“It is the light in the lantern which shows you the path, not the lantern.”
In the marketing world, light can be used as a powerful metaphor. Ads, social media, websites, videos, and email are examples that represent the lantern – marketing vehicles that shine when they have a guiding force, the light within. While it’s essential to move forward with marketing (momentum is a must), I encourage you to take a tiny step back to ensure you are clear on your light (your “why”) as this clarity will illuminate your strategy, making all these amazing marketing tools work more powerfully to brand, build and boost your business.
Marketing Is About the Connection: The Light Within
In the digital climate, trends seem to reign supreme. Sure, it’s tempting to feel pressured to implement the latest TikTok strategy, email template or jump on something a competitor is doing. Regarding digital marketing, not all strategies are meant for every organization. It’s a waste of time, energy and money to overreact, stress, or have compare-despair. Marketing is about maximizing relationships, you can’t do that from a place of stress, insecurity, or fear. Inhale, exhale, and let light radiate through your messaging and your efforts will yield happier, healthier, and wealthier results.
Marketing is more than just selling a product or service; it’s about connecting with an audience on a meaningful level. It’s about being in the right rooms (online and offline) and after generating awareness and having an information exchange, making a connection will guide the path to more seamless sales.
The foundation of effective marketing is not just art and science – it’s about heart.
Passion sparks creativity, innovation, and a genuine connection with the audience. This is about being genuine and authentic, which, of course, is different for everyone.
Passion needs a companion—purpose. Purpose directs passion, ensuring that the energy is channeled towards meaningful goals. It transforms marketing from a mere transaction to a purposeful journey. Heart bridges marketing’s science and art.
What holds many back from bringing more light into marketing strategy and execution stems from psychological barriers. For marketers, it can be fear of reaction, making the wrong decision, wasting money, or not having the right knowledge or skills. I find that when we are supporting leaders, the psychological blocks to doing big things with marketing go even deeper and can be about the fear of shining light and stepping into true power.
This quote (goosebumps!):
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― Marianne Williamson
Let Your Light Shine
It lights me up to work alongside leaders so we ignite their passion, purpose, and professionalism with meaningful marketing solutions. I love people far more than I love marketing (and I loooove marketing!) Marketing connects people to people, companies to companies. We do this by respecting and understanding human psychology. Start within.
Understanding your value and how it aligns with values creates the spark that illuminates the correct path to be your brand’s voice. I love to share this quote to remind leaders to get over themselves and re-think the power of stepping into power and what that can do to radiate over teams, to be a light for their organizations, and to leave a legacy.
Marketing goes beyond creating the lantern, it is about igniting the light within.
And to do what you do best you need to have dedicated support to do the rest. When clients hire Web Marketing Therapy for advisory, training, or marketing management, we do the necessary work to empower our clients and fuel the light in their lanterns.