topic that was brought up as well. Success doesn’t come without failure first. Don’t be afraid to create. Being an artist, as Godin defines it, means, “the work of a human being that's personal and real and might not work”. Trying to do work that’s important and makes connections does mean taking risks. However, if you’re afraid of failure, you’ll never succeed.

Seth’s keynote set the perfect tone for Inbound 13. The theme of the entire conference was that behind every online connection there is a human. When we are developing products, creating marketing campaigns, following up on a sales lead or providing service after the sale, think about the human being at the other end of the communication. How can we make their job easier? How can we provide them with information that they need? How can we make their experience remarkable?

Publishing a blog is a great way to begin creating a community that cares about what you do. Producing relevant content starts with planning, learn how with our free ebook.