6 Ways To UP Your Marketing Efforts

Back in the dinosaur age when I was in college my marketing professor taught a lesson on The Six Forms of Promotion for marketing your business.?

I still remember them; Advertising, Sales Promotion, Personal Selling or Canvasing (also known as Direct Sales), Packaging, Collateral Materials, and Publicity.?

After a few decades of working with small businesses and entrepreneurs I’ve seen common mistakes of only focusing on one or two of these and more often than naught it is Direct Sales and/or Advertising.

Either of those will usually work extremely well, but what I have noticed is the propensity to leave opportunities on the table so today I would like to expand on what I learned so many years ago.

In today’s digital age with so much technology at our fingertips marketing efforts can become disjointed. The shotgun approach is not as nearly effective as having a well thought out, intentional, plan to your marketing efforts.?

The 6 Ways To UP Your Marketing Efforts

1. Build a Marketing Map
2. Optimizing Your Website
3. Plan in Campaigns
4. Leveraging Email
5. Intentional Content Creation
6. Attend Live Events

(1) Build a Marketing Map.?

Not just a customer journey but where are you putting your marketing efforts, what platforms are you on, what systems are in place, what channels or funnels exist? Map out what platform leads to what platform. Show the path of your funnels and how customers or clients enter those funnels. Where do you ultimately want to lead people to, and what action do you ultimately want them to take in the end?

Here is my marketing map for JohnnyBoy Studios, my own business. Note how I include the podcasts, the lead magnets, the websites, current products, future products, etc and how everything points back to my main website.

This is in flux. It is a living document I update as my business changes. It is a live visualization of the pathways I want potential customers to follow and extremely helpful to see how one offer leads to the next.

(2) Your website is your home base, spend time and money to develop it.

Drive all traffic back to your website. You own this platform, social media algorithms change every other day but this is something you own.

Your website should be more than a picture album and a description of your business. Be clear in what you want people to do when they come to it. Make it easy to navigate, test all your links quarterly if not monthly, refresh your entire website every 3 years.

(3) Think in campaigns.?

Market new products, services, or seasons in your business or industry. Build out a launch. Plan out quarters or seasons in your business. The constant marketing/constant selling is a way to burn out both yourself and your audience which will greatly reduce the response when you do have something big to promote. Thinking in-line with a campaign builds anticipation, encourages engagement, and increases sales.?

I wrote an entire article about 7 Steps To A Successful Launch which will help you every time you use a campaign to launch. You can read it here; https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/7-steps-successful-launch-jonathan-mclean-cxxbf/?trackingId=LaQiru%2BaQoKbycGVh0NdDg%3D%3D

(4) Email still works.?

Lead magnets to grow your list, auto responders to nurture, broadcasts to announce. Build out an email list because, just like your website, if social platforms go away overnight (MySpace, Friendster, AOL, ICQ, etc.) you can still message your audience via email.

(5) Have a plan for your content marketing.?

The platforms (Podcast, YouTube, Blogging, Social Media), the content, the CTAs, the links, the offers. Paid ads to build an audience and drive traffic to your offer.

I’ve said it at least 3 previous times in this post; stop doing shotgun marketing, start being intentional. Put. Together. A. Plan. Even if you look at only the next quarter and plan that out for your content it would be better than randomly posting/publishing content.

The “Be Everywhere” strategy does work, but it can also be extremely overwhelming if you are trying to create original content on Instagram, Threads, X/Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, TicTok, LinkedIn, Pintrest, Snapchat, your podcast, your blog, and your email list. Instead focus on the type of content you want to create and repurpose it to the various media. Ex; Record a long-form video for YouTube then re-edit a section of it into Instagram/X Reels, strip the audio out for your podcast, and share the links via your blog or email.

(6) Attend live events.?

In person. Not virtual. Get off the computer and meet people. This has been a HUGE game changer for me. Since I made the commitment in fall of 2023 to Attend the Live Events in 2024 I have connected with more of my peers, developed more love and passion for my various efforts, and dove back into pursuing my goals and dreams.

Go with metrics you will commit to. “I will attend this event from 6pm - 8pm, and I will connect with at least 4 people.” If you can create a landing page or URL you can use and give to people you meet there, something similar to an About Page but more specific to the event. Think of a virtual media-kit tailored to this event.

What types of events can you attend? Industry conferences, expos, conventions, trade shows, seminars, launch parties, fundraisers, workshops. On a more local note look for happy hours, meetups, retreats, game nights, walks, even coffees.

Finally

These work on any scale business, for any position within the business from the CEO to the janitor. Marketing is so much more than direct sales and/or advertising, especially in the early days of your business.??

Remember, effective marketing is a journey, not a destination. By implementing these six strategies – (1) Build a marketing map, (2) Optimizing your website, (3) Plan In Campaigns, (4) Leveraging Email, (5) Intentional Content Creation, and (6) Attending Live Events – you'll elevate your marketing efforts to new heights.?

Whether you're a startup founder, a seasoned entrepreneur, or a thriving business owner these principles hold true. Embrace the multifaceted nature of marketing, and watch as your business thrives in the dynamic digital landscape.?

Here's to your success!