Interesting post from Matt Mullenweg, Automattic’s CEO. Extract.
One of the areas where Automattic and its products like WordPress.com have the most room for growth is in the area of marketing. It’s also an area our competitors are spending heavily in, with Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Web.com, and to a lesser extent EIG and Godaddy, spending over $350M this year in advertising. (Of course marketing is much more than just advertising, but their spend is still significant.)
Well, I too see the need for Automattic to invest more in marketing. It should better capitalize from the huge user base it has today, exploring other segments that are not necessarily geeks and super tech-enthusiasts. But I find interesting that Matt identifies marketing with adverts. Or maybe he doesn’t and I’m just giving his words a too sophisticated meaning. Advertising is the very last association I’d do with marketing. Automattic could win the marketing battle without spending 1 cent in adverts. Latest Content Marketing trends and facts are a visible sign of where the company should focus.