Heroes in Business - Advertising and Promoting is NOT Marketing

Episode Date: April 21, 2021

Listen to this episode of Social Media On Steroids with Dan Shinder and learn how advertising and promoting are NOT the same as MARKETING. You need marketing to be compelling in order for people to respond to the advertising and promoting!

Hi, and welcome to the Social Media on Steroids podcast. I'm Dan Schindler, and I created the Social Media on Steroids brand of education, training, consulting, and services to help others learn from my experience of achieving extraordinary results with content marketing on social. I attracted a following of over 1 million people and reach millions more online each month, 100% organically. In this series, I share the strategies that helped me cross all the milestones it took to get there and that we still use. And please, before we dive in, take down my email address in case you have questions. I answer all questions and I take suggestions for topics to be covered in this

series. You can reach me directly at dan at advancedsocialmarketing.com. And of course, the website is the same URL. Follow the blog there and the Advanced Social Marketing YouTube YouTube channel. Okay, let's jump in. Okay, so welcome to episode seven. Lucky seven. Actually, all my episodes are, well, not lucky, because what's the definition of luck? It's preparedness meets opportunity. So if you learn what I teach, and if you apply what I teach, I guarantee you will begin getting better results no matter where you are in your social media marketing or content marketing journey, even if you have a degree in marketing. So episode seven, advertising and promoting are not marketing. Advertising and promoting is not marketing or are not.

It's not marketing. They're not the same thing. And by the way, be sure to check out more episodes if you've missed any by searching Dan Schindler on Alliancer.com or your favorite podcast platform. This is on about 40 plus podcast platforms, so you can easily find it and subscribe on your favorite platform. Okay, so advertising and promoting, neither are marketing. Okay, it's different. So the advertising and promoting tells people what you have to offer. The marketing is what gives them a reason to act on that. The marketing is what gives them a reason to respond to the promoting and or the advertising. I'll never forget the first time I heard this was 2013 in the first year of Drum Talk TV

and I was already teaching social media on steroids and my friend Laurie Shube pointed out how similar one of the slides in part of my talks was related to this when I talked about if all a TV station did was play five minutes of your favorite show, then 25 minutes of commercials, then five minutes of your favorite shows. Welcome to our channel. All we want to do is advertise to you. Or imagine a radio station doing that. She says, yeah, exactly. Because

advertising and promoting is not marketing. Marketing is what gives people a reason to follow you and or your brand. Maybe you are the brand. Maybe you work for a brand. That's why I say it that way. So let's rewind about 45 years. When I was actually a little longer than that, but we won't get into dating me too much. get into dating me too much. When I was about 12, I think, my mother was always really into gardening, and I was into gardening. I still am. It's actually what keeps me off the news, okay? And I was also into photography, and across the street and down three houses from where we lived was an older couple. They were probably the age I am now. No, actually, they really were old. They were like in their late, older. Sorry. They were in their, I think maybe early 80s. And I was like

12. So imagine, they're like a century and a half old to me at the time. And the woman was always outside in the front gardening. So my mother would go down and talk to her. And this is all about where social media started. So bear with me. It's all about marketing versus advertising and promoting. It's relevant. So hang in there. There is a moral to this story. Ah, the story. Think about that word for a moment, the story. Tuck that away for a moment. So my mother would go down and talk to the woman. I don't remember her name. Let's say it's Ethel. My mother, Elaine, would go talk to Ethel, give her iris bulbs, and Ethel would give her a rosebush bulb. You know, they would exchange things and just talk about gardening. And one day, my mom

mentioned that I'm into photography at the time. And so Ethel asked, would Danny like to, I was Danny back then, would Danny like to come see a slideshow of our recent vacation? And they went to Vermont or something. I don't even remember. But over time, I saw many of these slideshows. They'd invite me over. And I was a little uncomfortable. I didn't really know them. And they're a century and a half older than me, but they sat me down and made some popcorn and turned off the lights and turned on the old fashioned slide projector. And of course, inevitably there was a slide upside down here and there that the gentleman had to fix. Earl, let's call him Earl. Earl and Ethel. And these slideshows were of their vacations. And as they clicked through the slides, they would tell me about each photo. What was going on? Where was it? What was the photo of? Why did they take the photo? Why did it mean so much to them? What was that special moment all about? Well, think back to the beginning, or as

