You're marketing like it's 2012 (and how to fix it)
Have you ever felt like your marketing goes nowhere?
You play with the latest AI tools. Spend hours making a reel or graphic, hit publish... and nothing happens. In 2026, it doesn't matter how good your product or message is if you don't have the attention of your audience.
Quoting this from Gary Vaynerchuk's playbook: If you know what people are paying attention to and where they're paying attention, then you actually have a shot at selling them something.
Access Gary Vaynerchuk's playbook on day trading attention here (it's a good read): https://garyvee.com/attention
With AI, it's not so much about it replacing us, but us using it to amplify ourselves. I do that with Wispr Flow. Instead of writing for 5 minutes, I just speak, and the tools write for me – with my "umms" removed and sentences formatted.
In fact, this content block here is written with Wispr Flow. I use it to write prompts for AI, newsletters, and to reply to comments and emails. And it has saved me hours.
Try Wispr Flow free
Watch the video below to see Wispr Flow in action:
Life in 2012 was different
Back then, most companies would make one "big" idea – like a high-end commercial, then force it down people.
They'd use TV, billboards, or place big ad placements in magazines. Basically, "top-down" marketing. And it worked.
In 2023, Dollar Shave Club made 1 video and exploded their popularity.
Today, a better strategy is to do Bottom-Up Marketing
1 - Stop "Top-down" Marketing
Today, thanks to social media (which is free), a better strategy is to test many ideas, see what works, and then scale that opportunity.
Instead of figuring out ONE big idea, create many small ideas.
Execution wise, this is posting 10-15 low-stakes pieces of content on social media. See which ones get the most likes and comments. That will signal what your "big idea" should be.
Use data to your advantage.
2 - Creative is more important now
I used to teach "How to run FB ads". As in go to your ad manager, click this, and make sure to set targeting to X, Y, and Z.
Today, the magic is in the creative. Setting up targeting options on Facebook isn't even that important anymore. The algorithm is smart enough to find your audience.
Only one caveat. Your creatives (the content) have to be good enough to keep them watching.
But before that, you have to study what grabs attention. What are people currently engaging with? As an example, here's a recent ad campaign we ran. We tested 3 creatives. Notice which one got the highest CTR.
Here's what the winning creative looked like:
It's literally a meme.
Did we just think of the meme? No, we saw a meme that people liked and turned it into an ad creative.
3 - New platforms vs old platforms
Attention is generally underpriced on new platforms and overpriced on old ones.
Now, you might have seen news about the doom and gloom of AI. Most recently, it's about how OpenAI will be putting ads into ChatGPT – and why that is going to be a bad thing.
First, understand that the news always reports negative stuff. Why?
Thanks to our innate negativity bias, we pay more attention to potential threats. Negative headlines drive outrage, get people emotional, and generate higher engagement. Which, you guessed right... brings more advertising revenue.
So the news will always be fear-mongering.
But back to my point. When ChatGPT ads become available in our part of the world, you want to be the first take advantage of it. Attention on new platforms will always be underpriced.
By not having the courage to test new formats and platforms, you leave growth on the table.
Don't just consume. Do stuff.
You can keep reading about marketing, or you can spend a few days building systems to acquire clients.
From 3rd to 6th March, I'm hosting Implementation Week at INFINITY8 Reserve Sunway Square, a world-class co-working space. And in this edition, we will build a lead generation system to drive customers to your business.
If you're ready to stop consuming, start doing, and get results, join us at Implementation Week