After publishing the interview of Larry Kim of WordStream, we are here with one more interesting interview of globally recognized speaker, Mark W. Schaefer. He is also a founder and author of a blog “Grow”, one of the top renowned marketing blogs.
Through this interview, we got a chance to know him better in personal as well as professional way. He shared some useful Digital Marketing and Social Media marketing tips with us.
Explore below our interesting conversation with Mark Schaefer:
Varun: Hi Mark Schaefer, please tell us something about you that world don’t know.
Mark: I was a child music prodigy.
Varun: Being a marketing expert and a keynote speaker, you might have faced so many ups and down. Please share any of them with us and how you stayed motivated in whole journey?
Mark: Probably the most difficult time was the first years starting out. It was tough breaking through. People would not hire me to speak so I started my own conference. People would not choose me to write a book, so I self-published. Today, we don’t have to wait to be picked. We can pick ourselves.
Varun: You have written 5 best-selling books till now, which one you like the most personally? Are you in a process of writing any new book?
Mark: I am most proud of “The Content Code” because it is an entirely new look at digital marketing and it has helped so many people all around the world. It is my best life’s work. I will have a new book out in early 2017 called “KNOWN” that will teach people how to become known in the world today. I do believe it will be even better than The Content Code!
Varun: Can you name your favorite influencers in digital marketing world?
Mark: This is going to sound weird, but my biggest influence today remains a man who died 10 years ago, Peter Drucker. His books on marketing, entrepreneurship, and leadership continue to inspire me every day. Even in the 1980s, he predicted the entrepreneurial world we live in today.
Varun: As social media marketing is trending these days, which social media channel you preferred for advertisement? Why? What social media trends we will see in 2017?
Mark: All of the channels are innovating and improving their offerings. I think Facebook is naturally the go-to channel right now but I would watch Snapchat. I think they will be much more friendly to advertisers in the near future.
Varun: What’s your thought on the role of “Content Marketing” in Digital marketing world and what trends to expect in content marketing in 2017?
Mark: Most marketing today begins with great content and that will remain the case for as far as I can see into the future. Here’s a post I wrote about four digital trends that will impact the world in a profound way in 2017:
http://ow.ly/8tF4307mKte
You can also read: Content Marketing Trends to Follow in 2017
Varun: Can you suggest some of your favorites Digital Marketing tools to our readers which you use personally?
Mark: I am intense content creator — weekly blogging, podcasts, and a new book in the works — so I don’t have time to experiment with new tools. I tend to rely on the basics that work day-in-and day out. I do use BuzzSumo for content discovery — a wonderful tool.
Varun: These days blogging is a new trend, every second person is doing blogging, but very few of them succeed. What potential and skills they are lacking behind according to you?
Mark: I will be addressing this in great detail in my new book KNOWN. It is extraordinarily important to find a way to stand out in the world today, to be distinctive. We must tap in deeply to what makes us original and have the courage to show it. That is the biggest thing lacking today. Everybody is simply copying everybody else. You will never succeed doing that.
Varun: Being a marketing expert, what changes you have seen in digital marketing industry in past 5 years and which digital marketing trends will dominate 2017
Mark: By far the biggest change in the last five years is the overwhelming content density we all have to deal with now as marketers. The web is very crowded and getting more crowded every day to an extraordinary degree. The challenge going forward is dealing with this and getting our messages noticed. Finding this answer will dominate our efforts in 2017 and beyond, impacting our strategies, platforms, budgets, and even the skillsets we need to overcome and win.
You can also read: Digital Marketing Trends to follow in 2017
Varun: There were so many updates in Digital World like in SEO, social media, Adwords etc, can you share with us according to you which update has brought big changes in digital world?
Mark: When you think about it, the access to free and easy ways to publish has changed the world forever. We take this for granted today, but think about the impact of being able to post something on Facebook, Twitter, or a blog for all the world to see. Think how that content has changed power, politics, news, entertainment and even what we consider to be fame. Unfortunately, not many people really may be harnessing this tremendous power in positive and productive ways. The ability to publish, connect and be known is a historically important opportunity.
You can also read: Top SEO Trends to Follow in 2017
Varun: Before we put an end to our keen questions, can you please say something very special to our readers who are dealing to be successful in Digital marketing World?
Mark: While writing my new book, a powerful lesson came through to me. I interviewed more than 100 people for the book and when asked about their key to success, every one of them said something like consistency, resilience, or perseverance. The key to success isn’t necessarily passion, brilliance, or even the big idea. It’s endurance. Passion is common, endurance is rare. That makes the difference.
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We really thank Mark Schaefer for sparing time from his busy schedule for this interview session.
We hope you all liked this interview and the tips shared by Mark W. Schaefer will surely help you to grow your business successfully.
Please share your thoughts about this interview in the comment section. Stay tuned with us for more informative interviews.
You can also read the interesting interviews of other influencers of the digital marketing world like Rand Fishkin and Neil Patel here.