Most businesses use marketing as a tool to sell their product or service. That approach worked when attention was easy to capture, but the landscape has changed today.
People see thousands of ads every day. They scroll past promotions without a second thought. They ignore sales pitches. Traditional lead generation does not work like it used to.
To break through the noise, marketing must provide value.
That value can come in the form of entertainment, education, or insight. If the marketing itself does not engage people, they will not engage with the business.
How I Learned This Firsthand
I did not always understand this concept. In 2011, I started writing historical fiction novels about the Vikings. At the time, I was still a school teacher, and I had no idea how to sell books. I promoted them the way most authors do: posting about them, running ads, and hoping people would buy them. Nothing worked, and I hit a wall.
That is when I started my blog. I had expertise in Viking history, so I wrote articles about it. I also created a page where I posted Viking memes. At first, I did these for fun. Then something interesting happened. The more successful that content became, the more books I sold.
By 2019, my website was receiving close to 100,000 hits per month, and book sales soared. People were accessing, enjoying, and sharing my blog posts and memes, which led to them discovering and buying my books.
It sounds simple, but too many businesses miss the big picture. The best marketing does not feel like marketing. It provides value first. It captures attention without demanding anything in return. When people recognize and trust your brand, selling becomes easy.
The Entertainment Industry Figured This Out Long Ago
Look at how media has evolved. Films used to be a product. People paid for a ticket to watch a movie. Then television changed everything.
Media companies realized they were not just creating content but capturing attention. The better their content, the more attention they earned, and the more they could sell. Thus, they became marketing companies without selling their own products. Instead, they sold the attention they generated to businesses that needed it, just as a marketing agency would.
Today, marketing teams need to function the same way.
Marketing Teams Should Think Like Media Companies
Businesses focus too much on direct response tactics. They build campaigns that demand attention instead of earning it. They expect leads to come from generic ads and self-promotional content. Today, the brands that win create marketing that people choose to consume.
Marketing teams need to behave more like small media companies. Their job is to promote products and create engaging content.
Marketing that entertains, educates, or informs naturally draws an audience. When people willingly engage with your content, they start trusting your brand. When they trust your brand, they buy from you.
A Real-World Example: The Seafood Restaurant That Became a Community Hub
I saw this principle in action when I worked with a fast-growing seafood restaurant chain. When I first met them, they marketed themselves based on high-quality food and unique sauce blends. This was a strong selling point, but it was not enough to create a pull in the market. Customers liked the food, but nothing about the positioning made it feel urgent, necessary, or distinct.
As I dug deeper, I realized something bigger was at play. The seafood boil experience was inherently communal. It was not just about food; it was about gathering, sharing, and breaking bread together. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, people were not just looking for good food. They were craving social experiences. They wanted to reconnect. They wanted a place that made it easy to bring friends, family, and colleagues together in a lively, interactive setting.
We repositioned the restaurant as a communal dining hub. The tagline we developed, "Let's break bread—and crab—together!" captured the experience in a way that resonated. From that positioning, we developed content designed to entertain. We created an entertaining ad that organically garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and explainer videos about seafood, commercial fishing, and the history of seafood boils, all of which provided intrinsic value to consumers while promoting the brand.
It made the brand memorable and gave customers a reason to choose them over other seafood restaurants. And it worked. The restaurant became the go-to place for business meetings, family gatherings, and celebrations, and it often complimented our little media machine.
The Marketing Shift Every Business Needs to Make
Marketing is not about shouting louder. It is about giving people a reason to listen.
If your marketing does not provide value, people will ignore it.
Most companies ask how to generate more leads. They should also ask how to create something that is worth attention.
The companies that succeed in today’s landscape create content that engages. They act like media companies. They think about how to capture and hold attention, not just how to generate clicks.
Is Your Marketing Doing Its Job?
If you struggle to generate leads, it may not be because of your sales process. It may be because your marketing does not give people a reason to care.
I help businesses rethink their approach, reposition their brand, and build marketing systems that capture attention and drive real growth. If your marketing is not working, it may be time to take a different approach.
Let’s talk.
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