Famed actress Judy Garland was only 17 years old when she played Dorothy in the epic 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz. She was transported in a dream to a magical land called Oz. In the movie, little Dorothy proclaims to her beloved Cain Terrier, Toto, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore!” She had awakened to a strange, new world with dwarfs, flying monkeys, witches, and much more.
Today we have blockchain, Crypto, AI, facial recognition, self-driving cars, EV’s, private space companies, not even George Orwell could’ve predicted this in his classic novel, 1984 about a totalitarian state which was actually published in 1949.
The world is flying at warp speed. Just think about vaccines that take years to develop in laboratories and within a year scientists raced to produce one for a global pandemic. Politics and vaccination theories aside, the point is about the fury of technology just within the last decade. We hold in our smartphones technology, processors, and capabilities that our first personal computers could not even comprehend.
The U.S. Treasury is looking at the future of coin and cash. Even credit cards (not credit) are going the way of digital via Paypal, Apple, and other cash apps. The International Space Station is coming down into the ocean by 2030 or so because private industry can replace it with improved technology with an eye on space residency years ahead. Blackholes, supernovas, and new galaxies are being discovered at an alarming rate. Smartwatches through GPS can save your life in the event of an emergency. Just 25 years ago these advances were unthinkable.
T.E. Lawrence penned these words in 1926, “All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.” Today, even Lawrence would be taken back by the dreams and visions that have captivated our world for the better and some for the worse.
New cars don’t have CD players. When was the last time you even played or bought one? Today’s vehicles have Bluetooth, Apple’s Car Play, Alexa, Google’s Android Auto, and other digital applications with thousands of selections from which to choose. Your watch can monitor your resting heart rate, sleep patterns, and blood pressure, or whether you are 140-150 yards from the pin on a golf course.
Meanwhile, the average person doesn’t understand how their smartphone or social media recommends things related to recent online searches, purchases, or based on their most recent trip to Walmart and Target through location services technology.
In the world of digital marketing and technology, you can’t bring a TI-30 hand calculator to fight a smartphone that can translate hundreds of languages while you travel abroad. It’s like trying to find an 8-track or cassette player in 2022. Those days are gone!
In the 15th Century, Johannes Gutenberg revolutionized communication with the invention of the moveable type printing press. But it wasn’t until the late 1890’s that Marconi invented the first radio transmitter! Think about that time span compared to the technological leaps we’ve witnessed in the last 10-20 years. Just 25 years ago we were still using Rand McNally maps to plot trips for vacation and today we do it with pinpointed GPS with estimated arrival times based on real-time traffic reports.
Fast forward and future thinking businesses and companies don’t have to know how this applies to the realm of digital marketing, but they do need a guide and a mentor that does. The days of having an office assistant run your social media and website on the side are long gone. Today, it’s about SEO, PPC ads, target keywords/phrases, meta descriptions, and playing the Google, or search engine algorithm game.
Let’s say your company manufactures and produces the best widgets in your region of the country. You ship them around the world. You don’t have to understand and know digital marketing. You do understand and know everything about widgets. You are the subject matter expert on widgets. Why would you try to become an expert in digital marketing and media? It’s going to take too much time and pull you away from your expertise in producing the best widgets in the world. But you don’t have to become a digital marketing expert. You just need a guide and mentor who lives in that world daily and even hourly. You can stay focused on widgets but let a trusted and proven guide handle the digital marketing aspect based on performance metrics and analysis. Within six months you will know whether or not they are worth their salt.
If your HVAC goes out you are going to call a professional to assess and fix the problem. Why would you call a drywall technician to handle the problem? Yes, a slim minority of homeowners might be able to assess the problem and make a simple repair, but the majority can’t because it’s not within their wheelhouse. If you have stomach problems you need a G.I. doctor, not a dermatologist. The same is true with digital marketing. You need someone who understands the metrics and dynamics of paid ads, social media, SEO, content marketing, and Google Analytics. Why would you leave this to a valuable staff member who has a strong social media following, but little expertise in the discipline of digital marketing? Forget the size of your business, that’s just an excuse. There are many digital marketing firms that specialize in helping small businesses create a digital presence and footprint with measurable results. Investing in a digital marketing firm is the smart play for today’s market. Don’t think of it as a cost, think of it as an investment in developing leads, sales, and production. Think of your digital marketing firm as an extension of your sales and marketing team.
Reputable digital marketing firms are not paid, actors. They are producers who understand the digital world, branding, target audiences, and measurable results. They come to the table of partnership with web designers, writers, brand strategists, and proven content marketing results from their portfolio of clients. It’s true, “Toto, we aren’t in Kansas anymore!” But it doesn’t have to mean we don’t have options for navigating the new world. Engage and embrace a digital marketing partner who recognizes your subject matter expertise in manufacturing, business, and services, but understands how to tell your digital story is compelling and productive in ways that provide value.
Monty Carter is a Storyteller and Brand Strategist for Webspeak Media in Greer, South Carolina. WebSpeak has been providing digital solutions for 20 years with a solid track record of measurable results. Contact them today for your digital marketing needs from web design, content marking, SEO, paid ads, social media management, and more.
Email: team@webspeakmedia.com or call Charles Carter at +1 (864) 363-8910
