There used to be a time before social media in my early entrepreneurial career when the only way to advertise an event was through the press, pinning flyers at stores and libraries, calling and verbally inviting people, or mailing out letters with stamps. That was the way to do business in 2004—twenty years ago.
To succeed, I had longer timelines for marketing events. I used traditional media, like buying ad time and writing press releases, which garnered free calendar listings, interviews by local reporters, and additional time collecting answers by phone, not email, text, or social media.
It felt like there was more guessing back then. We didn’t have visual thumbs up or the ability for our friends to share events and programs. We needed ingenuity to garner attendees, clients, and fans. We had to be out at events, shaking hands, making eye contact, and physically putting invitations in another person’s hand. We had to directly ask if someone was attending for catering counts, room size, and event materials.
Social media has made the event industry easier – especially regarding event marketing and promotion. Suddenly, our invitations went viral without cost, and friends of friends were invited to attend, creating a reach that was impossible through traditional marketing methods. Social media felt like a gift to anyone using it.
As we know, nothing good remains free forever. Although we weren’t paying to have a Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn page, we paid the price of losing our information to corporate giants selling it to others so they could get richer. We gained as long as we didn’t think about it and kept using it.
Without giving in or up to a tool that has aided us, we must seek newer, more transparent, more intentional, good-willed platforms like BlueSky or Substack to keep connected and communicating. It is never easy to shut down what has worked for so long.
Today’s Wednesday Wisdom suggests quantifying how social media has aided you and your business. Is it worth the price of giving vital information in a new era of power to the tech brothers? How did you communicate, sell, and find prospects and community in its absence? Can you integrate some of these methods back into your marketing plans?
If you aren’t part of the big bro, big tech, and new administration, you might have to go back and try old ways of communication and marketing to exist in today’s “brave new world.” Let me know what you’ll do. I’m interested.
Women TIES 