What Do American Idol and Small Business Marketing Have In Common?

I’m writing this post plugged into my laptop with headphones as my wife watches American Idol.

The parallels between online marketing and the hit reality show are actually quite striking. American Idol became a way to achieve success and fame without going through the traditional L.A. gatekeepers to the music industry. Instead you just had to prove your worth to the show’s judges, and ultimately the American people.

Marketing your business online with websites, social media, articles, and blog writing is done the same way. It’s a way for you to have a conversation, and interact with potential customers. No longer do you have to buy newspaper, magazine, radio or television advertising to be seen.

You can start a Facebook page and find your fans, or a Twitter account to find your followers. Casting a wide net now involves many one-on-one interactions. In American Idol as well as online marketing, the gatekeeping walls are knocked down.

There’s another similarity as well. The early season episodes of Idol are filled with people who cannot sing, yet still strive for illusive fame. The show airs these tryouts to showcase just how desperate people are for this success. Yet some of them are terrible. The judges (sometimes ruthlessly) toss them, the audience laughs, and they all move on.

Having a poorly designed website, or content that is full of gaping errors can be a lot like going on Idol without the ability to carry a note. Best case scenario your website viewers move on. If the marketing materials are bad enough, they may have a little laugh at your expense along the way.

Think about it this way. If you had a brick and mortar store in the heart of Chicago, L.A. or New York shopping districts, you’d do everything you could to make sure the store was in tip top shape for the foot traffic out there. Businesses need to realize that that foot traffic is stopping into their website, many times via some other form of marketing material.

If your goal is to win the show, better make sure you can sing.

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