20 Things to do in Your Marketing in 2020

Happy New Year!

We’re always looking to improve our marketing and share anything that we learn. So, I want to share these 20 tips for your 2020 marketing.

You can watch the live stream replay at the bottom of this blog, or read the tips below now. Lots to share so let’s get straight into it! 

20 Things to do in Your Marketing in 2020

1. Be authentic (properly)

One thing I’ve learned, and I will continue to do this, is to be authentic. So, this is my number one tip.

And by being authentic, I don’t mean pretending to be authentic! To be authentic, you need to follow your beliefs and your values.

Be exactly who you’re supposed to be.

If you can be authentic with who you are and what you stand for in your content (videos, lives, posts, tweets, LinkedIn updates, networking, exhibitions) then great!

If you can be authentic in that, I’ll tell you what… it really makes a big, big difference and I’ve absolutely experienced that this year!

For more in-depth help on being authentic try this Psychology Today article.

2. Be consistent

If you’re gonna create content around a few types of topic, then be consistent in your message. Be consistent in the way that you share that message, be consistent in the way you post, and be consistent with the tips and advice that you give.

Yes, that means that you’ll probably repeat yourself over and over and over again, but being consistent is important.

So, for example, if you’re gonna start doing more LinkedIn next year, which I absolutely recommend you should do, then be consistent in that. Turn up every day, comment on posts every day, write an article once a month or once a week – and keep doing it.

With most social media channels, the algorithms behind them are looking for patterns because that’s what algorithms do. So, think about how a computer works. It’s looking for patterns. Be a pattern, be consistent. Also, human beings like a pattern. We like habits. We like to know what to expect.

3. Be targeted

Make sure that you’re targeting your content to your ideal prospects. This year, we’re going to be approaching more website agencies, SEO agencies, and branding agencies because these are the type of businesses who can benefit from our content writing services.

How will you be more targeted?

When you show up to an exhibition, when you show up to a networking meeting, when you rock up to LinkedIn, you need to know exactly who would be a great introduction for you. Your enthusiasm to meet them will be evident, and you’ll get off to a great start.

4. Niche!

A business niche is a focused area of a broader market that businesses can serve to differentiate themselves from the competition.

People who struggle are the ones who describe their target market as “anyone who needs my services.” Who could get a referral with that information? No one! But if you’ve identified a business niche where you can establish yourself, you often have more clients than you can handle.

It scares people to be niche, but it can be extremely profitable, as well as making your life easier. When you go niche, you attract the right people and repel the wrong people. And you can go really loud in your message just to the people (you’ll think it’s a few, but it won’t be) that you really want to work with.

Here’s a bit more on niching.

5. Go long-form on your content

Do longer videos, do longer blog posts, do longer Instagram posts, longer LinkedIn updates and articles.

The algorithms are not looking for just everything and anything. They’re looking for the good stuff. Google’s update this year asks for this. One of the things that Google put out in their blog post is that they’re looking for more in-depth content. They want content that goes really deep on one specific thing. The longer, the better.

So, the 300-word blog posts? Forget them. Yes, 90-second videos are great, but I bet you the video to this blog gets more views over time because I can re-purpose it and re-use it because there’s more of it.

Every single one of these tips becomes a post. Every one of these tips becomes a short, sharp video. You can turn it into shorter, sharper content if you want to. So, go longer form on your content in 2020. And something I’ve been doing for a while with my blog posts is trying to hit over 2,000 words a blog. It means I won’t be doing one a week, but I’m focusing more of my time and energy into crafting a higher quality blog post rather than just going for the numbers game.

6. Post on social media every day. Every single day

This relates to the consistency because, again, the algorithms are looking to see these patterns and people like to see patterns. They like to see you show up.

There’s a thread in our Facebook Group which has gone in a completely different angle than we thought it would, but people have said that they like our group and they like us because we always show up!