far as you know, as far back as you can, to the beginning of social media. In fact, let's take Facebook. Facebook's tagline was, Facebook, a place to share photos with your friends. Now, photos are pretty much obsolete. It's all about video. We'll get into that in another episode. I've touched on it here and there, but we'll get into that. But my point is this. Let's pretend for a moment that Earl and Ethel were a travel agency. They weren't jamming down my throat. Dan, you got to travel here. You got to travel there. Let us book for you. Let us book you a rental car. Let us, well, of course, I was 12, but you get the picture. Let us book you a hotel. Let us book you a rental car you gotta go to this destination that destination we're gonna book you airline tickets you want first class you want champagne in the front advertise advertise advertise advertise

no they were imagined as a travel agency they were sharing the stories with the photos of why these places were so special to them, what emotions these experiences evoked for them. And it truly made me want to go to these places. So like every time, you know, I kind of like grimaced, I got to go watch another one of those slideshows, but I'd come home going, mom, dad, we got to go here. We got to go there because I was like so sold on it because of their stories and their wonderful pictures. What they were doing was marketing, not advertising or promoting. This is very important to understand how that's relevant to today, whether you're a solopreneur or you're the head of marketing or you work in the marketing department of a huge corporation, this is all the same. In fact, when this is done, reference my podcasting episode three. Episode three, content to grow your following. And I

give examples of what you should be doing instead of just advertising, advertising, promoting, promoting, promoting, promoting, which is the number one mistake all brands and business people on social are making, unless they've taken my course or a workshop or listened to my podcast or read one of my books and have followed my instruction, then they're not doing it. But most are. And I'm going to give you some really

blunt examples, okay? So the marketing element is so important. And I'm going to show you how so many people and big brands, even legacy brands, are missing the mark. And I know that many people listening to this right now will not be able to help themselves, and they will ignore what I'm saying and will keep on just advertising and promoting, advertising and promoting, and not do any marketing. And they will keep doing this because they'll be afraid, God forbid, they slow down the advertising, promoting, advertising, promoting, promoting, promoting, advertising. They slow down and they'll miss a sale that they're not getting anyways because all they're doing is promoting and promoting.

If all you do is that, you're only getting 3% of your target market because not everyone is going to respond to that. And no one, no one is going to follow you for your advertising or promoting. Think of why you follow your favorite brands. It's all about storytelling. So why listen to me? Because I know know like i said a lot of people aren't going to do this they're just gonna no i gotta promote i gotta keep advertising i gotta no no they don't want one to get away take the advice of my friend and mentor and client jim pluff who writes business management books the lazy Lazy Manager series. And he says, and I quote Jim all the time, if you follow the series, you've heard this before, never take advice from someone who hasn't done what you want to do. Now, I might not be in your

business, but do you want to attract a huge following to have a warmer market? I've done that. Million plus followers, that's just on our Facebook page without advertising, without paid advertising, and without boosting posts. Do you want to drive more traffic? I've driven a lot of traffic, not just for Drum Talk TV, but for Drum Talk TV sponsors and for all my clients who've taken my courses or hire us for our services as an agency and do exactly what we instruct exponentially, I've driven more traffic. Do you want to make more sales? I've made more sales by doing this. I've done this over and over and over. That's why I'm asking you to please pay attention, okay? attention. Okay. So marketing is the storytelling part. It's the big why. It's the why you've got to include the story of you slash your brand. Maybe you are the brand. If you're an entrepreneur,

solopreneur, maybe you're the business owner, maybe it's a small business or of the brand you work for either. It's the big why. Why should we follow you? Why should we hire you for your service? Why should we buy your products? Why should we come to a webinar? Why should I take a workshop? Why should I take your course? Why should I, again, hire you for your services? Why should I even sign up for your newsletter? Why? If all you're doing is advertising to people, they're not going to do it. And if they do, and all you do is advertise to them through the newsletter or the e-list, whatever you want to call it, however you work it, they will bail because they'll get tired of it.

