When it comes to Orlando small businesses, a lot of people probably ask, “Well, what is marketing?” I can see where many people would get confused as to what marketing is. There are a lot of definitions out there, and there is a lot of overlapping of PR and communications jobs within marketing. But what is Orlando marketing and why should people be asking themselves this question? Let’s get back to the basics with this marketing timeline:

• Snake Oil Salesman: These salesmen were the first ones out the door. They represented the first era of door to door marketing. A lot of times, they sold things that didn’t exactly work, hence the name “snake oil salesman.”
• TV Admen: These salesmen advertised products and services over TV. When TV first came out, it didn’t take long for marketers to catch on to the advertising opportunity. Think of these salesmen as the early infomercial salesmen.
• Sponsors for Products: These were the characters that you see on cereal boxes and representing a brand. As an example, Tony the Tiger. This was more geared towards kids, but Tony had health information for the parents too.
• Trust Seekers: These marketers focused on facts. Think of a bag of chips, if the bag of chips said that they were made by Sherpa’s in the mountains of China, people believed they would be authentic.
•  Consumer Advocates: This is today’s marketing. People are advocates of brands by blogging, sharing their story on social media, posting their favorite brand on Instagram, and many other ways. Brands are able to touch more consumers through the use of social media updates and blogging. People are more connected than ever to their favorite brands with just the click of a button.

This brings us back to our original question, “What is Orlando marketing?” It seems after going over the timeline of where marketing started, to where it is today we can understand that marketingever-changinghanging world of opportunity for brands to engage with their customers and for customers to engage others for the brand. What is Orlando marketing is a question that should be asked by every small business owner. This opens the door to many opportunities and even more creativity to see how to engage your potential clientele. If you need help with your marketing, or engaging your customers, give us a call today, or tweet us @SouthStreet_Co. If you enjoyed this article on What Is Marketing, see our recent ones on What Your Crockpot Can Teach You About Social Media Marketing and The 4 Best (and cheap) Ways To Get Your Small Business Out There