Introvert @ Marketing

Marketing is About Listening

Posted on January 29, 2015 by jrcolfer

I’ve always had an affinity for Steinbeck and his poignant lines riddled throughout classics like Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath and too many to list in this entry. From the poetic rolling hills dotting Central California that he so often wrote about came boundless wisdom and a keen examination of humanity as I’ve not found in many writers. And while I could use many, many words to describe the affection and admiration for Steinbeck’s writings and sense of literary style, this is a blog about marketing…

There is a great myth in the American business narrative about what qualifies as good communication and competent marketing. During my time working with small business clients I hear people say over and over again that they just ‘need a facebook page’ or to set up a social media platform; and I’ll be the last person in the World to tell them their wrong (and if so I am surely out of a job). However, social media will do absolutely NOTHING for a businesses if they are unwilling to incorporate a little Steinbeck in their marketing plan.

Why the Internet Didn’t Kill Creativity (but I’ll keep blaming it anyway)

Posted on January 14, 2015 by jrcolfer

As I write this post on a Monday afternoon, my internet browser is currently open to 6 pages open to a smattering of tasks and work that I’ve been dabbling in for the last hour. 6! While I like to imagine that I am a multi-tasker who can perform each task with the utmost concentration, creativity, efficiency and precision, I can’t really kid myself. I’m chipping away, but it’s far from the progress and level of work that I envisioned creating when I began. This slow pace illicits a feeling of stress because these tasks need to get done and I sense that I will never move on to the other tasks that I have to complete for the rest of the day. This has continued to plague my work life for awhile now, and I keep telling myself something needs to change….

Copy this.

Posted on January 5, 2015 by jrcolfer

Let’s get a couple things straight; this is not a blog about introversion, overcoming adversity or any of that other self-help crap that life coaches make a plush living from. This is a blog about a marketing professional in Memphis whose making his way in an industry that changes faster than celebrity relationships or the hashtags that populate my twitter feed at the moment.