I have been doing a lot of reading, research and thinking on marketing platforms lately. Some of it is driven by refining strategies for clients. A lot of it is to get clear on what is essential versus what is superfluous. There is a lot of noise out there and you can end up spending a lot of time cleaning up a mess like Twitter spam versus moving the ball forward with your branding strategies.
A lot of my value to customers is to help them get clear and implement business strategies that work. It is valuable because here are the simple truths about today’s economy:
- We have an immense amount of technology
- We have all the technology we need to be successful
- We work on things that don’t matter
- We are distracted
- Things keep changing at an unprecedented pace
We have different challenges than our grandparents had. We have to determine what needs to be done. It’s exciting and overwhelming. Anyone can get things done today that were harder in the past. If you want to publish or broadcast content, video, audio or books, it is easier to do than ever before. The tools for creation and distribution which were once cornered by publishers, record companies, newspapers and movie studios are now democratized.
Thus, to build your brand and get your message out today means building a platform. It is your means to connecting with a broader audience.
The challenge is positioning your brand to get found and connected with. This means:
- You have something remarkable to say
- You connect
- You resonate with an audience
- You have systems that work 24/7
- You are shared with others
Everyone’s platform and positioning is going to differ. The strategy should remain simple and highly focused. It is based on a combination of who you are, who your audience is and what your message focuses on. The ensuing strategy will need to be designed to keep the noise low and the signal high. These are the ingredients you can see across the internet with those that have created successful platforms and positioning.
What do you believe your platform is and is it working well for your audience?
