Digital marketing moves faster than anyone can follow. New platforms emerge, algorithms evolve, and AI introduces new rules before anyone can adjust to the last set. For small business owners looking to establish themselves, marketing can feel like competing in a game that’s already well underway.
M.J. Plebon, a digital marketing consultant who has worked in the industry well before social media became a core marketing channel, hears these frustrations every day.
“Small businesses don’t have a lot of time, money, or marketing know-how,” Plebon says. “They know they need to be online, but nothing seems to be working.”
Most owners try to resolve this issue by chasing every platform or trend. But Plebon emphasizes that effective digital marketing is more about focus and intention.
“The first step is that you have to start small,” says Plebon, who teaches this philosophy to learners in Concordia Continuing Education’s Diploma in Digital Marketing. “But you have to be consistent.”
Plebon’s first question to any client or learner is simple: “Who is your ideal customer?” However, the answers he receives are rarely straightforward. Owners tend to describe everyone and yet no one at the same time.
“That lack of clarity is typical,” Plebon says. “A lot of businesses skip that step, and the ones that don’t start with that customer persona are already wasting time.”
Marketing progress is all about understanding the one customer who matters most — the one whose needs influence decisions about content, platform, and tone.
M.J. Plebon, digital marketing consultant
“You do not have time to create for customer number two or three,” Plebon explains. “You go after number one because that is the only way to use your time and money effectively.”
While consulting for a SaaS company, Plebon inquired about their customer persona. The organization assured him that they had built one, yet they hadn’t referenced or refined it in years.
“They said they had it but they didn’t use or update it,” he says. “Not once in two and a half years, and that is so typical for most companies. People do the exercise once and never look at it again.”
Treating a persona as a one-time assignment is a fatal flaw. If you lose track of how your customers’ needs evolve, you lose connection with them.
Once a business knows who it is speaking to, it has to decide what to say. For Plebon, the answer is simple: tell your story.
He points to Mid-Day Squares, a Montreal startup founded in a condo kitchen that became a national snack bar brand by turning their wins, failures, and even fights into a public narrative.
They caught on by letting people behind the curtain, serving as a case study in how authenticity builds loyalty.
“They told their story — the good, the bad, the ugly. Their therapy sessions. Moments where they almost gave up. And people plugged into it,” Plebon explains.
Every entrepreneur experiences triumphs and setbacks. Sharing these moments, rather than just the successes, creates an emotional bridge to their audience.
“That’s what attracts attention,” Plebon notes. “People don’t just want the widget. They want the story behind it because that’s what makes them connect.”
For already-overextended entrepreneurs, learning to use AI can feel like another burden.
“People get overwhelmed because they think they need to understand every tool,” Plebon explains. But what matters is how you use the tool.”
By using AI tools in his own work, Plebon says he’s saved time building detailed personas and testing whether content resonates with them.
“I can ask AI to act as a customer and review content,” he explains. “It pulls things out you missed, and it just makes things so much easier. What used to take a week can now be done in an afternoon.”
But generating better and faster results, Plebon says, is only possible when the person guiding the tool uses judgment. AI can refine your voice, but it can’t invent the story behind your business.
Given how quickly digital marketing evolves, Plebon often tweaks his course content to stay current.
“Every semester I have to update 30 per cent of my course because things change so fast,” Plebon notes.
For those new to marketing, that rapid pace can feel discouraging. But even as tools and trends change, the foundational elements never lose importance.
“Tools and platforms will keep changing,” Plebon notes. “What matters is how you use them. Your insight. Your practice. Your story. That is the part that will always matter most.”
In the face of constant change, Plebon advocates for a focused approach to digital marketing.
“You can’t be everywhere and you don’t have to be everywhere,” he explains. “If you know who you’re talking to and you tell your story with consistency, you’ll find your stride.”
© Concordia University
