The companies that last generations, the brands that changed the landscape, the creator you've been following for 10+ years....

Did they all use one genius marketing strategy or tactic?

Can we boil their success down to some simple formula to follow to gain followers and traffic?

If you think about this, even for a short time, you'll quickly find the answer to be no.

But that's all that we, including myself as a "digital marketer", have looked for.

What is the secret marketing strategy they used? What hack or formula can I replicate?

And sure, maybe in the early days of social media there was a time where this worked somewhat.

But as we, the audience - the consumer, are all increasingly well aware of the tactics used on social media, this is less and less the case.

Everyone's seen it before. They can see right through that tactic you learned on YouTube. Because before you researched it so did 100 other creators.

No amount of SEO can make up for your flawed business plan. No amount of advertising can turn a product that doesn't work into a long-term viable company.

All these techniques can work for a time, but that's the trap, that's the reason why it makes up 90% or more of the marketing content.

We spend so much time looking for quick fixes that no one ends up studying the principles of the brands that last.

Tragically, this ends up in well-meaning creators & entrepreneurs using tactics that are meant for get-rich-quick schemes and businesses barely above the level of a con artist.

In the next decade, authenticity will shine because it is the only way forward.

As the next generation matures, they'll be brought up with technology from a much earlier age and will catch on to cheap tactics faster than ever.

That doesn't mean no ill-intentioned brands will make money, that has happened since the dawn of trade.

But the tide will shift and the higher likelihood of success will go towards those that are building for the long term and care at the very least about the well-being of their customers, and hopefully towards even larger communities and ultimately the planet as a whole.

At least that is my hope.

And that is something I can get inspired to work towards.