Marketing is no longer a position that you fill at a company.  Marketing is not a television commercial or a radio advertisement.  Marketing is not a piece of collateral you send off to reporters, bloggers, or journalists.  Marketing is everything you do and every interaction you are involved in.

Every time you have a business meeting with employees, investors, etc. that is marketing.  Every time you talk to someone at a bar about your company or service, that is marketing.  Every presentation you give and every online and offline conversation you participate in is marketing.  I used to work at a marketing agency a while ago that presented monthly reports to clients.  At the end of the report the last page would say “thank you.”  What kind of marketing is that?  Why not let the company know about any news, announcements, updates, or new products/service that you have?

This is crucial to remember, especially for a startup.  Everyone at a startup company is marketing, everyone!  Startups build their brand and their image based upon the initial interactions that take place between users (press, etc.) and the employees (although they are usually the founders).  Most people identify with a company because of the founders/creators.  You are the marketing and PR department!

Thanks for reading

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