8 Marketing Methods You Need to Master
Boost Your Business By Mastering these 8 Marketing Methods
As you probably know by now, I teach and believe in a diverse marketing mix when building a marketing strategy. I’m not 100% techie and I am not 100% oldschool. Although our tools these days are all tech driven, I firmly believe that great marketing is DIVERSIFIED. You do NOT want to get stuck in one form of marketing. Number one it’s boring, but most of all, you will make more connections with a mix. You have to reach out and grab your audience right where they are… and they are everywhere!
Look at your target audience as a passing parade.
In order to get your message out more effectively, you need to speak to your prospects and clients on the platforms THEY have chosen. That calls for social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, Tik Tok, whatever works to get in front of your audience. What networks do your audience prefer and where are they hanging out? There are a lot of options with today’s technology. Sometimes it calls for old-school methods that will support and validate your online initiatives: face-to-face meetings, networking, and print campaigns like postcards, handwritten notes, and letters sent via US mail. And don’t forget EMAIL! It’s still valid and an important marketing asset. So, as you head into a new year and strategically create your marketing plan, I want you to seriously consider DIVERSITY.
Don’t get stuck in just one form of marketing.
Make sure your marketing strategy includes the following top eight marketing methods, and I am not talking about just throwing one in, I mean MASTER THEM!
1. Mobile/Text
I should not have to tell you this, but I’m going to anyway, most people are reading your emails and looking at videos, ads, and posts on their mobile device. Make sure you are optimizing for mobile. Your email, website, landing page, blog, and other content needs to look great, flow and be readable on a mobile device. And text marketing is on the rise and the newest form of marketing to master. Is your database ready for that?
2. Social media/Stories
The climate is changing in Facebook, so make sure you are looking at other options to incorporate into your mix like Instagram and Youtube, TikTok and Snap. Be sure that your posts are consistent and are appropriate for that network and the people on it. And don’t forget Stories on Instagram and Facebook, this will increase your engagement big time!
3. Visual: photos that tell your story/videos
Video is huge. Youtube, Tik Tok, Facebook and Instagram Stories. Master your visual storytelling, up your game with professional quality photos and videos that share your expertise. Get in front of the lens and introduce your audience to your world.
4. Digital/Email
Email is still the deal, so utilize it and be consistent. Make sure it reads and looks right on mobile devices. Have a branded template that is responsive, modern, free of clutter and that represents your business and services well. Use a reliable email client, and above all make sure your content is written well and informative to your readers.
5. One-on-one meetings with your clients/prospects
Old school as it gets but still one of the most effective methods for building business relationships. Don’t be afraid to get out from behind your computer and comfort zone to meet new prospects and visit your clients. For Realtors focusing on a “farm area” this is particularly important, you need to be seen and active in your neighborhoods, ready to meet and greet. Open Houses are a great way to accomplish this.
6. Print: Postcards, letters and handwritten notes
Print is not dead and the US Mail is still one of the most reliable delivery systems for a marketing message. If you send a well designed and professionally produced print piece to your contact list first class mail, it will be delivered. You can be assured that your prospect will receive it. Even though print can be pricey, there are many options in the market today that allows you to run an affordable campaign where frequency and consistency is paramount.
7. Content: a newsletter or industry specific blog post
Content RULES, it’s all about the content and the message in your marketing. Communicating with your client and prospects on a regular basis and staying in front of them with information they care about is key. I have always said that marketing is simply telling your audience what you have been doing, and nothing does that better than a newsletter or a blog. Inform, educate, share, and entertain with content relative to your industry and your audience. You can then create MORE content from these things to post on social.
8. Your fresh dynamic website to be the hub for all the above
Your website should be circa the last 3 years, optimized for mobile, responsive, powerfully designed and set up for the best SEO, streamlined and intuitive for the user. It should host your content, your visual marketing, your story, services and information all about you, your team and your brand. It should be updated frequently with new content via your blog, testimonies, client packages, portfolio items, and offerings. Your website is the hub from which all your other marketing flows.
Make it your goal this year to master these 8 marketing methods
Out of these main 8 marketing vehicles, if you will incorporate 4-5 of them into your strategic plan, you will get business. Now that’s a bold statement, but I know these things work. Together, these 8 methods form a comprehensive and diverse marketing plan. When they are implemented cohesively into your strategy, your message will find it’s way to your prospects, you will be remembered, you will develop new relationships and the product and services you offer will gain preference in your market.