Whether you realize it or not, you are marketing every day. You are a living, breathing marketing machine. Don’t believe me?
How’d you get her to say yes to a lifetime with you? Solid marketing skills. And how did you manage to convince your child to eat the peas? Sly marketing techniques. Marketing simplified is: “I’ll give you X for Y.”
Every company thrives on sales. Without them, you’re not in business. Sales simply mean that your product or service is adding so much value to someone’s life that they are willing to pay you for it. But everyone arrives at your doorstep skeptical, so it’s your responsibility to convince your potential customer that you can be trusted.
How do you get them to your door? And how do you convince them to ring your doorbell? By them, I mean leads.
Lead generation is the lifeblood of your business, and experts say diversifying your content arsenal is key for your brand.
While many people depend on paid traffic, organic traffic, networking and referrals for leads (and I recommend implementing all of the above), let’s first dive into the basics of attracting customers through simple techniques anyone can do, even if you don’t have a big budget.
E-Books
I know it’s hard to give away freebies, especially when you’re trying to rake in the bucks, but the most successful brands understand that to get something, you have to give something. An e-book is a great example of how to do just that.
For example, if you’re a cybersecurity company, offer up a free guide on how consumers can protect themselves — without your services. It may seem counterintuitive, but they’ll appreciate the gesture and be more likely to trust you when they are finally being groomed for a sale.
Reminder: Make sure you’re gathering their information so you can keep in touch with them (i.e. email capture).
Infographics
I know, this sounds boring. Who wants to look at an infographic? Turns out, a lot of people. It’s a great way to visually get your message across. Here’s a look at how to create a winning infographic.
Other reasons they rock? They’re data-driven, visual and easy to share. The only downside is that social platforms like Facebook are not big fans of text-heavy photos for ads. So make sure you’re using them where they can be seen, like your email newsletters.
Blogs
Remember when they said blogging was dead? Nothing could be further from the truth. While the term “blogging” is slowly fading away from search engines, content is still king. Besides, “blog” is just a fancy word for content in written form.
There are several examples of how ordinary people have used blogging to explode their businesses. Blogs or stories will always be an effective way for companies to control their message.
If you’re too busy or just a terrible writer, I recommend turning to services like ProBlogger or Scripted to find freelancers. Once you have good content, promote your company blogs for free, which leads me into the next tool you should have in your toolshed.
Social Media Posts
I talked about the basics of generating real business value from social media in a recent Forbes article. It has some tips on how to get started, but I’ll reiterate that you should use it for what it is: a marketing tool.
Everyone should be leveraging social media, but with the changing landscape, make sure you stay up to date by attending the latest workshops and seminars.
With Facebook on pace to hit 2 billion users in 2017, I’m still baffled at the businesses that aren’t leveraging this social giant. The platform has some incredible tools in its Ads Manager to help you generate leads. And while you may need to hire someone to help you navigate the backend, anyone who isn’t using Facebook to attract new customers is missing out on some very affordable advertising. Marketers say there’s still time to take advantage, but what about five years from now? It will be tough to compete if you’re a small business. Just look at Google — that should give you a glimpse into how pricey ads will become in the future.
Videos
Studies indicate that by 2020, 75% of mobile traffic will be video. Are you ready?
Consumption will be at an all-time high. Right now, many video ads are out-preforming written ads. While it’s tough to outdo big corporations when it comes to video production, there are so many apps and tools you can use to make your videos look professional. I recommend the app InShot that allows you to edit clips, and add text and music, all from your smartphone. If mobile video marketing isn’t part of your growth strategy, sit back, relax and watch other companies soar past you.
While all of this sounds overwhelming, remember to tackle and master one strategy at a time. You don’t want to be a jack of all trades, and master of none.
