How Legacy Businesses Can Market Themselves In The 21st Century (Without Having To Get On TikTok)

By: Kathryn Roberts, Principal — Roberts Statistical & Consulting Services, Los Angeles

When was the last time you revisited your business’ marketing strategy?

No matter what your marketing strategy is, be it word-of-mouth, cold calling (or the slightly-more-modern cold emailing) for new leads, or the direct mail option, the idea of marketing your business online, and especially on social media, may sound both terrifying and unnecessary for you and your business.

Why mess with a system that’s already working, and has been working for you for decades, right?

But those traditional marketing strategies can only get you so far with the advent of social media. The fact is, more and more people consider a business’ social media presence when they’re choosing which organization they want to buy from, work with, and support.

Gone are the days where the most successful companies in the world market themselves behind the anonymity of their logo and company name. Now, the most successful companies are organizations that put a face to the name. Think of Nike, McDonalds, L’Oreal, and Adidas. They all use people as ambassadors for their brand, rather than just relying on their logos.

And you get to do that too, even if it’s not on the same scale as the businesses that can just call up Serena Williams to advertise for them.

So, how do you start marketing your legacy business in the digital space without making your CEO download TikTok and dance along to the newest trend?

It’s easier than you think. (And no, you really don’t have to download TikTok.)

First Things First, You Have To Understand Who Has The Buying Power Now

Millennials aren’t those aimless, entitled college kids the media still insists they are.

Still, thinking that Millennials are still in their early 20s and are not relevant to the workings of big (or even small) business is short-sighted and will harm your company’s marketing efforts and overall growth in the long run. Who do you think is going to take over companies that need your products and services, if they haven’t already, when the current generation of Baby Boomer and Gen-X CEOs retire?

Understand that Millennials (who at the earliest were born in 1981, more than 40 years ago) are very quickly establishing themselves in the upper echelons of companies’ senior management teams, and are even starting and growing successful companies—your competitors even—themselves. They are leaving legacy companies in the dust by focusing on working with organizations that have adapted themselves to the here, the now, and the future.

This younger generation of managers and senior executives spend a lot of time on social media, so why not use that to your legacy business’ advantage?

That time spent on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn influences how Millennials see companies, even those organizations that weren’t started in the digital era we live in now. And even though a legacy company that doesn’t market themselves digitally may be better than the ones that do, they may be passed over in favor of those organizations that are more social media savvy. Why? Because they are more social media savvy, and seen as more forward thinking and adaptable to the future of business.

How Do You Dip Your Toes Into Digital Marketing Without Going All In On Social Media?

The easiest way to dip your legacy business’ toes into digital marketing is simply to beef and modernize your website. Many legacy business websites lack necessary information and infrastructure needed to serve its customers online. They may say that simple is better, and to have a basic website will get you by, but now, having a basic website means more that your company is not equipped to handle the needs of digitally native consumers.

Your website has the potential to be one of the most effective tools for people to find your business in the online space, but only if you’re actually maintaining your website and implementing strategies to regularly upload fresh and new information about your organization.

Google really likes websites that regularly refresh themselves with high quality, relevant information based on your niche.

For those of you reading this who think, “Well, we already keep our product listings up to date, so we can check this off the list,” you can’t yet.

It’s more than just showing your available products and services on your website. You should also be set up for customers to make purchases, and Shopify makes it extremely easy to have an Amazon-like model. The best way to actually make sales from your website is to make your product listings, as basic as they are, into accurate and engaging pieces of content that show off why potential customers should buy from you and your business, as opposed to any other vendors. Being able to offer bulk-buying discounts at checkout are easy to implement and key here for a boost in sales and consistency in your growing customer base.

Modernizing Your Website Is Not Just Your Product Listings

As mentioned in the opening section of this article, you also have to humanize your company.?

Allow your customers and potential customers to see you as a person-run organization, not just a name and a logo.

What is your company history? Who founded it? When? Why? What space in the market did you or your founders decide needed to be filled by you and your organization? And if your business has changed ownership over its tenure, who runs it now, and what are they doing to take the company forward?

Allow people to use your website to get to know who runs your company, make connections to the actual people providing the products and doing the work. Let them get to know who’s on your senior management team. How are they so good at what they do and why?

And absolutely make sure that your senior staff members are accurate and up to date at all times.

It’s Time To Use Blogging As a Marketing Tool

As for the best way to show your organization’s expertise at what you do and what you sell?

It’s time to blog about it.

