Branding, Marketing, Advertising,
Social Media & PR

Evolution of Mass Advertising

Let's kick things off by rewinding to the roots of mass advertising. Remember Mad Men? That show paints a vivid picture of the beginnings, where print and television dominated the advertising scene. As we fast forward through the decades, we witness the emergence of cable TV and a proliferation of niche magazines — paving the way for advertisers to connect with smaller, specialized communities, including the LGBTQ+ audience, through publications such as Out Magazine and The Advocate.

Regional print in the form of local LGBTQ+ newspapers also began around this time. Then, along came the internet in the 90s, democratizing media creation with websites catering to every conceivable niche. Fast forward to today, where a single individual armed with a smartphone and social media can wield the influence of a media conglomerate.

In this landscape, everyone — from influencers to media to brands to everyday users — is generating content, blurring the lines between creator and consumer. Everyone is now on a more level playing field, each with their own set of followers and engaged friends, family, professional contacts, collaborators, and more.

What's important here is that if you're a media or marketing firm, your advertisers and clients are going direct to their audiences more now than ever before. They've been going direct for years with their own websites, but with the advent of social media, they are able to communicate their message to their ever-growing list of followers across the various platforms they're active on today. They are also becoming more and more proficient in content creation — including video — as both marketing and advertising assets.

From Bookmarks to Social Media

In this age of social media, where every user is a potential media entity, it's crucial to understand how each platform operates and how to leverage them effectively. The key concept to understand is discovery — where users stumble upon content serendipitously, rather than actively seeking it out.

We see a two-pronged marketing strategy split in the marketplace today: vertical content in the form of Stories, Reels & TikToks, and horizontal content in the form of Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and X posts. Our focus here will be on the horizontal content strategy — which can use written content, photos & videos, and links to landing pages for a user to follow up and learn more.

Keep in mind that these two strategies, although evolving on separate paths, do have cross-over. Vertical content can also be used in a horizontal content strategy and vice versa — but our focus won't cover the intricacies of Stories, Reels & TikTok videos here.

Social Media's Value Propositions

Let's dissect some key social media platforms and what each brings to an LGBTQ+ marketing strategy.

What does "engaged" mean in this context? It means showing genuine interest in others — liking, commenting, and sharing content from your followers that resonates with you. It's the key to turning any social media marketing strategy into a true powerhouse. You're putting in a small amount of marketing labor each day in exchange for organic, free marketing.

Groups — whether on Facebook or LinkedIn — serve as potent amplifiers, connecting users across degrees of separation. Imagine a virtual business networking event where engaging conversations replace intrusive pitches. That's the essence of an effective social media strategy.

Visualizing Your Strategy

What's the best way to visualize this strategy? Imagine being at a business networking event, and someone jumps up on a table and yells, "Hey everyone, look at me — I'm a realtor and I'd like to sell you your next home!" And then the next person jumps up and says, "I'm a web designer, but I just saw something Pete Buttigieg said and I want you all to hear it from me."

That's what so many people are doing today with their social media strategy.

The right way to do this is to look at your strategy as a more human-centric tactic — where you're chatting with folks one-on-one and in small groups, educating and influencing them the way people have always communicated, but now with the power of these amazing high-tech social media tools taking those conversations to scale. You're reaching not just a few but many, while still keeping the message focused to a targeted group that would tend to have more interest in what you have to say.

Unifying Your Strategy

How does this tie into your overarching branding, marketing, advertising, social media, and PR strategy? Marketing manifests through your social media presence, encompassing everything from blog posts to user-generated content. Your branding is the sum of your interactions — likes, comments, shares — projecting your identity to the digital world.

These engagements not only define your brand but also foster connections with influencers and like-minded individuals within your target demographic. In this human-centric approach, some of the profiles you're engaged with will now start paying more attention to you and reciprocating with likes, comments, and shares.

This is the key to being more relevant in the various social media feeds — your post impressions and engagement will go up, your follower count will go up, and your video views or click-throughs to your website will go up.

Dos and Don'ts

When building your brand in this way, there are some important guidelines to keep in mind:

Once you have your marketing & branding via social media working as a smooth, well-oiled machine, you can throw some advertising dollars toward some of those more important posts and videos, targeting your specific audience demographic along the way. More relevant individuals — including some of your own followers — will more likely see your posts and engage with you, at a minimum of cost and at a highly efficient use of advertising funds.

In essence, advertising complements this overall ecosystem, amplifying key messages to a broader, yet targeted audience. However, without a solid foundation of organic engagement, paid promotions risk falling on deaf ears.

Elevate and Amplify

This is where LGBTQ+ media and marketing firms like ours come in — leveraging our expertise and extensive networks to elevate your message further. Through a holistic approach encompassing media, social media/PR, and advertising, we ensure your brand resonates authentically with your target audience, while providing marketing reach 24/7, 365 days per year.

We're a social-first LGBTQ+ media company with our #ILoveGay network reaching almost 2 million followers across 200+ profiles, and growing. And we're an LGBTQ+ marketing company, helping companies reach their targeted audience via social media, video, mobile apps, email campaigns, banner ads, and more.

We lie between the worlds of media, social media/PR, and advertising — uniquely positioned to help your brand show up authentically and consistently in the spaces where the LGBTQ+ community gathers online.

Putting It All Together

In essence, it's about cultivating genuine connections in a digital landscape inundated with noise. By dedicating even a fraction of your day to these activities, you can exponentially increase your reach, engagement, and ultimately, your bottom line.

Start with your organic strategy, build your audience, refine your voice, and then amplify with advertising when you're ready. Learn more about our Entry Level programs to get started.