Fear of promotion?

I had a rather puzzling conversation with a primary producer a month ago when discussing the potential for a strategic marketing campaign that could help promote his business.

In short, he saw promotion as a fast lane to disappointment.

His farm had enjoyed an excellent 24-month period with some fantastic results on the race track from a small band of mares. I asked the question, "would you consider including video and a social media campaign to help spread your story?"

"To be honest, I don't want to promote my horses," was his blunt reply.

Confused, I pressed him further. His explanation was even more confusing.

"The buyers that have had success with us in the last couple of years will come back again, that's enough for me. If I go out there and promote my horses my expectations will be too high, if I don't get the results I'll be disappointed. I don't want that disappointment so I set my expectations low."

I argued that telling more buyers about success stories and quality of product would only generate more interest, surely a positive if more than a select few were prepared to raise their hand in the auction ring.

"I don't want that pressure. I don't want that expectation that we produce high quality stock."

I was dumbfounded. Here was a man whose business health depends first and foremost on proceeds generated at auction. Sure, longer term race track success helped add to the status of his brand, but it didn't add anything to his bottom line, the success of his horses benefitted the horse's new owners, but not his business.

His argument didn't make any sense.

It struck me later that what he was actually afraid of was an unfamiliar promotional platform - digital and social media - rather than the act of promotion itself.

Think about it. Here is a business owner that has always sold his stock the same way - face to face promotion, humble conversation at sales or race days, casual invitations to buyers to visit his shop front - in recent years he's watched other businesses embrace social media and digital technology and reap the rewards of broadcasting to a much wider audience than what could be reached in person.

But how are "they" doing it and where would he start? I could understand how it was all a bit scary and how such a concept could so easily be placed in the Too Hard Basket.

I suspect that his real issue was a belief that once his content is "out there" he would have no way of controlling how it is consumed or how it is received. Whether his stock would be promoted the same way that he would do in person, whether new eyes would understand the work and care that goes into his business by watching a simple short video.

Fear of promotion outside of the norm is a real thing for many small businesses, but any production house worth its salt will ensure that a strategy is in place to present, monitor, and assess any content that is broadcast.

The strategy that sits behind digital and social content is just as important as the content itself. What's the point of a great video piece if the client doesn't know what they want to gain from it? Why spend money on telling people about what you do if you don't have a clear message for them to grasp and act on?

Modern communication and marketing is becoming increasingly dependant on digital and social media platforms, so understanding how these platforms can work for you and your business is important.

But understanding what your campaign goals are are just as important.

Making content without a clear strategy will only confirm the fear of promotion held by our friend on the farm, but a carefully planned and programmed strategy will bring the world to his barn door.