DIGITAL MARKETING: Storytelling in the digital world

Bad ideas just like good ones can be very useful. Why are we chasing good ideas only? After all, it has been said that not “all that glitters is gold.” It is a well-known saying, meaning that appearances can be deceiving.

It’s not everything that looks valuable actually has value.

This can be applied to products, services, places and whatever is associated with people that promises to be more than reality.

The classic example is the mineral pyrite, which sparkles like gold but contains only 0.25 per cent of gold.

Glitter is a metaphor for things having shiny and expensive appearances while gold is a metaphor which is valuable.

Another metaphor is elevator pitch. It has evolved into much broader variety of contexts within digital platforms. You might come across a question like

“what makes your product/ service different?,” in case you don’t feel confident about your ability to convert that into genuine interest, then craft your elevator pitch promptly.

Learning the art of pitching is key to reaching out consumers and retaining them. Sometimes in the process of learning, things go wrong. What can you do in such circumstances?

Perfection is not about damage control but also about accepting reality. Letting go when things go wrong.

Brands’ must go out of their ways to figure out best ways to correct their flaws. It reaches a time when improvisation matters the most. Rather than being rigid when things go sideways with your pitch, taking a risk to improvise how you do your pitching is much better option than sticking to what is not working. Improvising is about having a two-way conversation with your audience which is natural and authentic. There have been occasions, where other brands’ make exaggerated claims for a short term gain which kills a brand’s trust. Most failing brand campaigns are due to practicing unethical marketing.

However, consumers have taken the issue into their own hands, resulting in brand pitching in a reverse marketing.

Building trust and investing in ethical and reverse marketing is a long-game plan of action designed to achieve an authentic brand image for your consumers.

As such ethical marketing has to do with doing the right thing. In order to approach the ethical marketing process authentically, brands must be prepared to look at everything like their messaging across different platforms, what is needed to change them? How do they present themselves through their online channels? etc.

The era of elevator pitch is becoming the hallmark of sales in multiple platforms. Conversely, selling is the psychology of persuasion; it’s about how to reach and move your audience.

It requires a nuanced and sophisticated skill set, and without sugarcoating, it’s the difference between success and failure for your brand.

The author Daniel Pink, in his book To Sell Is Human is telling us rather than being shy from from the idea of selling, we better know that we are all salespeople. Selling must be part of your repertoire.

Mr Swai is a content director for MobiAd Africa Tanzania Ltd.