It Takes a Village

Remember that old adage ‘It Takes A Village to Raise a Child’?

Well, the same premise applies to successful marketing of a business. It is never just one thing that needs to happen. Simply putting an ad in one paper or print magazine might get noticed, if you’re lucky. Creating a couple of random posts about a new product might be helpful but it is not going to bring in big sales. It takes a good, cohesive marketing plan that looks at all possible avenues and, this is key, it is based on what you are selling because there is no cookie cutter recipe to follow. You also cannot do it all yourself. No successful business is run by one person. Know your skill set and rely on the help of other professionals to help you.

A good marketing strategy should include the following

  • Identify Your Goals
  • Know What Makes You Unique
  • Make Sure You Have A Strong Brand
  • Optimize Your Website
  • Define Your Distribution Channels
  • Create Kick Ass Content
  • Measure, Measure, Measure
  • Create Tactical Plans
Identifying your goals
How many of us have said we are going to lose weight or pay of our credit cards? Goals like these can be easily measured because we can see the changes. But what about goals that are not so easy to measure.

Before you go running off to measure your goals, take a few moments to determine what they really are. If you sell insurance your goal is to write as many policies as you can. What does that look like? How many policies do you need to write in order to reach your goal? Where do you want to be in 1, 2, 5, or 10 years? It might feel silly, but writing it down makes a difference and it will be your map to follow.

Know what makes you unique
What is different about you? Is it your style, how you work, or something about your product? I lost a diamond out of my wedding ring recently. I did not realize the prongs had worn down. It was an expensive fix. I had a conversation with an insurance rep. at a mixer (pre-COVID), and a comment was made on my jewelry. I mentioned the costly fix and he asked if I had insurance on my ring. I had not. Nor did I realize how inexpensive it was to purchase. It was not a hard sell and it happened so easily. What I found unique was the subtle he moved the conversation into selling me a product I did not even know I needed.

Make Sure You Have A Strong Brand
Branding is key and if you are just starting out, you may not have brand recognition yet. Get started by having a professional logo created. Use your logo on every marketing product and communication.

Optimize Your Website
Have a professional website. There are many options these days and while I always recommend using a professional, you can DIY, but DIY the right way. Don’t skimp here, because it will be obvious. Be clear on your objective with your website and place your social links on the top right corner or obvious area. There are a gazillion websites out there. How will people find you? Do you know what SEO is? Don’t pay for it yet.

Define Your Distribution Channels
Or in layman’s terms, IDENTIFY YOUR MARKET AND KNOW WHERE TO FIND THEM. Every platform has their own market. Learn what and who they are and know their habits, likes, and desires.

Create Kick Ass Content
Don’t post just anything. You want to have a mix of 75-85% education on what makes your product valuable, what are its benefits for them? 15-25%  can be fun, entertaining, value-driven posts.

Get Found
I am not a big supporter of pay-for- click ads, however sometimes you need to explore that option to grow your market. It can depend on many factors, like what your product is, how large of a following you have, and your ultimate goal. You also need to have a budget for boosting specific posts, utilizing hash tags (#) and @ tags. Take time to research popular # and influencers that you can @ or #

Measure, Measure, Measure
If you use a scheduling platform, most come with analytics for you to track. If you post organically, you will have to monitor each platform to track this information or use Google Analytics. It is important to track so you know what is working, what isn’t and know the next steps you need to take for improvement.

Create A Tactical Plan and be prepared to change it (maybe multiple times). Are you getting click- throughs, comments, and shares? If not, then why? Your social media reactions drive your SEO. Search Engine Optimization is the process of increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing the visibility of a website. This is done by driving traffic from your social pages to your website. Creating good content makes your followers want to check out your website to know more. This is where it is important to have social links on your website and links to your website in the about section as well as on your posts.

Have questions? Contact us for a casual chat. We believe in the value of giving back through mentorship. You are not alone; we are here to help.

 

About the Author

Pamm