In the age of the internet in which we live today, everyone has the ability to be their own media company. By media company, I mean the ability to create for and sell to an audience. There are numerous outlets that make it easy for anyone willing to put the time in to cultivate an identity, a brand, a unique perspective on the ways in which the world works. The key component to all this is TIME and a close second is unique content. Even though we can’t control time itself, we can control the ways in which we use time to make things happen, to make our lives better, to enrich the lives of others and to do what’s difficult. And content. Just take a moment and Google “content marketing” to see what you come up with. I’ll wait.

Odds are you’ve just come across more information than you could possibly digest in one sitting, even though the definition is pretty straight forward. Content is the stuff we use as a medium to connect with others. The internet and content give us the opportunity to directly connect with our consumers and fans.

Content on the internet gives us the ability to directly market to the people who buy from us.

Think about that! It used to be that marketing merely consisted of advertising, but gone are those days forever. Yes, for some organizations, that still makes sense, but you should be trying to figure out how to get your message out to the people who value what you stand for and who want to actually hear from you. One of the best advantages of the internet is the fact that pretty much anyone who has access to it, has the ability to find other people who value what they do and to connect with them.

Now is your chance to develop the digital outposts for your fans to engage with you, to interact with you, to learn more about who you are and to connect with many more people than those who were able to actually see you in person. No more are we restricted to the people in our stands – we’ve now got the opportunity to connect with people all over the world at the same time. Through TV initially and especially now through the internet, we are able to bring our own uniqueness to the world for others to share, regardless of physical location. For whatever it is you are interested in, there are opportunities waiting for you to plug-in. Take a look at, for example, some of the Apple commercials from the last few years and what do they all have in common? Connections. My favorite is the one promoting FaceTime.

So what is direct marketing, you might ask? Great question. The answer includes the following, but is not limited to: your website, email, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Start with your own website and ask yourself if you were (new, returning), would you be able to find what you are looking for? Upon first coming to your website, would you be able to find exactly what it is you needed to find? Would you know what your organization stands for and believes or is trying to promote? It could be tickets, news, a roster, schedule, a phone number or something totally different – can you find it and, more importantly, easily? Do what you can everyday to improve the lives of other people, in whatever way you can make that happen. If you do, we’ll thank you for making life easier.

Go Forth!