Maybe you’ve seen the posts…

• QR Codes Kill Kittens
• Content Marketing is Dead
• SEO is Dead
• Social Media is Dead

I get it, trends come and go. But, all of these tactics mentioned still serve a purpose if used correctly. Yes, QR Codes can be used effectively.

Here’s the problem. A small business owner doesn’t have the daily insight that experts do. Why? Experts study marketing trends daily. They know what works and continually see good tools used poorly.

That doesn’t change the fact that these tools are still useful, even if they are misused. The experts are jaded.

Take these posts with a grain of salt. Some of these tactics are really useful. Some of these posts will actually give you the “rare example” of when something works, if you can get past the dead kitten part.

So, where does this leave you? Are you stuck wading through a bunch of snarky posts from jaded marketers on tools that could work for you to maybe find a way to implement them? Sort of.

Contrarian views and posts about things dying are popular because they have an edge to them. But, there are plenty of resources out there for finding out ways to implement these tools effectively. Here are a few…

• Moz.com
• ContentMarketingInstitute.com
• MarketingProfs.com
• MobileMarketingWatch.com
• MarketingLand.com
• SocialMediaExplorer.com

You will find plenty of well written articles supporting the use of QR Codes, SEO, Social Media and Content Marketing on these very popular and respected blogs.

You’ll also find some posts where these practices are challenged or even mercilessly destroyed.

Marketing is a practice, not a one shot deal. It requires a lot of trial and error. The best way to start with any new tool is to ask yourself…

What problem does it solve for my client?

If you can honestly answer that question, then you have the beginnings of a viable marketing strategy.

No kittens were harmed during the writing of this post.