And it seems to be maybe a trust thing or a familiarity thing, but when you show up consistently, when you constantly pop up, when your audience grows, your trust builds and your sales build! Obviously you’re top of mind for people who can share information about you. Jo once met a lady at a networking event. The following week, she chatted to a friend and the friend needed the lady’s services. But the lady wasn’t memorable, hadn’t followed up, and hadn’t appeared again – so Jo didn’t know her name and couldn’t refer her. What a missed opportunity.

Don’t forget what this is all about.

It’s not to win a personality contest on Facebook; it’s to generate more money. So, if you show up every single day, it will generate you more leads and interest and then, obviously, you gotta make sure that you convert those. And yes, obviously it’s also about being authentic and making friends as well as connections for business.

Pay to play

Certainly, on channels like Facebook, you should be now using paid advertising as part of your marketing mix. Facebook adverts are actually really cost-effective when you do them carefully. (If you want some training on this, get in touch.)

Simple. Just promote your content from your blogs and those entertaining or educational posts to keep your followers engaged with you and your business.

8. Create a community

Now, this is a harder thing to achieve. This is a much harder tip than the other ones, but our Facebook group has been really good for our business and it’s been really great to see it grow over the past couple of months.

A community doesn’t have to be in a Facebook group. LinkedIn groups will be interesting in 2020 and beyond. You could grow more of a following on YouTube, or you could build your Instagram followers. But try and build yourself a community.

They’re such a great thing to have but you don’t own them. They – the members – are the community, you’re just there with it. But it’s really, really good for your business, great for support, great for interaction, it’s good for value, and it gives you more content to help you create more content.

And it’s a fun thing to do! We love our group.

Not joined the party yet? Get involved!

9. Join up social media with your other marketing

When you go to an exhibition, connect with visitors and exhibitors on LinkedIn.

When you do video, try and join up with people that you meet in your life.

When you meet someone in the street who happens to be somebody you’ve connected with on LinkedIn, share it online.

Think of ways you can join up the real world with the online world. Pick up the phone to that latest LinkedIn connection. Mention you saw them on Facebook and connect with them and then meet with them if you think that’s going to be useful.

Joining of the real-life world and the online world is something I’ve always done, and I plan to do more of it, especially with the meet-ups this year which will combine a bit of networking with some good old-fashioned chatting over a drink.

10. Talk to your connections one-to-one

Following on from the above tip, don’t just use social media, your website, or your YouTube channel to talk one-to-many even though it’s very tempting.

What you really should do with all this stuff is try and talk to these people one-to-one. Build a big audience, yes. Put a YouTube channel out there, have a great Instagram following, but then talk to people one-to-one.

I talk a lot about Gary Vaynerchuk, and one of the things he’s very famous for doing is reading every single comment and every single email and replying to a lot of them.

That’s where you win, in the trenches of social media. In the comments section of your blog and on your YouTube channel. Reply and comment and try and build connections with people.

If someone comments on your YouTube channel, reply back. Go to their YouTube channel, watch a video, comment on theirs. That’s how you start to build your trust and your audience and everything else online.

Extra tip: For the love of God, don’t just passively ‘like’ it when someone recommends you on social media. Get involved. If it sounds interesting and you want to help then offer a reason why you’d be good, or ask the original poster if you can contact them directly to discuss it. Just a ‘like’ is lazy and won’t get you the gig.

11. Be yourself

In the video you’ll see me being me. It’s how I would speak if you spoke to me in the pub. Well, probably slightly less energetic, but it’s me.

This is what I am about. This is who I am. If you don’t like that, that is absolutely OK. Because if you meet me in the pub, I will be like this. This is what I’m like.

I think that is a tough game to play for some. Some people are OK with that, and some find it more difficult. I’m absolutely not a psychologist or a coach or any of those types of things, so it’s not for me to try and help you with that, but when you realise that you can be yourself, it makes a big difference.

