It’s funny, when we started doing marketing and content creation in 2012, we really were ambitious and excited. We were eager to create some great media and publicize, advertise, and help our clients prosper. I listened to some clients tell me their dreams, and I was noting them down and creating a plan for the online marketing and social media management. Paul and I experimented and talked for hours about what kind of content to create for these people. It was a joyful process.
Then reality set in, the competition of the marketplace, the competition between clients, the problems with social media companies, and maneuvering through all the uncertainties and since we experiment and cross-promote with people, they were not always ready for this. We also had been using the internet and social media for years, so we were proficient at it and did not realize our clients did not understand and we’d move too fast for them. We were often out of peoples’ comfort zones. We had to learn so many skills when it came to working with and educating clients.
We do not like feeling that marketing and media creation is head-to-head combat. However, in the beginning, we were working with combat athletes and gyms and that is what it became. We were not prepared for it. This is when I learned, no matter what you see or what potential you recognize, it does not matter if your client does not see it. You have to be able to communicate clearly to the client and you have to get them to understand what you are doing and have them on board, or you end up in harm’s way. We don’t want anyone in harm’s way. We are here to succeed, to have everyone involved succeed.
Groundwork Promotions got banged up a lot in the beginning. We got punched and bruised more than a few times, learning the ropes. But fortunately, bruises heal and we learned how to avoid the same problems occurring. Now, the minute we sense something is wrong, we change it. We avoid entering into a combat-like approach to marketing and promotions, and instead find ways towards teamwork and co-creating the future together with our clients.
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Photo of 10th Planet San Diego
