Over the past 17 years, I’ve seen endless hype cycles in digital marketing.

A “hype cycle” is when some marketing task, tactic or other method becomes the “hot new trick” and receives a lot of attention or “hype” ( you can see these in any channel by the way – search, social, email, paid, et. al ).

When that happens it becomes a “gold rush” of sorts — small businesses sprint to implement this new “silver bullet” into digital marketing game plans in order to avoid missing out (fear of missing out – FOMO).

While some of these end up having some merit, very often they can do harm if rushed too quickly – in that rush to implement the new hyped method or tactic, it can indirectly hinder some of your long-term plans for your small business.

Context Is Important

Seeing case studies or examples of other small businesses using a particular tactic doesn’t always mean that it will translate to yours.

What is the surrounding context that the tactic was performed?

The more you dig into the examples or results, the more you might uncover other reasons for the success of those tactics.

Tactics might hit different if you’re an older, more mature small business with a closer audience than if you’re newer in a particular area or region.

They might hit different depending on the time of year or any other particular context that may have an affect on its usefulness.

Understanding the surrounding context that a tactic was used can be just as important as the particular tactic itself.

When Hype Can Lead To Hurt

Very often with more aggressive tactics, it’s not uncommon for many hyped tactics to do more harm than help.

If there’s a mismatch between the tactics or methods you’ve been doing over the years and the newer/hyped tactic, the results can feel jarring to your audience.

That “jarring” can cause folks to pause or perhaps affect their perception of you or your small business.

Stay Informed, But Remember Alignment

It’s important to stay informed and current when it comes to digital marketing tactics and trends, but remember to stay aligned; that is, keep your audience in mind before rushing into a particular new method.

Tactics support strategy – how well do they line up with your small business’ overall strategy or long-term goals?

Do they help keep you stay balanced? Or will it disrupt/hinder existing channels?

All important questions to ask the next time you encounter a new digital marketing hype cycle or “silver bullet” tactic.