So, be yourself more in 2020. I don’t know how you’re going to do that. Maybe try meditation, jogging, drinking more water, or eating better food. I don’t know how you’re going do it, but be yourself on your videos, on your blogs, in your emails. Forget the bullshit. Put real heart into an email. Be yourself.  Here are some epic email ideas from Sleeknote.

12. Use more real-life photos

Get rid of those horrible stock photos. Get rid of all that shit. Be yourself, share selfies. Yes you probably need some decent quality headshots and some professional photos of you and your team in action, too. But keep it real on social media.

I’ve run on Facebook groups now for about three or four years and I’ve looked after social media channels for almost a decade. The content that works the best is the selfies, the simple stuff, the really personal real-life photography. Use FACES! That’s what Facebook wants.

I’ve worked with a lot of hotels. They’ve got these stunning photos, but it’s the day they post the picture of the new chef in the kitchen that their reach flies.

The algorithms, certainly on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter know the difference between an uploaded photo from a smart phone that’s a real-life photo compared to one that’s been shared lots of times and looks a little too polished and perfect.

13. Research more

Research what your audience wants, and what your industry needs. Research what people are looking for, and create the answers to the questions that they have.

Research what will make a difference. Research what other people in your industry are doing. Do it better or differently.

Use research, use Google, use Twitter, which is a great research tool, and comments and post in Facebook groups. Be clever with LinkedIn searches.

Look for what people are talking about and create content around that.

Research more intelligently. Create better more focused content. We love doing this and have got some extra handy tips if you want them. Just ask.

14. Stop getting distracted

Stop getting distracted with shiny, new things. There’s a caveat to that rule coming up next, but don’t get too distracted. To make something work in digital -and I think really in life – especially with the new diet you’re gonna try in January – It’s not going to work straight away!

And when you start blogging, it won’t work straight away.

When you start doing live video, it might not work straight away.

When you start doing LinkedIn every single day, it won’t work straight away.

You gotta keep going. You’ve gotta keep going. You have to keep going.

If you do a few weeks of this stuff and get distracted on the new diet, or a new strategy, or new plan or sales funnel, you’ll just start tail off and nothing will change.

10 years of marketing has taught me that the way to win in anything is not to be the best, but to be the most consistent. Don’t stop.

15. Evolve

This is the caveat to the above tip. When things change, you need to evolve. I left a really big Facebook group last year. If all I’d done for all of last year was focused all my efforts to that large Facebook group, then leaving it would have been a disaster for me when I left.

But it wasn’t a disaster because I had my own group, my LinkedIn connections, my Twitter followers, my Instagram, my networking connections, my email list, my website traffic and what was left of my reputation! Make sure that you evolve when things happen and when things change. And make sure that you’re up for trying new things.

When LinkedIn live comes out for everyone this year, use it, evolve with it, look for the opportunities.

I don’t think there’s ever been a time in human history where stuff has changed so quickly.

And the Internet has obviously exploded. It changes at a phenomenal rate, so you need to learn to evolve with it. So, look for the changes this year. Try not to get too distracted by them, though. Subscribe to this blog and we’ll keep you updated!

16. Give more, post more, share more

You’ve got to get more content out this year. You’ve got to give more than you think you can give.

Stop telling yourself you’re going to bore people with your content. Lots of people say to me and have done for years, “Oh, I don’t wanna bore my followers.”

Or I often hear, “I don’t want to spam them”, or, “I don’t want to irritate people”.

You won’t. Most of your content won’t even get through to them. Yes, that’s right. Most of your content won’t get through to your audience and they won’t see it.

That’s the thing you’ve got to remember: It’s very difficult to get 100% of your followers or connections to see your content unless it’s really good. And even if it’s really good, you know that the top end marketers, the big brands will get more reach than you.

Do you think Coca Cola shuts up at Christmas? No. They go all in. Do you think when Tom Cruise has got a new movie out, he just chats to his friends about it? No, he goes on every TV show and radio show he can. He’s on the side of buses. He’s everywhere. You’ve got to go all in.