They'll get worn out. There's nothing new to learn. There's no story to fall in love with. There's no reason to fall in love with you or your brand. So it all starts with your about section. The about section on your website has to be compelling. It has to be the story. It has to answer why. Why should I give a crap? Why should I follow you? Why should I click on the Facebook icon? Why should I click on the Instagram icon? Why should I click on the blog? Why should I sign up for your list? Why, why, why? And that about section should be everywhere else you have a presence. So that about section on your website should be the same on your Facebook page, on your LinkedIn, on your YouTube channel, on your Instagram, your TikTok, your Snapchat, knickknack, paddywhack,

wherever you have a presence, character count permitting, it should all be the same or as close to it as possible with that boundary. Does that make sense? That's the core of your story. So when I talk about successful content marketing, successful social media marketing is all about storytelling. I don't mean that every post is a long story, where they need to get that neck rest that they wear when they fall asleep on the airplane, or when you're listening to your significant other's day. That's kind of a joke between my wife and I. But seriously, you want it to be compelling, but short. It doesn't have to be a long story. It means that every post, no matter what channel, every post is part of the

story of your brand to give them a reason to trust you, to like you, to fall in love with you. You could be the best at what you do. You could have the best godfather offer, You could have the best godfather offer, as Subhi Sabri says, the best godfather offer for what you do in your industry, your niche, at the best price, best... None of that matters if you don't have a captivated audience following you to see that. That's why all this other content, which is the marketing component, the foundation, the undercurrent that is constantly flowing, needs to be in their face, not the promoting and advertising. Why follow a brand if all they're going to do is advertise to you or promote the new thing or the latest discount or something you've seen over and over? Why? You need to give people a

reason to like your brand, to trust your brand. You need to create brand love. All this so they will follow your brand because, again, they won't just follow you because of the advertising and promoting. I know I'm being redundant here. It's for a reason. It's so that less of you actually don't ignore this and just do the opposite of what I'm saying because it feels safe, but you need a captivated audience to follow you so that they see the advertising and promoting, and it's the marketing that will give them a reason to respond to that. Think of a restaurant.

You don't go to a restaurant just because it's there. It's the marketing, what people are saying, why they're saying, what's different? What is it about their chef, about the food, about the ambience, about all those things? And they do that not just if they're doing it right, not just with advertising and promoting. Now, sometimes the marketing is built into some of that, but don't rely on that. Because if you do, it's going to be a crutch and you'll fall off the crutch. People stop following you because it will slowly morph back into just promoting and advertising. I hope that makes sense. Hope that makes sense. So you need all that for them to see the advertising and promoting, let alone care enough to pay attention to it, let alone act

on it, let alone even just sign up for your e-list. And therein lies the difference between an owned audience and an earned audience. You need people to sign up for your e-list and not just to market to them. I'll get to that in a moment. You need people to sign up for your list because that's your owned audience. There are no algorithms to dance around. The message gets directly to them.

Whether or not they open it depends on how well you craft the subject line and the preview text and the rest of it. Give them a good experience so they keep opening it. They wait for it. They want it because they love what's there, which is not just advertising and promoting. An earned audience is who's following you on social, whether it's YouTube, whether it's Vimeo, whether it's LinkedIn, whether it's Twitter, whether it's Instagram, whether it's Facebook, whether it's Vimeo, whether it's LinkedIn, whether it's Twitter, whether it's Instagram, whether it's Facebook, whatever it is, that's your earned audience.

