I can see it. It happened right about the same time that Instagram stopped counting likes. It meant that insta-beginning of the end of being Instafamous. But other platforms are here to fill the void.

TikTok anyone? Where you can still quantify likes and see entertaining videos that encourage short-form content consumption. In the process, Tik-Tok's jumped--no, Tik Tok's leapfrogged over Instagram--and helped capture the imagination of our country.

Sure Instagram, Facebook, Google, and YouTube will continue to reinvent themselves as mainstays to the phone landscape. Note: I didn’t write digital landscape. No longer are we Digital or Traditional. I’m certain we are "phone-centric". 

And as we evolve with “Social Distancing” get ready. The phone and social media will be the point of continuity and ultimately human connection in this new socially distant world.

Ask not what the brand can do for you but what you can do to be a part of the brand. #premise #promise #Jordan #localsearchgroup #premisenotpromise #marketing #marketing #branding #brandpromise

Marketing, in the new world order, isn't about someone trying to sell you something. It's connecting with individuals to know them almost as well as they know themselves.

Think about the current COVID situation. We’re in an unprecedented worldwide slowdown. Consumption economies are often driven by feelings. Fear of the unknown does not help.

Marketers are working to help reassure people, as evidenced by the travel industry where hotels and airlines market the flexibility of booking and canceling trips without financial repercussions.

The bottom line is that marketing isn’t just a professional or business construct or even necessarily about your products and services. It's bigger than that…It’s about how people feel.

And as we go through social distancing, which helps to feed social media, proximity matters less and message matters more. This is great news for marketing.

Marketing is good for society. It is a force for change in our culture. By using it wisely, we’re able to positively impact lives and, in fact, change them for the better.

As a marketer, think about how you can be that positive force for your family, your friends, your clients, and this world.

How to stay connected via microcasting during social distancing. #localsearchgroup #socialdistancing #socialmedia #microcasting #marketing

Ah, broadcasts. Delivered to you across the nation.

Meet microcasts in the changing new world order. Those short, punchy, quick-hit videos, ranging from twenty second bursts of dancing to 10-minute mini-podcasts. Well, they’re becoming even smaller and more precise as we move forward.

With shortening attention spans in a society with suddenly much more time on its hands, it’s time to Facebook Group, your take, send out a message to your TikTok followers or communicate with your YouTube subscribers.

Microcasting has more than its fair share of one-hit wonders. Once you capture lightning in a bottle though, where to from there? Put another way--Is microcasting sustainable?

Yes—likely more so now than ever before because of the momentum. Social media integrates with social distancing to bring us connection and distraction all that the same time in this time of uncertainty. Call it a coping mechanism, if you will.

All generations are drawn to binge-watching. From full-length movies to short-form phone videos, all ages make time for video consumption. The more into isolation we go, the deeper we’ll go into our phones in order to keep us connected.

Society wants to be entertained. With fewer sporting events and concerts to attend, we, as a world-wide community, will seek and find other ways to entertain ourselves. It's happening, and if microcast is what they want then microcasts are what will be created.

The more we zoom in, the more opportunity there is for everyone to contribute in their own special, unique ways: as much as “zooming in” and “niche” are important ideas… microcasting will help keep you stay connected during this changing time of social distancing.

Bottom line: The microcast is a perfect medium for frequent communications. It’s short, multiplatform, relatively inexpensive to produce, and easily works into how society wants to consume and share their experiences.

If anything, coronavirus just took microcasting further than it ever would have gone on its own.

Good marketing helps people during times of need. #localsearchgroup #marketing #goodmarketing #positivity #goodforsociety

As we work through the Corona-Virus together here are a few things to consider as you build-out Virtual Retailing.

As an automotive retailer, you should know the answer to this question about your brand.

·      Is your brand promise a Product or a Service?

A decade ago, market research with Toyota showed that consumers couldn’t recall whether or not a just watched Toyota Camry spot was a Honda Camry. That’s right HONDA CAMRY. MIND BLOWN.

Worse yet it was a multiple-choice recall test  – so the right answer was actually right in front of the consumer. Next to the wrong answer. And each – even after the advertisement – were equally as likely to be chosen.

Fast forward to today. Car Max’s been building its brand since 1993 on the used car side of the business. Customers wanted a more transparent, cleaner purchase experience. Call it operational transparency. Does it sound anything like what Carvana’s go-to-market strategy was circa 2012?

And now what is your dealership doing in 2020?

From Forbes “Car Max is in a category where prestige is indirect – it is created by the automobile brand purchased rather than the dealer endorsement.”

We’ve often said the car business is a people business and it’s because the personal interactions in dealership influence our business as a service industry.

Put another way, the next time you say that “the car business is a people business” you’re actually acknowledging that we are a Service industry and your advertising immediately moves to the operational side.

Great retailers--more or less know this—but now giant corporations are setting the service standard and fast followers will win.

Here's why insta-famous shouldn't be your game plan for 2020. #localsearchgroup #jimflint #viralvideo #digitalmarketing #youtube #ott #dealers #dealerships

What will the power of change provide for you in 2020? #localsearchgroup #jimflint #digitalmarketing #automotivemarketing #change #dealers #dealerships