The rapid changes in marketing are enough to make your head spin. At least mine. It seems that every month there's a new, seductive marketing app to distract us.

That's not good or bad.

But how do you approach the newest ideas without selling yourself short?

Or having sleepless nights in case they don't work?

Or getting lost in fear that you'll miss out if you don't jump on the latest bandwagon?

Or fear that you won't be able to keep up with everything and you'll crash and your business will go down with you?

Or not doing it at all and feeling that you might be missing out on something BIG?

It's tempting to focus intensely on the trendiest, jazziest tool or technique.

Wanting it all.

Wanting to be one of the crowd.

Wanting to hit it out of the park immediately.

Wanting something new, just because it's new, is probably not a good idea! Especially if you think it's going to revolutionize your marketing and bring in big bucks quickly. But that's the story we're often sold.

Is there a way to take advantage of the newest tools and techniques without losing your mind and maybe your business?

Yes!

It starts with the basics of marketing.

• If what you're doing already is working for you, don't stop! Keep doing it. Don't abandon the old tried and tested ways of doing things in favor of the newest 'thing.'
• Evaluate the new app, tool or tactic very critically. What are people saying about it? Does it sound like a quick fix or a get-rich-overnight scheme? Have you any idea how much behind the scenes time, energy and money people are putting into it to make it work? Take a critical look at how much time, energy and money YOU might have to put into it to make it work. Is that realistic, without neglecting what's working already?
• How much control do you have over it? I know many people whose only web presence is a Facebook page. What if (perish the thought!) Facebook should go belly-up, or change their rules. You're at their mercy. If the 'thing' is controlled by someone else, consider what that might mean for your business. Think about all the tools that have come and gone. What if you had made one of them the centerpiece of your marketing? Not a pretty picture.
• To begin with, make the 'thing' an add-on to your regular marketing, until you know it'll work for you. That way, your business is safe if it turns out to be a flash-in the-pan.

The key is that the basics of marketing remain the same: making sure you're sending the right message to the right audience at the right time.

Marketing apps, tools and techniques, whether they're new, sparkly and shiny, or older, tried and already proven to work, are simply vehicles to help you do that.

When you keep that at the back of your mind, it's easier to make decisions and choose the tools that are most likely to work for you and your business, no matter what anyone else is doing or saying.

Copyright 2016 Maggie Dennison