Marketing That Transcends The Screen
Reflection question: What does it mean to transcend the screen in your content marketing?
Most of us are trying valiantly to limit our screen time. Our little blue-light boxes can connect us to loved ones, new opportunities, and incredible storytelling. But more often, they feed our anxiety, overwhelm us with distractions, and lead to little more than doomscrolling.
This presents a bit of a dilemma for solo marketers. Folks who, in their personal lives, are swearing off their screens and the extractive platforms on them but also need to promote their products or services through the very platforms they’re trying to avoid.
I’ve been having a lot of conversations about marketing lately. What’s working for folks, what adds to the noise, and what they feel is missing. And here’s what I’m hearing: the content that’s resonating most is the content that can be engaged with without a screen.
Podcasts. Audiobooks. Youtube videos.
Almost no one is saying email – even those that are open to it as a form of content marketing admit that a new article to read feels more like a chore than a joy.
Some are begrudgingly saying Instagram and LinkedIn. But audio content is rising to the top. And I think I know why: because you can listen to it without being tied to your screen. You can listen to it with focus, with presence, while going about your non-screen life.
I’m not here to tell you that in response to this finding, you need to launch a podcast or write a book. I actually think there are some radically approachable ways of incorporating this finding into marketing efforts. Here’s how:
By sharing content that transcends the screen.
Screens are, to some extent, unavoidable. We can’t really control that. But what we can control is the ideas we share on our screens. So, transcend the screen with ideas that will live with your communities long after they close their laptop.
Some evolving ideas on how to do this:
Ask short and unexpected questions to your audiences. Ones that will stick with them because they encourage new avenues of thinking.
Share real solutions to real problems, in as little words as possible. Don’t gatekeep great ideas.
Create spaces where the real human beings on the other end of your screen can connect with you and with each other. These connections might be fleeting, or they could be lifelong. Either way, they move way beyond the blue-light realm.
Remember that marketing doesn’t have to be digital. Throw out the ‘digital marketing best practices guide’ and think of creative ways you can reach people in person with physical marketing. You can do whatever you want, there are no rules. Put up a flier in an area of town with a lot of foot traffic. Place little cards in strategic locations where you suspect your audiences might naturally show up.
In the spirit of this article, I’d love to leave you with a question for reflection: What does it mean to transcend the screen in your work, in your world? How might you begin to incorporate some of those ideas into your marketing efforts?