You don't own it. Your e-list is your owned audience and you need to grow that and you're not going to grow it with just advertising and promoting. I feel like I need to slow down and cool off a little. I feel a little bit wound up. I drove about seven hours today. My wife and I came back from vacation. We were in San Diego, drove, drove, drove. We talked, we sang, we talked, talked, sang. And so my voice is a little, so if I sound angry, I'm not, but I am trying to be firm in making a point so that you get the message and you follow my instruction and get better results. It's time to sit at the grownups table. Here's a start. Ready? Pick your top five brands in any industry, such as let's say food, clothing, automobiles,

recreation, sports, science, travel, whatever it is. Pick pick your top five write them down take a moment write them down pause me get something write them down and we're back hopefully you paused me you wrote them down or typed them out on a notepad or something on your computer okay and see how when we're done or pause pause me, go to their Facebook pages, go to their Instagram, go to their LinkedIn, look at how they're missing this mark. Look at how much of their content is just advertising and promoting. Now, I usually don't call out brands, but I've got to give you a hard-nosed blunt example. You can go to this brand's Facebook page after this podcast episode. Let me walk you through some stuff. This is important. I don't want this to happen to you. And Levi's, I give it away. Levi's is probably paying, I'm going to guess,

oh, probably upwards of $40,000 a month for at least three or four, maybe six different agencies to handle different aspects of their marketing, promoting, advertising, social media, and content, and all that, okay? And they're getting it wrong. They're throwing money away, and I'm going to prove it right now. So back in August of 2020, they did a big bozo no-no post. And what I mean by that is they touched on something you never really should, and that's politics. There's some stuff you never should. I don't care how big your platform is. Oh, by the way, that company is 168 years old,

and they have over 26 million followers on Facebook alone. You'd think they'd know how to vet an agency that would take care of them, but they didn't. They did not. So here's a post from August 3rd, 2020. It says, it's time to hashtag vote about it. November 3rd is your ultimate opportunity to drive lasting change. Step one though, is getting registered. Start here and it's got a link and tag a friend and remind them to get registered. And then there's a slideshow video of people wearing Levi's and it says vote on everything, vote for phone. Listen to the shit storm. Yes, I said that on my podcast. Sorry, boys and girls. Listen to the shit storm that that one post incurred. And then I'm going to give you something even more astonishing about

what it incurred after I read some of these. So here's, I'm just going to read some comments. I will no longer shop at Levi. My hard-earned money does not go to support any business that supports any rioters, looters, lawlessness, and such vile behavior. Now, disclaimer, this has nothing to do with your beliefs or my beliefs. I'm reading what this post, what the fuse on the bomb it lit with their followers that are consumers that will no longer purchase their products. There's some good posts in here or comments, and I'll read some of those too. So that's one. That one comment got 18 replies.

Let's just go to another comment. Thanks for standing up for voting rights. This is important to me. Okay, so you got one. That one comment got 18 replies. Let's just go to another comment. Thanks for standing up for voting rights. This is important to me. Okay, so you got one. And then it says, and you won't be missed. Here's one that says, Levi's jeans are the best. I always wear Levi's jeans, 511. Okay, that's a good one. But most of them sound like this. We'll never purchase another pair of Levi's due to you paying for felons to vote. Another one. I haven't bought Levi's since they stopped making them in the USA. I don't know if they still make them there or not.

That doesn't matter. This is that person's perception. If it's incorrect, that means it's poor marketing. Your change is garbage. Why are you concerned with voting? You don't produce here. So I'm assuming they mean in the U.S. And by the way, if you're outside the U.S., this is no offense or anything. This is all for

context, okay? Another one says, I'm never buying your products again. Another one says, buy American. I won't even get into that. Another one says, please stop using leather. Cows don't deserve to be tortured and slaughtered in leather patches. Such sustainable faux leather made from sustainable options like mushrooms are the best option. There's all these things. When did Levi's jeans lose their quality? They don't last nearly as long as Wrangler and Lee. There's all this stuff. And you know what?

