How to make sure your marketing doesn’t feel like marketing

Author Tom Fishburne said, “The best marketing doesn’t feel like marketing.” Such a simple statement, and I’m sure most marketers would agree; yet so many of us still struggle to make our marketing feel, well, not like marketing.

Why is this important? For one, it’s never been harder to stand out and truly differentiate your message. Research shows that the average person is exposed to anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 ads every single day. This is obviously due to the explosion of digital marketing, where everyone and everything has started to sound the same.

This has created ad fatigue, where people ignore ads and become blind to them when they use digital platforms. This is a problem for marketers because we continue to pour our budgets into digital campaigns, with an increase in spending over $60 billion in 2024 vs. 2023 with no sign of slowing down.

So how do we consistently rise above the noise, make the most of these ever-expanding budgets, and consistently yield positive ROI?

For starters, you have to take the time to develop a strategic plan to guide your marketing. Skipping this step is the easiest way to look and sound like everyone else vying for the attention of your target audience. Nailing your key messages, competitive differentiators, and unique value propositions is what separates the contenders from the pretenders in the marketing space.

And when it’s done right, we all know it when we see it. It’s the subtlety, the cleverness, those unmistakable “ah-ha” moments that great marketing campaigns deliver. It’s what drives brands to be leaders in their space and grows the bottom line with predictable ROI.

Here’s a roadmap you can follow to make sure your marketing strategy carves out an authentic niche and converts more leads.

1. Teach Instead of Reach

The easiest way to stand out from competitors that use brute force and generic advertising creative is by helping your target audience become better and more knowledgeable about something that’s important to them. It positions you as the subject matter expert and doesn’t feel like marketing because you’re educating them versus beating them over the head with reasons why they should buy something from you.

It’s why marketing leaders use webinars, tutorials, and speaking engagements to connect with their audience; they allow you to demonstrate your expertise in a way that speaks for itself. You become the authority on topics that matter to your prospects, make them smarter, and significantly increase the chances that they’ll consider you as the go-to partner.

2. Show vs. Tell

Instead of telling people how great your product or service is, show them with specific examples that achieved results. Case studies that feature visuals and quotes from actual clients or customers don’t feel like marketing because you’re sharing insight in a way that’s natural and not “salesy.” This is especially effective when you’re able to incorporate video content like testimonials or interviews because people can see firsthand how you solved similar problems that they’re facing.

3. Tell a Story

Storytelling in marketing has become so popular because, when it’s done right, it builds a strong emotional connection with the target audience. Creating narratives around how you serve your customers that show a “before and after” is one of the most powerful ways to set yourself apart as a company that deserves the attention of your prospects. We all love a good story, and it’s a highly effective way to avoid marketing clichés that get lost with everyone else’s generic message.

4. Focus on Value, Not Fluff

In order to get your prospects interested in you, you have to be interesting to them. The best way to generate the type of interest that will lead to a meaningful business impact, like increased lead conversion, is to provide value without any jargon or buzzwords. Focus instead on your unique expertise, the specific ways you’ve applied it, and the results you’ve helped achieve.

Many times as marketers, we suffer from the “curse of knowledge,” where we mistakenly assume everyone knows the same terms and overall level of understanding about our products and services. When you start throwing out specialized or technical language without balancing it with practical explanation, you run the risk of heavy-handed marketing, which will lose your prospects before they have a chance to enter your sales funnel. Instead, speak human and drive home your value in a voice that’s consistent with your brand and attracts prospects.

If you’re worried that your marketing campaigns feel too much like marketing campaigns, get in touch with the BroadBased team to start delivering an experience that will resonate with your prospects and drive more leads.