What in the hell is the “Kansas City Shuffle”? Well, it’s more than an obscure movie reference from the early 2000’s, first of all. I would love to share a beer with whomever knows what movie it’s from. Chances are we would get along. In short, it is why my clients are: enjoying steady growth, understanding current marketing trends, spending more time with people who make them money and spending considerably less on marketing than their competition in a market that is constantly attacking their client base with content from every direction.
Perhaps the Kansas City Shuffle can best be explained by answering the question of why Bill and Tom have been so successful over this incredible two-decade run. My wife recently asked me, “How are they so much better than everyone else?”. The answer, you guessed it. The Kansas City Shuffle!
So, what am I talking about? The Kansas City Shuffle is if everyone is looking left, the real event is happening on the right. Bruce Willis uses it in the movie Lucky Number Sleven to murder someone in an ultimate revenge plot. So, let me bring this back into the Cape Cod and South Shore marketing world.
Belichick and Brady are always one step ahead, doing something different than what is expected. If opposing coaches plan for a pass-heavy game, they defy logic and trends. Why, because everyone is looking for the pass. Opposing teams know their own weaknesses on game tapes and know the Patriots should pass, (Kansas City Shuffle- the pass is everyone looking right) but the Pats run 50 times against a top-ranked rush defense. They aren’t expecting it and the Patriots win, again.
Today, Facebook is that object everyone is looking at. There is content coming from every direction on Facebook. Your business is competing for every second of your target’s attention. You have 1.5 seconds to grab them and Facebook has a content problem as it is. They have more advertising than they have space to spread it around. Let that sink in. Their pay-per-click is constantly increasing and your message is surrounded by a “Chappelle Show” like comedy skit of content, where even when your message lands on your ideal target they are lost to cooking videos, political propaganda and sports highlights from the 90’s in seconds. Business owners are ignoring the essentials of marketing, because they want the instant gratification of likes and comments. Their GBDs & websites are treated as an inconvenience because of Facebook. All because they see likes, comments and shares and this makes them feel like marketing is working. Likes, comments and shares do not equal an ROI. Scientifically speaking, your brain’s reward center triggers when you see notifications. This is the same area that is triggered by things like Super Bowl parties, sex, paychecks and your favorite dessert. Likes are great for your business, but they should be considered as pocket change and not a revenue stream. (Source: The Secret Psychology of Facebook)
Here are some statistics to consider:
Every 60 seconds on Fb, 136,000 photos are uploaded
42% of marketers report that fb is critical or important to their business
Age 25-34 at 29.7% is the most common demographic
There are 83 million fake profiles
300 million photos are uploaded each day
Source: Zephoria Digital Marketing
The point is, you can’t ignore Facebook, it is important for small businesses. It can’t be your primary source of marketing. It is not an excuse to ignore a proper marketing budget. There is way too much content swarming your target every second of the day for your business to rely on Facebook alone in 2019. This is good news, however. Your competition has stopped reading by now, but you are still here. You care about growth. Cape it Local has never cared about having the most clients. We only care about having the right clients. If everyone is running to Facebook, what is available for you to take advantage of? What can your business use as your Kansas City Shuffle? My clients hire me to find theirs, should you?
JeffSmithCapeCod@gmail.com