The Yin & Yang of Your Digital Marketing Strategy
The foundation of Feng Shui teachings is the ancient philosophy of Yin and Yang. This is the universal duality of energies that make up every natural cycle and system on earth, including your marketing plan.
To understand how Yin and Yang applies to your business, we must first understand the different characteristics of these two conflicting yet complimentary forces.
Yin energy (feminine): receptive, passive, inward, creative, intuitive, infinite, flexibility.
Yang energy (masculine): aggressive, active, outward, analytical, logical, linear, rigidity.
These energies are opposing, but inextricably connected and dependent on the other. You can't have one without the other, and you can't have progress or forward movement without the individual parts interacting and engaging.
In order to replicate that same harmony and wholeness in your business, you need an equal amount of both Yin and Yang energies. Your optimal results (customers, revenue, leads, conversions) can only achieved when you strike that delicate balance between the two energy types:
Too much, or not enough, of one element will weaken other elements and impede the flow of good Chi, leading to stagnation and limited opportunities. And what entrepreneur or business owner would want that?
Let's look closer at some examples of marketing tactics and initiatives that are Yin or Yang. Each of these types of content or approaches will have a time and place in your business, so your overall approach requires constant examination, experimentation and mindfulness.
Yin vs Yang
General Marketing & PR: Digital vs Traditional
Digital Marketing: Strategy vs Implementation
Search Marketing: organic SEO vs paid SEM
Conversion Copywriting: Emotion-based or customer-focused Storytelling vs Self-oriented messaging
Content: Analytics vs Creation
Leadership: Thought/Transformational vs Transactional/Action-driven
Rank Authority: On-site SEO vs Off-Site SEO
USP: Positive angle vs Competitive angle
Cause Marketing: Purpose-Driven vs Conversion-Driven
SEO: White-hat vs Black-hat
Media: Earned (editorial) vs Paid (sponsored)
Brand Tone/Voice: Empathetic vs Apathetic tone
Email List-building: Opt-in vs Gated content
Relationship/Community building: Social media groups vs In-person networking
Social Media: Interaction/Engagement vs Broadcasting/Posting
Marketing Materials: Rack cards vs. Business cards
Content Creation: Infographics vs Educational Blogs, Articles
Analytics: True KPIs vs vanity metrics
Tools & Technology: Promoting Conversation vs Promoting Conversion
Brand Awareness: Social Proof vs Exclusivity/Scarcity
Customer Insights: Psychology of behavior vs Data of behavior
Each of these Yin or Yang tactics create a dynamic and ever-evolving system that make up the core of a successful, sustainable marketing strategy.
What other aspects of Feng Shui relate to your marketing plan?
First, feng shui prefers roundness and movement over linear progression. Use this same approach in your marketing strategy to promote fluidity and widen the opportunities for energy to come and go. Holistic, omni-channel marketing is much more likely to succeed than marketing strategy with only a few customer touch-points.
Second, energy is not static, and nor should your marketing plan be. Your marketing strategy should ebb and flow with the times, because consumer tastes and technological trends will always change. And YOU will change too. Your internal goals will evolve, and your team will transition. There are endless factors out of your control and you shouldn't expect one period of success to be permanent apply indefinitely.
The bottom line: Think broadly, flexibly and expansively. In order for your business to stay afloat you need to be responsive and adaptable to the inevitable changes that happen in unique niche and buyer persona.
Each season and each year of your business will be different - sometimes intentionally and strategically, and sometimes not. Don't resist change. Get ready to "ride the wave"of marketing. THIS is feng shui.
Overall, your business will be successful if you're constantly doing the inside work (building) AND the outside work (delivering). This is ultimately how the complex emotion of trust is earned from your customer.
Are your marketing efforts in the equilibrium needed for success? I'd love to help your business find balance. Let's chat!
Erin Bowers is a certified feng shui consultant, holistic business coach and organic growth marketer for earth or energy based brands.
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