Content / marketing consistency beats brakes off of hot trends

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Happy Humpday, you unshakable people. If you are shook, take 5 deep breaths, it’ll pass.

Today, we’re digging into content / marketing consistency and how it’s way more effective than chasing the latest trends or what’s working for horn-tooters. The good thing about consistency? Any marketer can master that – except lazy ones – thankfully, none of those receive Inbox Hacking. So let’s dip our toes into that feature story, then check out our Knowledge Base and some fresh Facts and Stats— including a new one on IRW > WEB sales.

Content / Marketing Consistency

I could talk about brand consistency and rant about ensuring tone and style match in every article, ad, email, sound-byte, etc.

Sure, that stuff matters. But the content and marketing consistency I’m talking about is simpler (2 prime examples coming up).

All it’s about is showing up again and again. Over and over. Relentless as hell.

So relentless that you get tired of your own message if you’re not careful. But who cares if you get tired of it? You aren’t the potential customer who needs convincing that they need the widget or widget-whacking service you offer. That customer will only see a tenth of your messages (if you’re lucky). So unless you pump that message out relentlessly, it won’t be enough to compel them to do business with you.

2 Examples of Successful Marketing Consistency

#1 Paul Harvey. Dude had little radio spots for like 50+ years (was in radio biz for 70 years overall). He told great stories and had a memorable voice. But do you think every story he told was fresh? Unique? Hot? Brand new? Or trendy?

Nope. Some of the stories must have been average or even mediocre. Not because Harvey mailed it in (or came to work drunk😁), but because it is statistically impossible to put out your best content 100% of the time. Even if you give 100% every time.

The point is he was always there for people who liked what he did. He showed up relentlessly, and so did listeners who sat through ads before and after Harvey’s stories for decades.

#2 Mr. Rogers. I’m in the middle of a Fred Rogers biography, and this was an interesting cat. Now, I was never a fan of his show as a kid. But it was exactly what he wanted it to be. Rogers spoke to the camera like he was talking directly to one child.

And he made sure his message was patient, kind, and understanding. There was no rush. Every message was carefully considered so that it would resonate with his audience – the kids.

I don’t recall outlandish gimmicks. No trendy concepts. Special effects or movie stars popping in? Not that I know of, and heck, they used basic puppets forever. But the content and marketing consistency came through the show being on five days a week for over 30 years.

Yes— the same message, same style, same tone was used. Totally brand consistent.

However, the real power of consistency came mostly through a willingness to keep producing the show. A show that kids loved and parents appreciated for many reasons… one being Fred Rogers was adamantly opposed to advertising to children. Another reason? Mr. Rogers showed up at the same time, every time, to communicate a message.

And just like Harvey, not every episode was the greatest show on Earth. It didn’t have to be. Always being there was plenty.

“Hot, New, Unique” are Fleeting

The point of all this is to let you off the hook a little. Don’t burn yourself out chasing the hottest marketing / content trends or tactics. Test them. Then use the ones that work. But don’t get lost in the maze of trying to keep up or seeking that “perfect strategy.” Shiny new objects make us forget the faded ones that are working just fine— as long as we stick with them.

Being consistent is an ancient tactic that still works wonders in 2024 and will be working come 2084.

Hopefully, this eases the pressure on you to produce content that’s 100% unique or perfect every time. Do your absolute best – while keeping in mind that no marketing campaign is perfect and nothing is new under the sun. So lean into content and marketing consistency. Show up with your message relentlessly, without fail, and the people who want what you’ve got will keep showing up too.

*Having a way to reach more of those people helps…

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Knowledge Base

Knowledge is power, so is Black Panther’s grad speech

🧗‍♀️Content Gap Analysis to outrank your competitors

👻AI terminates ghosting in retail customer service?

🔎An AI tool to track down your next AI tool

🤩60 creative portfolio websites (legit eye-popping)

🛍️How psychological attachment styles affect a consumer’s behavior

Self Help

New study shows social media creates unhappiness by promoting materialism.

The article’s worth a slow read, but bullet points are below.

Social media use found to fuel materialistic values, which are associated with increased stress and reduced life satisfaction.
Kindness and charity produce sustained happiness, not fleeting pleasures of material goods.
The advent of social media correlates with a striking increase in mental health problems, particularly in adolescents.

The article ends with a request: “Companies managing these [social media] sites should recognize the negative impact of their product and work to minimize it.”

Nice ask, but why would they? They’re too busy trying to “make the world a better place.” And trying to acquire as much power as humanly possible (money’s an afterthought at this point).

*Inbox Hackers Shout-out:

📢Rick at Cabaret Design Group

📣Ablauner at Bridgewater Chocolate

Facts and Stats

20% of creators plan on building an email list & 28% plan to invest in a newsletter (Kajabi report)

Brick-and-mortar shopping still makes up 84% of retail (Axios)

92% of customer questions posted on Google profiles go unanswered (i.e. simple ones like “Are you open on Christmas Eve?” or “Do you sell golf equipment?” (SOCI)

Bonus: What percentage of YouTube clips never reach even 1,000 views? Answer 90%

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Get Hacking

Our stat section showed us the physical world is basically everything with shopping (84% of retail shopping is still done in brick-n-mortar stores). The WEB is not king, by a long shot.

So, today’s hack is simple. Pinpoint your most unproductive online marketing activity, add up the time spent on it monthly, then give that time to an offline marketing campaign in a real-world store. Doesn’t have to be your store. Doesn’t have to be a physical product, either. Get creative and partner up with a company that does have a physical presence.

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