A number of years ago when I was working in Corporate America the CEO of our company sent a few of us to one of those Tony Robbins weekend motivational seminars. Even though I spent a good 25 hours there over the three days, there is very little that I remember about what was said. However, one thing that I do remember Mr. Robins telling us (along with the fiery hot coal walk of course) was… “if you’re not growing, you’re dying”. At the time it seemed a bit cliché but over the past few weeks that saying has hit me square between the eyes!
It has recently been brought to my attention that the world of marketing and PR has changed dramatically in the last few years. Recently a small group of us started a new business and for me it has been a sharp learning curve. For small businesses today the Madison Avenue advertising models of the 1960’s such as we see on TV’s Mad Men looks nothing like today’s world of web-based, word of mouth, electronic marketing. Blogging, Twittering, social networks, web site optimization, and back-linking your way to a loyal customer base are all a part of the “new rules”. I have spent the last few years asleep at the marketing wheel and now I am doing what I can to get caught up.
Here are a few things that I am doing in my growing-not-dying process…
- Reading blogs from every type of business that is similar to mine
- Reading books and articles that speak to the new world of marketing
- Realizing that social networks are more valuable than just reaching old football buddies
- Writing blogs – good, bad, read, or ignored – getting my thoughts out there
I am no longer dying - I am growing. Look Mr. Robins, I just wrote my first blog!
