As a quick plug – my book “SMALL TOWN BIG IMPACT” is available right now (yes, I’m so excited that my little book baby is finally out in the world!) If you would like your own signed, first edition copy, head to my website and get it from there: www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au
This blog is all about 2024. I am already gearing up for 2024, thinking about my marketing, my leads, my business model, my income streams and what assets I need to create to make it all happen.
My business, right now, is going through an overhaul in the background. I am building things like courses and new lead magnets, I am retiring programs and old lead magnets, I am attempting a rebrand – but not necessarily one you might notice, but one that I will and you will too, eventually – it’ll just sneak up on you (!) and so much else.
You might be with me and starting to wind down over the next 6 weeks or so, or you might be totally the opposite and 100% winding up for the next 10 weeks or so over summer. Either way, I would love to encourage you, to think about what 2024 is going to look like for you.
And it’s important to think about your marketing for 2024 now, and for a few reasons.
The first of which is 2024 is going to be a different, and I’ll say it, difficult year. I think if you’re the type of business owner who has “swanned” your way through business until now, without a plan, without strategic marketing, without building your community as you go, next year will be rough – potentially, real rough.
We have the AI freight train heading our way, which will change the way we do business. It will change the way we show up and interact with our community and it will change the way our customers interact with us – potentially whether they buy from us or not.
Just with the whole AI thing – I cannot recommend highly enough that you register for Tracy Sheen’s free webinar on AI and You in 2024. This this week on Thursday 7th December. https://www.facebook.com/TracyTheDigitalGuide/posts/pfbid03WWE1YmXXX9xDk7MRgRsj7TpFiCytdVc3b7cF1E4rxEaHKaG8FZYrWA4UfZhNpsBl or just go to Tracy Sheen the Digital Guide on Facebook and register – it’s free and I think it would be awesome for you all to watch and listen in. And yes, it’s recorded!
So, with AI changing the way we potentially do business, potentially make sales, potentially show up, again it’s important to know and to plan.
Secondly, because it’s going to be a rough year for some/most, it’s time to really double down on your marketing. I’m serious. When times are tough the absolute worst thing you can do is take your foot off the marketing throttle. In fact, you should push your foot harder and do more.
I am involved in many Facebook groups and I often find myself yelling at the screen when people talk about business going bad. Now, I’m not talking ALL people, clearly – but some/most. I guess I’m a little curious when someone writes into a Facebook group, “this is my worst month yet, sales are down, I don’t know how I am going to survive the year out” – to which they get a lot of suggestions, sympathy and empathy – because there’s a lot of people in that same boat. So, curiosity makes me do some digging. I stalk them to find out what their business is, I go to their socials and have a look, I join their mailing list and see what comes out and I have a look at their transparency part of Facebook where you can see what adds they are running. I’ll also get out google shopping and their google presence. Side note – I don’t do this for everyone, just the ones that pique my curiosity when I have time.
And I can tell you, hands down, without a shadow of a doubt that they are not marketing their business with much gusto at all. Barely a social media post, and if it is, it’s always a sales strategy – not other strategies employed, they are mostly on Instagram – the worst platform for driving traffic to your website in my opinion, sometimes they don’t have a website, just socials, they’ve never run a paid ad, their google presence is hard to find and again, almost always, I have no idea who the business owner is or their name or what they stand for or anything.
They are not marketing themselves.
I sounds really harsh, and I do kind of apologise for that, but the reality is, if business is tough, it’s time to get serious about your marketing. It’s time to double down. But so many go completely the other way and simply expect, perhaps as they always have, the traffic to find them and the sales to come in. I see it all the time with bricks and mortar stores, who have their doors open, but that’s about it.
Now I haven’t taken into consideration someone’s mindset here and when the going gets tough, it’s tough to pull yourself out, brush yourself off and try again or try something different. But in 2024 if you aren’t brushing yourself off, you aren’t prepared to do something different – that is with your marketing, because nothing changes if nothing changes, then you will find the year tough.
Marketing – it’s not just something that I talk about because I think it works – it’s something I yell from the top of mountains because I KNOW it works.
So, it’s time to get serious about marketing.
Thirdly, and it probably relates to both my points above, if you continue to chase the “next sale” in 2024 and not remarket to past customers, past visitors to your website or socials and not build a community around you, 2024 will be painful.
First, I’d say get serious about marketing in 2024 and secondly, I’d say get serious about building a community. Stop thinking about an audience. An audience is something you talk AT – no one wants that. People want to feel thing belong, that you care, that you appreciate them, so it’s time to build a community. A community that not only surrounds you but interacts with each other, gets value from someone else other than you (as well as you, of course!).
When I say 2024 is going to be tough, I know I am not telling you anything new and I am not telling you to scare or panic you. What I want you to see is the opportunities that lay ahead. The opportunities you have to look back this time next year and say, I smashed 2024.
It’s starts with investing in yourself and your business. This year I have invested more than $30K into myself, my learning and my business and I will do it all again in 2024. How much have you invested in yourself?
From investing in your business and in yourself, it then comes down to your marketing. To get from where you are today to where you want to be, it’s going to take marketing. Strategic marketing. Not necessarily LOTS of marketing, the key is strategic marketing.
It’s going to take you being clear on what you want, what income streams you need, have or need to develop to reach your goals. It’s going to take you being clear also on what you don’t want and be willing to let that go or outsource the task(s) if possible – again invest.
SO – my call to action for you is to say that you MUST plan. Like I said at the start, those businesses who have failed to plan until now, will go into 2024 at a disadvantage and find the year more difficult than it should be or could be with a plan.
Strategically aside some time to plan, check out Tracy Sheen’s free webinar on AI and You in 2024, embrace marketing because it is what is going to be you thrive next year and work out your income streams and all that comes from that.
Of all the things you can be as a business owner, be an ACTION TAKER.
If you would like to chat some more about marketing in 2024 join me and join in my Facebook group Like Minded Business Owners https://www.facebook.com/groups/LikeMindedBusinessOwners – it would be brilliant if you joined in my community over there where we chat all things small business, marketing, sales and everything in between!
And if you would like my guidance and support in setting up your 2024 marketing so you fly into the new year with a bang, I would love to assist you! Simply go to https://calendly.com/jenn-smm/discovery and you can make an appointment to chat with me.
Or if you want to chat, get in touch. Email me jenn@jenndonovan.com.au or DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn – I would love to hear from you.
CONTACT JENN:
I would love for you to book a free discovery call with me to talk about how I can help your nail your business goals, planning, strategy, marketing and social media! Simply click the link and grab a spot!
My Like Minded Business Owners Facebook group is also a great community to join – full of awesome people in small business!
Or you can DM me on Instagram or LinkedIn, 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 an expert marketing coach and mentor from rural NSW. She is all about empowering business owners to earn what they’re worth so they can make a bigger difference in the world. Not only is she a sought after expert on all things marketing for Small Business, she is a keynote speaker, author of Small Town Big Impact, was the Founder of Buy From a Bush Business and a Co-Founder of Spend With Us e-commerce marketplace, and is the host of the very popular podcast Small Business Made Simple and Stories from the Bush. 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!
Get in touch – www.socialmediaandmarketing.com.au
On Instagram – @jenndonovan_
On Facebook – Jenn Donovan
Or on LinkedIn as Jenn Donovan
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