Fall into better marketing

By John Houle

Now that Summer is unofficially over, it’s time to return to business focus. Regardless of whether the economy is falling off a cliff or reaching new heights, we need to better position ourselves and our products and services for continued growth.

Here are ten quick tips to help you improve your marketing and position yourself for better sales, regardless of the economic climate.

Provide a video update.

Your video doesn’t have to be long, but it has to be relevant. Since I have a video production company, I elected to use 4K cameras and professional lighting and sound. But you can also make your own DIY video by rigging your smartphone with a light and a microphone.

Post and email out your update.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but once you’ve made your video update, email it to your contact list and post it on all your social channels. Video outperforms static posts every time.

Freshen up your website.

When was the last time you updated your site, really? You don’t necessarily need a complete rebuild, but make sure to update your hours of operation, contact information, and photos. Do I really need to see that same opening image? Are people on your site no longer there? Time to take a look at your website again.

Maybe it’s time for a rebuild.

When was the last time your website was updated? Have you integrated your social feeds to make it more interactive? Are you still manually updating your plugins? Are you actually doing it, or is your website vulnerable to hacking? Perhaps it’s time to rebuild your website to last for the next 5-10 years.

Stop posting for posting’s sake.

If you’re not getting likes and comments from your posts, then what are you posting for? You don’t want to post content just to appear active, but instead, you want to provide information that resonates with your audience.

Don’t throw up AI.

I know ChatGPT and AI make it easy to write blog posts for you, but be a human and talk to me like one. I don’t want robotic, impersonalized, generic advice. I came to you because you’re the expert, so dazzle me with your knowledge.

Tell me your history.

I want to know more about you, so I feel confident that I’ve chosen the right advisor or expert. Illustrate your history for me, explaining your past experience, so I know I have the right person on my team. You can include your written biography, press clippings, and articles on your website, and you can also produce a short video (1-2:30 minutes) highlighting your most significant events. When you do it, please let me know how your experience benefits and helps me.

Show me what you value.

Now that I know more about you from your posted biography and video, tell me what you really value. Explain your philosophy – it doesn’t have to be Plato – but what you’re all about. Show me how your values may align with mine. You can do this through a blog post or through a video; even better, you can do both.

Follow your audience where they are.

Are you still placing the same ads on the old networks or publications, assuming they still work the same way they always did? Where is your audience today? Did you know that half of all television viewership is now watching on streaming services today? What’s your plan to reach them?

Follow a plan.

All of these tactics I’ve mentioned should be integrated into your new marketing plan. This plan should be both comprehensive and flexible. While you want to be nimble, you also want to outline all your tactics so you can consistently deliver clear and concise messaging. Ninety percent of marketing fails due to a lack of execution. When you put it down on paper (or on your screen), it becomes more real.

Get going, there’s business to be done.

John Houle is the president of JH Communications and Main St. Media and can be reached at 401.831.6123 or john@jhcom.net.