5 Ways To Disrupt Your Internet Marketing

Creating A Disruptive Culture

Ever arrive at a party as it is winding down? You aren't that late to the content marketing party, but it is possible to see the end of the beginning now. When every Internet marketer you know is doing something it is a good time to do something else. Team's I've manged made more than $30M in transactions rarely over $100.

We created MOVEMENTS we didn't just sell stuff. Content marketing was a movement I've preached since 2003. Good news is the content marketing tipping point is behind us. Bad news is content marketing's tipping point is behind us.

I noted the need to create disruptive Internet marketing a few weeks ago in Why Your Internet Marketing Must Disrupt To Win. I personally apologize to small business owners who are arriving at Internet marketing now or within the last year. Those "new to Internet marketing" might think we practice a strange mix of Roller Derby meets SEO wizards who speak in tongues.

If you've been an Internet marketer for more than ten years, I built my first website in 1999, your stomach doesn't go soft at monster movements by monsters (Google, Amazon, Facebook).

Veterans are used to the ever escalating pace and shades of grey ambiguity. We don't LIKE it, we've just stopped fighting. Time is short. There is much to do.

Disruption #1: Do Less with More People

Stop thinking you need to build the ship, crew the maiden voyage and then clean the boat. Start thinking about how to crowdsource, use the wisdom of those who follow you, who are in your extended networks and who've bought from you in the past.

Hardest disruptive lesson for Type A Internet marketers to learn is to DO LESS but engage more. When THEY create YOUR content you are doing more with less. When THEY promote your contest, game or cool disruption YOU are doing less. There is a trick to your doing less.

You must PLAN and THINK more. I am an "action painter" too. When life gets too boring I pick up a brush and throw some paint. Boring sucks and I get bored FAST. In all honesty I still would rather be in motion than talking about being in motion, but great disruption is a team sport.

You need IT (in case you blow up a server), marketing, legal (in case you get sued) and an army of other departments to trust you enough to Go, Go, Go. Before the starter's gun sounds THINK about contingencies and what ifs. Plan more so you can do less (and yes it hurt a little to write that :).

Disruption #2: Commit To Constant Faster Motion

Understand once you are on a course of disruption you must disrupt more, faster and better. To slow down is to seed the high ground. You don't want to teach your competitors how to speed up in order to keep up and then YOU slow down. Slowing down is waving the white flag of defeat so NEVER slow down only speed up no matter how many bones you break.

Disruption #3: C Level Support Is A Must

Only fools ask to get fired.

Disruptive rebels know getting fired is a possibility, but they go down guns blazing. True disruptive marketers are crazy, passionate artist who happen to be working in Internet marketing instead of tossing paint or sculpting metal. This "artist army" has little patience for the C level and their slow, deliberate "management".

My message is grow up a little and realize the C level has a different charge and, like you, they are doing the best they can with the information they have. Help them by respecting them, listening carefully and pitching hard and with a willingness to take heat from the board. Great CEO will NEVER let you take a hit like that, but you may not work for a great one.

You need their support to host the party of the decade. You can't create an event like this without mom and dad, so play nice, respectful and pitch hard.

Disruption #4: Time Is Different When You Disrupt

If your content creation cycle is weekly and your Key Performance Indicator reviews follow you are WAY TO SLOW for disruptive Internet marketing. Find a tool like Scoop.it that provides near real time feedback and watch it like a hungry hawk on a wire looking over a vast field for dinner.

Set your KPIs and know where your deep dives are and will be. Deep dives are when your KPIs are so far out of whack you have to dive to find out why or risk further damage. Set your triggers and stick to them. Time is so valuable when you are disrupting to use it to do analysis unless you've created such a wobble you are destroying something you care about.

Make sure your KPIs are part of the C level agreement. "We deep dive when more than two KPIs are more than 3 points of standard deviation from our expected norms up or down," is the kind of very specific agreement you want with a CEO or CFO.

Disruption #5: Disruption Is PROCESS Not Thing

It is hard to convince most C level executives that the most valuable diamond any Internet marketing team finds is their ability to be an Internet marketing team. That kind of circular reasoning makes C level executives very nervous. Understand C level executives' desires for guarantees even as they and you know we live in times when little can be guaranteed.

The most valuable thing you create is a team capable of disrupting. Once you get good at disrupting those skills are worth millions and billions.

Summary 5 Ways To Disrupt Your Internet Marketing 

Bet you were hoping for examples specific to your business vertical.

Sorry, disruption is so unique we can only describe the process. How that process needs to be adapted, changed and modified for your Internet marketing is a matter for research, debate and testing. Bet you thought I was recommending you jump in the deep end and disrupt the pool. Yes and no.

I suggest you have a good idea what kind of returns your disruption will generate before beginning.

You already have DISRUPTION inside your data. You've done something in the last year that had a strange positive response. Start there, start with that "strange positive response" and pile some cord wood up, toss some jet fuel on and light a match because you MUST disrupt to win in online marketing. Zigging when everyone is zagging is the only prescription for victory.

What about you? What kinds of cool disruptions have you created or watched? Share your 3 favorite disruptions and I will write a new post for your examples (least I can do :). Thanks. Marty

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