I recently ran a webinar on How to Grow your Business With Marketing that really resonated with my audience – including what that looks like, how to do it and what tools are needed.

If you’re still marketing like you did 12-18 months ago – you need to step outside that comfort zone and push yourself to market differently, as the pandemic has really put a tilt on the way we do things now!

To share these nuggets of marketing gold, I’m going to also give you all of the 12 points I ran through in the webinar!

1.Show up!

More than ever people want to connect with people – so are you showing up? Does your audience know who you are or just what you sell?  Do they know your brand values?  Your values?  Or just your logo and products/services.

Human to human marketing was important prior to 2020, but now, it’s not only important but powerful.

How are you showing up for your audience consistently?

2. Storytelling – let people into your world.

By giving people the chance to get to know you, trust you, like you, you can build your business.

You can do this by sharing your stories. This could be stories about how you got to where you are now – the good, the bad, the darn right ugly. Maybe it’s stories about how you are doing your very best every day, but you’re still human and sometimes life is crap. Or maybe you share 3 things your audience doesn’t know about you – just tell stories.

People won’t remember the product but they will remember the story.

3. Have a reach-out strategy.

Are you spending time on social media being social? Not just spending time on your own socials?

Do you comment, like, share, tag on other people’s socials, in groups, sharing your love and giving value?

This is a non-negotiable these days.  A MUST do.

4. Give to your audience/customers/clients!

Reassure them you are still here and still here for them. Many of your clients/customers are still feeling very vulnerable, unsure, and other similar emotions.

But, if they know that you (the person they love and trust) is still there for them, then when they are ready to buy or can buy then this has enormous power.

Yes you might be feeling like you can’t show up, but showing up, in difficult times, will build rapport and trust, that won’t be quickly forgotten.  I guess, refer to point 1 above – show up!

5. Get creative.

Think outside the box with your marketing. Stop relying on what you’ve always done to get a better result.

Perhaps it’s time to think about marketing strategies that can help reach new people in new ways. This could include:

• being a podcast guest
• starting a podcast or blog
• doing some paid marketing
• engaging in targeted PR
• write some articles or blogs and attempting to get them published
• build that email list and go deep into email marketing

PS – if you’re interested in PR as a strategy – go back and listen to my podcast episode 14 and episode 70 to learn more from the PR queen Jules Brooke. Her Handle Your Own PR platform is amazing.

6. Ask your audience some questions.

What are they struggling with? How can you help them?  What do they need or what do they want?  Remember to listen to the answers!

Ask questions through your Instagram stories using the stickers or via polls on Facebook or LinkedIn.  You might be surprised at the answers your audience has for you that can help you strategically in your business.

Not to mention it’s great for engagement!

7. Up the ante in your socials!

More people are on social media than ever before – so how are you getting in front of them, how are you engaging with them?  Do you need to look into different platforms where your audience is now hanging out?  Or just be more consistent?

8. Network

Try networking both outside your industry and outside your comfort zone.

And do this instead of only networking “with your own kind”.

Go and network where your ideal customers are hanging out. Network online or offline – wherever you can.

Since the pandemic, I have joined several memberships to help grow my network.  Every Friday I meet with an amazing group of ladies for a virtual lunch – She’s the Boss is the membership – they are doing big/huge things, just listening to them makes me want to stretch my thinking and myself.

I have also joined One Roof – those ladies are the pivot queens, love what they are doing and being involved in their community and I also joined Big Rural Ideas – to hang out with other rural ladies smashing their goals and building empires in the bush.

All these connections help me grow – both in business and in myself. So, what networking have you done?

9. Improve your online presence.

Take a look at your Google My Business account (which you possibly haven’t touched in ages!

Re-draft your bio in Instagram or your story/about you part of Facebook.

Update your profile pics, cover photos, audit the hashtags that you’ve been using for months (are they even working?).

Perhaps do some SEO research to help your website improve it’s ranking for keywords.

Spend some time doing the things that never quite reach the top of the list.  Changing something by 1% might fill your funnel or help your lead generation more than 20 other things on your “to-do” list.

10. Deliver an amazing customer experience

Surprise and delight your customers. You don’t know the power of surprise and delight until you’ve tried it. From attracting someone into your world to having them become a buyer of all things you do, what’s their experience like – where can you make improvements?

If you under promise and over deliver – you will build trust with your audience which will result in more profit.

11. Get those testimonials.

Improve your strategy around gathering and using testimonials and reviews in your marketing. In fact, do you have a strategy for them? If not, this is the most important thing you’ve heard today – get to it!

12. Re-examine your ideal customer, your offerings and your pricing strategy.

The world we live in today is different – I don’t need to tell you that.

So what do clients/customers need from you that’s different?  Who is your ideal client/customer?  Is it the person it was 18  months ago or have their needs/wants/roadblocks/problems changed?

Knowing who you are marketing to is fundamental to getting good results in your business – so just make sure you are not marketing to someone who’s no longer interested in what you sell or perhaps no longer resonating with the language you are using to try and get their attention.

What did you think of those 12 tips? It’s a lot of things to consider, hey?

I hope this has got you thinking about what marketing in this phase of the pandemic looks like and how you are embracing it all.

And to leave you with a final bit of advice (tip 13 if you will….!)

What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Is that you?  Are you doing this without even realising it?

Are you listening, like REALLY listening to your clients/customers needs, wants, problems?

CONTACT JENN:

If this blog has resonated with you and you want to head into 2022 with a marketing strategy that is firing on all cylinders, then book a discovery call with me!

We can have a chat about your goals, your struggles and roadblocks and what’s holding you back and how I can help!

Send me a message on any of my social platforms or book a call at: https://calendly.com/jenn-smm/discovery

And have you joined my amazing Facebook Group Like Minded Business Owners yet? If you aren’t already a member I would love you to jump in and join the group, and become a part of such a wonderful community who are so supportive of each other and in sharing of their knowledge!

Or you can DM me on Instagram or send me an email jenn@jenndonovan.com.au

I wish to acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Yorta Yorta People, on which I conduct my business today and pay my respects to their Elders past and present. I extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples reading this blog post today.

About the Author:

Jenn Donovan of Social Media & Marketing Australia.  Jenn’s a coach and mentor from rural NSW and is all about empowering business owners to earn what they’re worth so they can make a bigger difference in the world.  The Founder of Buy From a Bush Business, Co-Founder of Spend With Us – Buy From a Bush Business Marketplace and host of the very popular podcast Small Business Made Simple, Jenn is all about community and humans interacting with humans!  H2H Marketing – human to human marketing. Jenn talks the talk but importantly walks the walk! Jenn’s online  community is over 320,000 with her famous Facebook Group currently at almost 320,000 members and still growing every day.  She’s the major of her own little online city!

Get in touch – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au

On Instagram – @jenndonovan_

On Facebook – Social Media and Marketing AU

Or on LinkedIn as Jenn Donovan