Unfiltered Marketing Connects With The Digitally Distracted

If you work in business, then you probably know the terms B2B and B2C. They stand for business-to-business and business-to-consumer. But have you heard of C2B? Customers-to-business is the new model where customers are seizing control of their relationship with brands and businesses. 

As your audience becomes more confident about shaping their consumption habits, it’s important to ensure that you make the cut. Unfiltered, unpolished content can actually stand out from the crowd in a really good way. In an oversaturated marketplace full of glossy edits and buzzwords, raw transparency is the key to breaking through to the digitally distracted.

Unfiltered content for radio? Yes! 

We’re not talking about bleeps here. Instead, we’re talking about unpolished, unscripted, straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth content. If you’re a radio programmer or manager, then you have probably spent the majority of your career carefully designing a slate for on-air shows. You have selected the content and the hosts that best align with the time of day. You approved outlines and reminded people to stay on-topic and on-brand.

Today’s audiences have grown familiar with traditional marketing approaches. When people know what to expect, they stop paying attention.

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Your audience doesn’t want jargon-filled marketing-speak. They want the truth, and they want it in real-time. It’s your job to balance strategy with authenticity to produce the perfect blend of unfiltered marketing.

Honesty breeds trust—and builds community

You might be wondering why a marketing agency is encouraging you to go off-script. After all, aren’t we supposed to create complex strategies and push out polished work for our clients? You might feel this way if you’ve worked with other agencies who are focused more on appearances than results. But Killer Bee Marketing is focused on doing what actually works, not on ineffective and costly distractions.

Ultimately, the statistics indicate that unfiltered, low-production value content can actually significantly out-perform polished marketing. Remember the original video ads for Dollar Shave Club? They were gritty, accessible, and comedic—which helped them stand out from all the other big brands. Audiences paid attention and in 2016, Unilever acquired the company for $1B. 

The bottom line is that you need to get noticed. The digitally distracted need something different to snag their attention. Unfiltered marketing can breed loyalty, because people will trust what you’re saying. More importantly, honesty builds community. 

It’s like joining a club. If you join a group called “Superfans of Square Dancing,” you instantly know now you’re going to feel safe around other like-minded people. Take this same approach with your content. Be brash and be authentic. You’ll attract the right people who will be grateful for your candor, and even more grateful to have found a community.

Takeaway

In the foreword of the 2020 book Unfiltered Marketing, digital anthropologist Brian Solis summed it up well. To paraphrase his point, for someone to listen to you and let down their guard, you need to find a common language with them. This starts with having aligned values and aspirations. In order to make this happen, a few things need to take place. As he puts it: “you have to identify and speak to their inner fire. You have to connect with who they are today and who and where they could be tomorrow.” The endgame here is a total alignment/agreement that this partnership leaves both sides better than before. 

We know it’s challenging to connect with your audience in meaningful ways. From paid advertising to content marketing, it can feel like a jungle out there. You might feel like you’ve already covered everything. You might have even been burned by a previous agency who didn’t understand radio.

Killer Bee Marketing has you covered. We plan and execute digital strategy for brands that want to cultivate lasting relationships with their audience. We understand audio as a medium and we know what it takes to grow a radio brand on digital platforms. If you’re ready to embrace unfiltered marketing, reach out to schedule a call with Brian. We’ll get you started with a strategy that makes you feel confident, and we’ll be with you every step of the way.