It’s easier to do the same
We can lead the change and create value, or follow what we’ve always done.
I know what I’d rather progress.
However, let me give some context.
I am involved in a collective of brands that have had their ups and downs over the past couple of decades. Similar to bricks and mortar, or the stock market, the long term has shown growth. All organic and with minimal shouting about ourselves.
We are about to embark on ambitious growth plans, in the Defence and Security sector. A sector that doesn’t usually shout or promote ostentatiously.
I have also progressed my own personal journey from saying nothing to saying something, and found it has really influenced people’s perception of me and the business, positively. No paid ads, advertorials, or press releases beyond a nudge to the local business editor here and there.
The difference between someone’s perception of me and my personal reality is the magic of social media, coupled with meeting in person. Connection wins.
Alternatively, I could pay to play, pay per click. That could possibly have been quicker. However, if you want to be helpful in your narrative, to be sharing of others in your posts, how does that pair with the ad or promoted labelling being attached?
If you want to stop paying others and do it yourself, sometimes we are our own worst enemy. We can talk ourselves out of trying. I will let you into a little secret, your first attempts won’t be that great.
That first blog will be clunky, that first video will be awkward, you will cringe at your voice, and there will be elements you wished you had done better. I will let you into the second secret, it does not matter.
Anything worthwhile takes time to master. You don’t get a black belt without years of study, although you could basically pay lots of money and get one quickly from a McDojo — the martial arts school equivalent of a fast-food chain.
As a small business you have to leeway to be brave, try things and if they don’t work out… repeat after me, “So What?”.
If you need a helping hand from an agency, at least try it first, so no one can hoodwink you because you will have a basic hands-on understanding.
I’ve started creating videos to update people on what’s happening around our businesses. People have said they connect with the personal nature of it. Just continue being you they say. The Defence and Security sector has a serious persona, but, I can be a person. This is how you can be different and stand out from the noise, or the mediocrity.
There is a lot to be said about tradition and using methods we have always adopted in business to market and promote what we do.
Then again there are ways things need to change and by being brave you begin to do something slightly different. What happens is that others come along for the journey.
