If you turn on the shopping channel, you’ll notice one thing. It’s always on.
It’s much like your favourite news network—there’s always a story in action.
Both of these are programs. They’re always on. They’re reliable.
This is similar to how I think about marketing—with campaigns and programs.
Programs are the things you do regularly and with consistency.
They’re the news or shopping channel for your audience. They are working all the time to maintain awareness, hold attention, and ideally do some unobtrusive selling.
People look forward to them.
They could be your regular short emails. Or your social media content. Or a weekly YouTube video. An ongoing podcast. Or all of it combined.
These are ongoing, frequent, and ever-present marketing activities that keep you top-of-mind with your clients.
And then there are your campaigns.
These are your big pushes for a limited period of time based around often short-term objectives.
They could be for a sale. Or a promotion. Or distributing in-depth content. Or establishing a new offering.
Both are important. But if I had to prioritize only one, it would be establishing a robust program.
Your programs keep people warm. They build trust. They build relationships. They educate. They offer value. They even sell.
Your campaigns are designed to help people take action or drive a result. They’re the big push for whatever it is you want to get out there.
But without a good program, your campaigns will feel pushy and unwelcome. People rarely buy expensive things without adequate warmup.
The better your marketing program, the more effective your campaigns will be.
Do both, but I’d suggest building the program first.
—kw
P.S. I’m closing the doors soon to Mindshare for a little while. If you have been considering joining, now might be a good time.