Are You Relying Too Heavily On One Marketing Activity?
Relying on one marketing activity alone is a mistake.
I'm writing this on a Tuesday afternoon after attending two back-to-back networking events.
I used to do a lot of networking pre-pandemic, but I don't do nearly as much anymore. The lockdowns put a stop to face-to-face networking for a while, but I'd already decided to take a break before that happened.
It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it or that it didn't help me get clients. I just needed time to focus on other marketing activities. I'd become too dependent on referrals and that meant I wasn't getting work consistently. It also meant I wasn't always getting the sort of work I wanted.
But over the last couple of years, I've started doing more networking again. I do the odd face-to-face event and am in an online networking group that meets twice a month. And I also started my own networking event for beer-loving business owners.
The difference these days is I'm not going to these events looking for business. Of course, it's nice if I do meet someone who goes on to be a client, but that's not my main goal.
It's just nice to connect with other business owners, get to know new people, talk about business and just...well...network. And because I'm not relying on networking for business, I enjoy it more.
Do marketing activities you enjoy
If you want your marketing to be successful, you need to be using the platforms and channels where your ideal clients are likely to see your messages.
But when you're a freelancer or small business owner doing your own marketing, it's important that your marketing works for you too. You need to do activities you actually enjoy.
Why put yourself through the torture of networking if it makes you anxious and stressed? Why spend hours every day on a social media platform you hate? Why force yourself to make videos when it makes you uncomfortable and self-conscious?
Yes, running a business will require you to put yourself out of your comfort zone every now and then. And you will have to do some stuff you don't like or enjoy. But that doesn't mean you have to do stuff you hate doing day after day after day.
If your marketing feels like a chore, you'll start to resent it and you'll be less likely to do it well or stick at it long enough to get results.
I often liken marketing to exercise. You won't see much progress if you only do it once. You need to do it regularly and consistently. Whether you want to get stronger, fitter, faster, slimmer or more toned or whether you want to improve your cardio, mobility, flexibility or strength, you need to put the work in to get the results.
Fortunately, there are hundreds of different types of exercise you can do - swimming, cycling, running, walking, team sports, yoga, weights, skipping, trampolining, martial arts, boxing, dance - the list goes on and on. Chances are there will be one or two types of exercise that you find enjoyable (or at least more enjoyable than some of the others).
And it's the same with marketing. If you want results, you have to do the work and you have to do it consistently.
But, fortunately, there are hundreds of marketing activities to choose from. Some of those activities will be more enjoyable for you than others, so why not start with those?
What happens when it stops being enjoyable?
The good thing about marketing is you don't have to stick with the same thing forever.
But that doesn't mean it's a good idea to jump from one activity or platform to the next without giving any of them time to work.
And if you are going to switch, don't just stop one thing completely to move on to the next. Figure out how to use the momentum you've built on one platform to get you going on the next.
From 2020 until last year, LinkedIn was my main source of new business. But LinkedIn has changed and I no longer find it as enjoyable as I did so I decided to try something new.
At the start of this year, I launched publications on three new platforms as part of my experiment. But I didn't just launch these publications and stop doing all the other stuff. I used the other stuff to support the launch.
I told my existing connections about my new venture. I shared the new platforms in my LinkedIn newsletters. And I posted about my publications (and still post about them) on all my social media pages.
I haven't dropped LinkedIn. I didn't spend years building up my network on there just to walk away completely. I'm just using the platform in a slightly different way.
Fortunately, I wasn't purely reliant on LinkedIn even though it was my main source of new business. Just as when networking was my main source of business, I wasn't relying solely on that.
Relying on one marketing activity alone is a mistake.
I saw plenty of people falling into that trap with networking groups. Networking was their only marketing activity and they relied on it completely. And that was fine when it worked for them. But sometimes the referrals would dry up. Or they'd get fed up of all the effort required to make networking work, but they'd feel trapped in a group because they had no alternative source of leads.
And I've seen it happening on LinkedIn recently. Lots of people who have been happily relying on LinkedIn for business over the last few years are now struggling to get leads. But because they haven't been doing any other marketing activities, they feel stuck. So they are just going through the motions of posting and commenting, hoping it will start working again.
But what if it doesn't?
What if they never see the results they used to see?
And that's why I always suggest doing at least two or three marketing activities.
Pick a social media platform or even two if you like. But do other stuff as well.
Create content such as blogs, videos, or guides that can be easily shared on multiple platforms.
Or start building an email list so that if you do change platforms you can let people know where to find you.
Or do direct marketing - letters, emails, calls, messages.
Or put ads in magazines and newspapers.
Or start a podcast or a publication or a newsletter.
Or...
...you get the point. There's plenty to choose from.
And if you need help figuring out which ones will work best for you, book 90 minutes with me and let's figure it out together.