There are, there are, let me tell you how many comments. There are hundreds of comments. Not one of them is from Levi's. Not one of them is troubleshooting or applying customer service techniques, the basics. None of them, there's no community management. Folks, you've got to go back and look at your content, no matter how good it is. If you follow everything I teach, it'll be spick and span perfect. You'll drive more traffic. No matter how good it is, you've got to look back at your content, no matter how good it is. If you follow everything I teach, it'll be spick and span perfect. You'll drive more traffic. No matter how good it is, you've got to look back at your content.

You've got to acknowledge people. You don't have to comment on every comment because when you do it right and you get dozens or hundreds of comments, you won't be able to keep up with that. But you want to put a blanket comment thanking people. You want to look for questions and answer them. If there's stuff like this being slung on your timeline, and it's a timeline, not a wall, stop using wall. Live in this century. Facebook hasn't called it a wall in about seven years. If you've got all this stuff being slung on your timeline, troubleshoot it. Delete the post. You goofed. It's okay. But there's not one voice from Levi's,

and it would be their agency or someone from Levi's, as Levi's, apologizing or saying, that's not what we meant. Sorry you feel that way. Yes, they are made in the US. F you, we don't care about the cows. There's nothing there. You can't do that.

Let me go to another Levi's post. Oh, and by the way by the way little side note legacy brand like that 168 years old they've got like I say umpteen agencies working for them doing the social media probably they don't even have a description for the cover image you've got to put your about section now maybe you don't don't know that, and that's okay. You might not be a legacy brand, and that's okay. You're learning from me. I commend you. You're here to learn, and that's great. We've always got to be learning. I'm still learning. I follow people. You've got to put your about section, not just in the about section, but in the cover image and the

profile image. Kidding me? Are you kidding me? Levi's couldn't even hire an agency that knew to do that? Here's one with 186 comments. It says, we're committing to change today. Oh my God, this is just laced with all kinds of horrible, horrible comments. Like not exploiting cheap labor in poor asian and central american countries bringing good paying jobs back to the americas in underserved demographics is bring people up with i mean it's laced with i hope i hope wrangler won't do the same stay out of politics it will

only hurt your brand hurt your bottom line no pun intended. Like Levi's doesn't know not to do that. Okay, I've beat this horse enough. Poor horse. I don't want to beat horses or anybody or any animals or any brands up. But Levi's did this to themselves. It's just an example. So when we're done, look up your five favorite brands and look at how much are they only advertising to you or promoting to you versus how much fun stuff, nostalgia that's related. Listen to episode three and it'll connect these dots. How much other stuff related to you and the brand and their products and services are they posting? And how does it make you feel? How does it, lay down on the couch, how does it make you feel that all they're doing is promoting to you and advertising to you and jamming down your throat what they think you should know and that's it? So market, market,

market. People fall in love with your brand story, with a brand story, not with your advertising or their advertising or promoting. The caveat is, again, if you've got amazing commercials, like I remember when the Super Bowl commercials, halftime commercials were cool, again, if you've got amazing commercials, like I remember when the Super Bowl commercials, halftime commercials were cool, yeah, that might give you a reason to follow them. But if all they're going to do at the destination on the E-list or the social media is just advertising and promoting, they're not going to follow. They're going to bail. So I hope this made sense. Please listen to episode three. Go to alliancer.com slash category slash underscore Dan Schindler, and you'll see my series. Go to advancedsocialmarketing.com. Click on podcast.

You'll see my whole series. Look me up on your favorite platform. You'll see the whole series. Want to learn more? Apply what I teach and begin getting better results immediately. I guarantee it. Much more to be covered in future episodes. If you need a service provider who knows what really works. If you just have questions, reach out. Okay, I have one last thing. Ready?

Music, please. So remember, if you're serious about what you do, get serious about how you market it. Sign up for my newsletter and get my six steps to daily success PDF at advancedsocialmarketing.com and get notifications about my free workshops and other learning opportunities, as well as the wacky changes on the major platforms. Stay up to date and see how I can help you further at the same URL. Check out the blog there and follow the Advanced Social Marketing YouTube channel as well. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com slash in slash Dan Schindler.

Happy marketing!