Building a Platform: We Are All in Marketing Now

When I started my first marketing job, I had zero marketing experience. That is, zero experience as a paid marketing professional. I had been doing marketing work for years, though. I am a writer and blogger, so I often ask other people to read my blog posts, buy books I have contributed to, and subscribe to magazines where I am published. As a church member, I invite people I know to Sunday services or special events. On social media, I become part of someone else’s marketing strategy every time I like their Fan Page or share their promotion or tweet news of their grand opening.

In the 21st Century, we’re all in the business of marketing. We all have a message to share and a product to sell, whether it’s ours or someone else’s. Some of us get paid to share messages for others; we are marketing professionals. We create content, we generate leads, we manage social media channels. Part of my work as a freelance writer situates me as a surrogate marketing director for outside companies on contract. Others of us serve as our own marketing department, spending time and energy blogging and tweeting and emailing news about our recently-released books or our handmade jewelry or our tax-preparation services.

Though we are all marketers now, we don’t always know the most effective strategies for sharing our message. Besides the simple act of drawing attention, if we get sloppy or careless or greedy, we might be tempted to change the message a little, or put an overly positive spin on our product or book, just to achieve a little more success. As Christians, we aren’t always sure if we should be shining a light on ourselves at all.

While the stereotype persists of the fast-talking marketing professional who is concerned about only one thing—selling his product—the rapid evolution of social media and other online channels places more power and emphasis with consumers, readers, and participants. This transition means marketing and platform-building are shifting away from shameless self-promotion and toward a more others-centered approach.

In an interview with The High Calling’s Dena Dyer, literary agent Greg Johnson says that people see right through marketing strategies that seem focused solely on the sell—and the self.

“If we as Christian businesspeople—entrepreneurs, writers, speakers—are doing things just for the sake of marketing, I don’t know how much God blesses that. Maybe He does, but ultimately people walk away from that type of platform because it’s self-serving. We want to do things that outlive us and that affect people for the Kingdom,” he said.

How, then, can building a platform and creating marketing strategies for our products, businesses, and ministries glorify God and honor our work? Here are a few ways to start.

Pray

In her blog post, “The Tension of Marketing for the Christian,” Mary Demuth says one of the best things you can do for your marketing strategy is pray.

“Truly commit your marketing adventures to prayer. Ask God to direct your steps. To guide your blogging. To smile upon your facebook status,” she writes. She also suggests praying for our competition, our own motives, and ways our business can meet the needs of others.

Listen

In his Harvard Business Review article, “Why Marketing Needs More Introverts,” author Eddie Yoon suggests that what the marketing industry needs the most is people who can tap into what their audience or customer base is saying. “[M]arketing needs more introverts—people who will spend more time listening than talking, reflecting deeply on meaning, and building fewer, deeper relationships,” he writes.

According to Greg Stielstra, author of Faith-Based Marketing: The Guide to Reaching 140 Million Christian Customers, this culture of listening develops as consumers start talking to each other. Technology makes that more possible than ever before.

“Fortunately, the digital revolution is transforming markets again,” Stielstra said in an interview with High Calling editor, Sam Van Eman, “Not only does the Internet restore the conversation between buyers and sellers, it also enables buyers to talk with each other on a global scale. The digital revolution wrested the megaphone from the marketer’s hands. Business can no longer shout about itself over the crowd. Instead it must, once again, join the conversation by focusing on people, not products, and learn again to ask, ‘May I help you?’”

Give

In his essay called, “Building a Platform: Lessons from a Start-up,” Dan King says that an important element in sharing the message of his new start-up company was giving away his services.

“Though it might seem counter-intuitive, giving away my time was a good strategic move to building a marketing platform,” he writes. “The end result? Many of the ‘clients’ I volunteered with end up hiring me because I’ve established myself as an expert with them. Not to mention, I’ve found that giving away my time even after I’m more established helps keep me grounded, allowing me to serve others with my business, along with earning a living.”