Okay a bit of philosophy from me today, I can be quite wise when I want to be so buckle up and let’s discuss your 3 marketing choices.
I believe that you have three choices when it comes to how you handle your marketing, and whether you like it or not – you’re always making one of them and all three have repercussions.
Your first making choice is you do nothing at all, you may think that that’s not a choice but it absolutely is. You don’t post on Social Media, you have no website (or you have one but it’s stagnant). You literally put in zero effort, zero financial investment and there’s zero activity. Perhaps you’re under the impression that because you’re busy, it’s fine to do no marketing. But it’s my belief that unless you’re retiring tomorrow or have a guaranteed pipeline of work until you do – then there will come a time when you need to search for new leads and attract new business.
By choosing to do zero activity, you’ve made harder to jump back in again. Your audience will have gone stone cold, so you’ll have to put in far, far more effort to warm them back up again. I’m going to layer gym analogies throughout this. You’ve sat on the sofa for years, and now have a need to run for something. There is absolutely no denying you’ll find it harder than if you’d maintained some form of activity instead of being motionless. You’re essentially starting from zero, you’ll have to remind your audience of who you are, reform connections and begin to nurture your audience from scratch. That’s all before they’ll become receptive to you selling to them. There’s also the risk that they’ve found a new company and gained loyalty towards them, so it’ll be virtually impossible to get them back again.
Your second choice when it comes to marketing is that you continually dabble here and there. You’re not super duper consistent and you certainly wouldn’t say you use it as a sales tactic, but you are visible to your audience and you at least have a presence. This could be by posting sporadically on your social media, only posting stories of what you’re personally up to rather than about your business. Perhaps you’ll wind down your wider activities and only focus on one platform or area. I’ve even seen some people who stop posting altogether, everywhere, but maintain a connection by still commenting, engaging and interacting with their audience just about you know, daily life.
This choice allows you to stay at least middle of mind, if not top (I don’t know if ‘middle of mind’ is a thing, I’m going to make it one anyway). You’ll be in your audience’s peripheral vision and they’ll be aware of your presence. But they may forget what exactly it is you do, or they may be tempted by someone who is selling more directly. It’s a good tactic if you’re a bit drained or busy in other areas of your business, but you could potentially miss out to someone who’s marketing more aggressively.
Your third choice is to really give it some welly. A big strategy, lots of cross-pollination, posts and presence on multiple platforms. Structured and considered content everywhere you put it. Showing up constantly rather than consistently. This might be a launch period, or you might just be that organised and full on with your marketing 24/7. You are absolutely showing up, baby! You’re staying top of mind for your audience, there’s no way they’re forgetting you exist and you’re being crystal clear about what you offer and how you can help that.
Okay you might think that I’m going to say ‘ALWAYS AIM FOR THIS!’ but in actual fact, nah. I don’t even do this constantly. It would be exhausting. I’d say the brands who are doing this have a team of multiple marketing executives, who can take it in turns. I’m kind of of the opinion it would be fatiguing for your audience too. If they’re not ready to buy, then your constant screaming in their face about your offering could turn them off you entirely.
My ideal? Flit between the second and third choice. I don’t really want you to ever disappear, because you’re honestly making a huge rod for your own back when you do eventually return. At the very least maintain some sort of presence even if you drop it down to personal content rather than professional.
When you’re in ‘maintenance’ mode, then the second option is probably a good way to go. Consistent over constant, building your personal brand and establishing a connection with your audience, so then when you are ready to ramp things up – they’re super receptive and ready to eat every single word!