Learn from PADI and DEMA
Even some of the biggest names in the SCUBA Industry, companies and organizations you may imagine have people on payroll to conduct their online marketing are failing.
NOTE: This is intended to give you hope through examples, not to make anyone appear to be inadequate at what they do. The online marketing arena is constantly changing and it is impossible to always be the leader.
Ever Heard of the iPhone?
Yes, I’m a relatively new convert. I had been a loyal fan of BlackBerry for almost 10 years and finally gave in and tried the iPhone. In the US, there is no better consumer phone. I used to work in the wireless industry and have kept tabs, there are others that are nice, but the iPhone is popular for a reason.
One of those reasons are the applications. Many of you have heard “there’s an app for that” thrown around once or twice. It’s true. Being new to this whole iPhone thing, I’ve downloaded quite a few apps. My mind got to thinking about apps for the SCUBA industry. Since PADI has been making the move to electronic versions of their Recreational Dive Planners (RDP), I thought perhaps they had an iPhone version of it. A search for PADI in the app store returns this:
I think it’s great that people are developing dive planning applications, but here’s the odd thing to me:
People I’ve talked to in my day job about iPhone app development say that $10,000 is a good starting point to look at.
That’s not cheap. I’m assuming some of these developers are doing it more because they can than they want to make a ton of money from them (especially the free options). But why isn’t PADI there? I can only hope it’s coming soon.
What’s the M In DEMA Stand For?
I could have sworn it was “Marketing”, but that must not include social network marketing. Here at New SCUBA Marketing, we have a Facebook page. On Facebook, Pages are for businesses, celebrities or organizations. Profiles are for individual people. That’s why we have a Facebook page. The upcoming DEMA Show has opted to go for a profile however. Yes, I’m being a little nitpicky, but the truth is they are technically violating the terms of service for Facebook and if Facebook wanted to, the entire profile could be shut down, leaving DEMA’s 1,025 friends all one friend fewer. I have a conflicting day-job conference on the other side of the country this year, so I won’t be able to attend, but plan on my attendance (perhaps speaking?) next year.
Nick, You’re a Jerk
If you’ve stuck around this long, thank you. My point is not to be a jerk. My point is to say that we are all constantly learning and even some of the biggest names in our industry have a hard time doing it. You, the dive center or resort owner or independent instructor, have the same battles ahead of you, but it’s just you. So don’t feel like you have to “get it” all right now. I’m going to offer guidance and suggestions, but even I am learning and evolving in this ever-changing online marketing arena.
