The Best Thing You Can Do for Your Marketing Strategy.

This is not a self help article. This is not a rant about the state of today’s marketing practices. This is simply a reminder of something you probably already know.

There is so much hype about doing the newest thing. Maybe you’re feeling it? The pressure to use the shock tactic to get your prospects’ attention, make them fall in love with you, and then turn them into purchasing customers. For many people, it’s about the crash bang that draws attention in the first place.

You know, these types of outrageous things:

• Bubbles: The alien abduction film “Skyline” memorably spread the word about its upcoming theatrical release through creative means at the 2010 Comic-Con in San Diego. Special bright white bubbles were formed into people shapes and then released into the sky. When the people shapes caught the wind, they floated up and around hotel windows and over tens of thousands of comic book convention attendees, appearing to be humans abducted up into space.

• Hollywood:  Hollywood films continuously seek unusual marketing ideas for finished films, but outrageous marketing tactics have been used to raise financing for a film before it’s made. When the screenplay adaptation of the popular video game “Halo” was submitted to producers around Hollywood, it was delivered by couriers dressed in the signature uniform of the main character — Master Chief — who would then wait in the lobby while the script was read.

Because your company exists probably means you have competitors. So understandably there is pressure to stand out. In some instances, these outrageous tactics worked. Entertaining? Yes. Alluring? Possibly. But keep in mind – what you’re trying to do is convince your customers that you’re real, reliable and a brand they want to associate themselves with. While those loud tactics might turn heads, are they really effective long-term?

The idea is to build a brand, put your voice behind it, and be comfortable with it. No need to perpetually stress over what flashing neon sign will get the most attention.

So if a blinking website, frantic publicity stunts, or any other outrageous technique isn’t exactly who you are, or who you want to be, don’t worry. You don’t need to write it in the sky or anything; you’re real, and that’s what matters.

(Examples above courtesy of Smallbusiness.chron.com.)