Now, we know that blogging tends to be thought of as a non-business niche, but any organization, especially legacy business, can benefit from blogging too. With the right content strategy—which we at RobertsSCS can help you develop—you can consistently grow your consumer base and connect with your current base through engaging, effective blog content.

Blogging doesn’t just allow you to showcase your expertise to your customers and industry at large, but it’s also a completely free way to attract traffic to your modernized website through effective SEO practices, easily attracting you new leads.

Talk about your products, their benefits, why you prefer one line over another, and also talk about things like what your business is doing to navigate certain economic situations (for example, the Covid-19 pandemic, the current international supply chain issues, etc.). This is where you get to show your customers why you’re at the forefront of your industry, and why you’re the best choice above others.

And we know there may be a concern about the idea that blogging can give away too much of your company’s secrets, that secret sauce that makes you so successful, but it’s actually not possible. Speaking to your customers in broad strokes of what you do has nothing to do with how you’re doing it, and what your company is doing behind the scenes to make your plans work.

If you really can’t look past the concept of ‘blogging’ and putting ‘blog posts’ on your website, then call them press releases and move on.

This is about driving more customers to your business, so it doesn’t matter what you want to call that regularly (emphasis on regularly) updated written content on your website.

Now Let’s Actually Talk About Showing Up On Social Media

Even if you’re not a digital native, social media does not have to scare you.

If you’re a legacy business that has never touched social media before, start right here on LinkedIn. These posts that we create for RobertsSCS are the exact type of marketing content we’re talking about for your business. LinkedIn is one of the most business friendly platforms for more traditional, legacy businesses, because of its professional atmosphere.

You can make an effective statement by regularly sharing quality content on your organization, on commentary on industry trends, etc.

That’s not to say that other social media platforms are unprofessional, but they are a lot more casual than LinkedIn.

Already comfortable on LinkedIn? Let’s talk about Facebook.

Now, Facebook may be seen as that place where grandmas post pictures of their grandchildren, but it’s also a great marketing platform. According to Statista.com, while the majority of Facebook users are in the 25-43 age range, 28.4 percent of active Facebook users are between 35-54 years old. Additionally, Gen-Z friendly platforms like Instagram and TikTok mean that the age range of the user base on Facebook is only trending upward.

While a Facebook business page is something that you do have to pay by way of Facebook ads in order to be seen by the common user, having a place where your business can be found on Facebook allows you to point potential customers to places online that will ultimately benefit your organization, like your website, and allow you to effectively attract new leads.

Like the blogging strategies referenced in the previous section, the key to success on social media, be it LinkedIn, Facebook, or even Instagram and YouTube (if you’re more inclined toward video), no matter the platform you choose to market your business, is consistency. As long as you market your organization consistently, your presence on those platforms will only grow.

Do You Want Free Media Coverage?

Who doesn’t love the idea of free media?

Local media outlets and the reporters who work for them are always looking for local stories to cover, and depending on your company’s location and market, there is at least one news organization that you can build a relationship with.

Any time you hold a major event, donate money, or do something that the press should know about, you should give those organizations a heads up.

Tell people what you’re doing.

Other free media can come in the form of collaboration with your vendors. What kind of mutually beneficial arrangements can you make with your vendors to have them put you front and center with their customer base and vice versa?

And what about the buying group or professional industry organization your business is a part of? How can you leverage your membership in your buying group for more visibility in your industry??

The key here is to get creative. You know best who is in your industry and the connections you’ve made over the decades your company has been in existence. How can you get creative with the relationships you’ve forged over the years to grow your place in the market and establish yourself and your business in the online space?

Does your company need a business plan? Is your existing business plan due for a refresh? Has your company lost focus and you are looking to re-energize it? RobertsSCS is here to work with you to bring your business processes into focus. Call us today at (310) 972-8243 or reach out to us at [email protected]

About RobertsSCS:

Roberts Statistical & Consulting Services ─ RobertsSCS ─ offers results-oriented strategies, mentoring, and insights to optimize operations for legacy companies looking for 21st Century upgrades to improve profitability, increase sales growth, and future-proof systems for sustainability.

Using 30-plus years of operating and management experience, RobertsSCS works with businesses with $1-30 million in revenue to create better efficiency, synergy, and outreach.? We provide developmental, strategic, and executable plans of action at multiple levels: wholesale, retail, B2B, and B2C for organizations desiring to maximize industry market share.

Knowing the market environment and the status of each business we work with allows us to provide customized insights on growth and profit opportunities at the local, regional, and/or national market level.