Here’s a bold statement: a lot of marketers in 2024 don’t even know what marketing is anymore.
The entire concept of internet-first marketing has been reduced to a standard playbook: growth marketing, SEO and SEM, influencers, social media, EDM. It’s all about the marketing funnel and targeting (and re-targeting). From in-house teams to top-tier agencies, most marketers are simply going through the motions, and marketing is no longer an art. It’s a science. So just rely on data and algorithms… right?
Don’t get us wrong: there is a place for all of that. In fact, it’s all very important. If you aren’t active on social media and working on building an email subscriber list, you’re missing out on potential customers. But, here’s the problem (and it’s one that will only get bigger): consumers are changing.
There is now a whole generation of consumers that grew up on the internet, and they’ve seen it all. It doesn’t matter how sincere you pretend to be on social, or how friendly and casual you sound in marketing emails. The reality is that, to a huge portion of the population, it looks exactly like what it is: an ad. And ads are not to be trusted. They aren’t authentic.
To put it simply, while marketing initiatives like EDM and performance marketing are an important baseline, you’re not going to blast past your competitors by doing the same things they are doing. So what’s the solution?
Consumers now trust brand-created ads less than ever, and influencers and independent reviewers more than ever. The key is not to fight it, but rather embrace it. Become a part of it. At 3rd Wall Digital, we believe that a community isn’t just a collection of users or potential customers. They are an integral part of the brand—the pulse of the company—helping to build it from the inside.
A strong, active, and engaged community:
- Provides feedback, improving your products and services.
- Creates content, empowering your marketing and sales initiatives.
- Advocates for your brand, organically improving brand awareness, both online and offline.
Here’s what we believe: a community is at its strongest when users are at the core of what a company builds, and brands are at their strongest when they tear down the walls that separate them from their users. And at 3rd Wall Digital, we have decades of combined experience helping brands find, build, and engage their communities for exponential organic growth.
Let’s build something amazing, together.