Marketer? I don't even KNOW her!
Marketer? I don't even KNOW her!
just a brief overview on some basic marketing types that I've learned over the past couple years (also musings on the idea of spectacles)
Top 2 Topics of the Day
Wtf even is Marketing?
In the eyes of a spectacle…
Topic 1 - Wtf even is Marketing?
A quick google search will tell you…
mar·ket·ing
/ˈmärkədiNG/
noun
the activity or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising.
Ok that’s it! That’s the substack. Thanks for reading!
lol, jk.
But seriously, you might hear types of marketing thrown around a lot such as the ones listed in this super beautiful graphic (because I also have a passion for ~Graphic Design~):
So when someone is a “Marketing Manager” or they “work in marketing”, they could have different specializations in what they do. Lemme break down some of the different specialization in marketing into 3 buckets that have 3-ish types of marketing.
Direct Marketing, Mail/E-mail Marketing, SMS/Text Marketing
This is kinda the grandzaddy of marketing. The crux of this type of marketing is a CTA, or a Call to Action, and relies on the consumer to give access directly to something a bit more personal such as their mailing address or access to their e-mail inbox or text messages on their phone. These are usually very targeted via demographics, knowing your shopping habits, and analytics wise, a lot of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software show you how far or how long you spend on a page, what the click-through rate was, how many people opened, etc.
Digital Marketing, e-Commerce Marketing, SEO Marketing
This is the type of marketing that has blown up since the age of the internet. It’s still relatively new to the scene and looks to take advantage of all the information that can be gathered from the vastness of the interwebs, find you, and market to you specifically. Marketing campaigns are usually, you guessed it, on a digital format like your laptop, your phone, and your tablets as opposed to, let’s say billboards or ad space in a magazine or newspaper. This type of marketing also focuses a lot on how the customer spends time on their internet, so think things like targeted ads based on location or what you last searched for in google or tiktok like “how to turn a t-shirt into a crop top”.
Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Influencer Marketing
Born from digital and e-Commerce, these types of marketing hone in on a space where customers may spend their time, whether it’s in your e-mail box or scrolling through your favorite apps, or watching your favorite youtube vids or tiktoks. Content Marketing might be something you’re already doing yourself (and definitely consuming it daily if you’re on social media…) if you’re creating content, teaching people through words or video or images, and providing value through your content. However, “creating content” versus “content marketing” is differentiated when you’re marketing a product in with long term strategy in mind. This is where learning some of the marketing jargon and spending a little time of learning the basic structures of scheduling, timing and strategy, looking at analytics, and understanding experiments/tests to see what works (when it comes to engagement, impressions and views), could easily become something to add to your resume if you’re looking to get into the space.
Now of course between all of these different types of marketing, there’s overlap and similarities but as you can see, you can specialize in different aspects. Also marketing is definitely not a silo: you could be working with product developers, sales team, PR firms (public relations), advertising teams, etc. Or if your marketing team is small… well… learn how to communicate, hydrate, take naps and take time off!
Topic 2 - In the eyes of a spectacle…
Spoilers for Jordan Peele’s Nope (2022) up ahead… don’t look unless you wanna…
“I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle.” Nahum 3:6
This is the cryptic opening line of the movie that sets the theme for one of the best alien invasion movies in my lifetime. At first watch I didn’t think much of this quote but the more I think about it, the more I’m at battle in my head about society and spectacles.
Like a lot of alien invasion movies, theme of the unknown, the bizarre, of unknown forces coming to earth and terrorizing it, is pretty straightforward. But what I got out of Peele’s movie is that this is only half of the dread and horror - the other half is trying to document this unknown with cameras and capitalize on this terror and risking your life for it. To me, it’s like a big, complicated metaphor about having to film every concert we go to, or take pictures of our brunch, or make sure we post about every event. It’s capturing moments in reality in hopes that it will go viral so we can show the millions and billions out there we are living even at the detriment of ourselves or others rather than keeping it low key and personal.
It’s looking at the alien to try and capture it even when you know that you could survive just by not looking.
It’s capturing a moment on your phone probably without other’s consent, maybe during a tragedy or emergency, rather than calling for help.
It’s a “hey look at this through your phone that I recorded with my own phone” and capturing that moment with your camera to post it rather than experiencing reality itself… almost as if the whole “living” part of living life isn’t enough anymore. It’s that we need to own the reality, to have it store safely in our phone as ammunition and evidence and we can pull it out to show others that we have lived.
It’s something that I notice more and more, especially with social media trends at concerts and the artists leaning in on it (the Era’s tour and Renaissance tour are two that I most recently witnessed and been a part of with ad lib chants with Taylor or the “Mute Challenge” with Beyonce). Gone are the days where I’m jumping and thrashing and screaming along with Fall Out Boy and here are the days where you have to make sure you’re not gonna knock someone’s phone while they’re recording the set. At drag shows, I see folks with a phone recording in one hand and a dollar in the other, as if it’s bait so they can get a closer look at the queen and make sure it’s on their instagram story. But hey, if that gets posted and the queen gets tagged, that’s free marketing and publicity for the performer so it’s not that bad, right?
But also I’ve been taken out of theatrical performances because someone behind me, in front of me, and beside me are filming the act with their flash on so that they can capture that moment in video form, halfway blinding me and probably the performers, too. But hey, free publicity?I feel like I’m on a see-saw of this idea that I’m always having to consider that any moment I’m experiencing is THE moment or a “spectacle” for others to witness versus allowing myself to be in the moment, for me.
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It’s weird to be on “both sides” of this, as someone who has a digital presence and wants to post about things to start dialogue or conversations, but also as someone who just wants that feeling of holding something close with intimacy and experiencing it right then and there with others who share the love. There’s something precious about being able to have that memory that only you can access. There’s also something exciting and stimulating about posting about something you love and having a community gather around you in a digital space to talk about it and keep the conversation going. There’s no right or wrong here, probably just another spectacle to be witnessed, reposted, and dissected.
And that’s it for this one, y’all! Thanks for taking the time again to stay with me on this. Hopefully you learned some things and have an existential thought conversations with yourself. And hopefully my ramblings makes sense! Let me know your thoughts about the types of marketing I mentioned above, if you have any questions about them, or if you have any big brain thoughts about spectacles!
Until next time!
Stay strong. Stay thicc. *Big hug*