2020 is going to be busier, isn’t it? Of course, it is!

Give more, post more, share more.

17. Get involved with your voice

Think about podcasts and radio and things like SoundCloud and iTunes. How can you get your voice out there?

There are lots of people now driving past my office. The office is on a main road near the hospital.

How am I going to market to those people? They can’t watch me on video, they can’t read my posts, but they can listen to me.

Most cars now have Bluetooth enabled with Apple or Android play in the car. People can listen to you whilst they’re driving, or while they’re mowing the lawn, or walking the dog.

Think about how you can use your voice this year. We’ve got a podcast all set up to go. Jo and I just need to work on how we’re going do it and how the timings will work, but the system is in place.

18. Sort out your sales funnel

Think about how your sales funnel looks:

• How do people meet you?
• What’s your first offer?
• (Do you have a free eBook?
• Do you have a free plan/guide/case study?
• Do you have a free Facebook group?
• Do you have a free email list?)
• Do you have a small product you can sell to them first, something of low value? Can you create one?
• Can you start to run that journey of sales?

Few people will buy your £3,000 product straight away. They need to buy into you first for free and then maybe try some other stuff. This is why you’ll see things like discovery days or free events.

I’m not saying you should get into that model, but think about your sales funnel. What does it look like?

If you’re interested in this, this article should help.

19. Build a habit

Build a marketing habit. How can you put your marketing, your online marketing, your social media, your videos, your LinkedIn posts, your blogs, your videos, Instagram, networking, and your exhibitions into a habit?

Why? Because once you get in the habit you don’t even think about it.

I don’t actually think about my marketing now. I don’t wake up and think, “Oh God, I’ve got to do something on social media today. What should I do?” It’s just a habit now.

I’m not putting any barriers in my life to stop me doing the content either.

How can you build it as a habit?

Maybe start by putting a little reminder on your phone that pops up every day that says,

“Hey! Check in to LinkedIn. Scroll down, comment on a few hashtags that you’re following, comment on a few people, and talk to people.”

You know, you can do it whilst you sat down on the toilet, you can do it whilst you’re walking, you can do it whilst you’re a passenger in a car, or on a train.

How can you build your marketing as a habit? Because then you’ll do more of it.

• When do you have down time or micro moments as they’re called?
• Can you get your phone out and quickly check it?
• How does it work for you?

20. Stop second-guessing and just post it already… (you’ll learn so much more!)

The last tip is to stop second-guessing yourself and just fucking do it.

Just do it.

Do that video, do that content.

Do you know what? The more content you put out there, the more you do things, the better you’ll get.

Don’t worry about being perfect. Perfect doesn’t exist anyway. Better done than perfect.

The more content you put out there, the better you’ll get.

If you second-guess yourself though, if you think, “Oh, I don’t really want to share that. I’ll probably do that blog next week!”, or, “Oh, I don’t really want to post on LinkedIn every day. Oh, I forgot. Well, it doesn’t matter. Oh, it’s a bit late now to post on LinkedIn, it’s seven o’clock on a Friday night.”

Stop making excuses. Start doing it!

You will learn so much about marketing by just doing it. You don’t need me. You don’t need the other marketers. Do you know I’ve never been on a marketing course? I’ve never, ever been on a marketing course. Never.

I just ‘trial and error’ it all.

Make all the fucking mistakes you can make because you learn so much when you make a mistake. You hear this constantly. It’s on every single meme and motivational meme out there.

You know, it’s not about how many times you get hit, it’s about how many times you get up.

It’s the mistakes, it’s what you learn, that’s important.

Here’s a great thing and an extra tip…

Most of your competition won’t do any of these tips!

They won’t do them.

They’ll do the same shit they were doing in 2019, which is the same shit most people were doing in 2005.

If you can get your ass into gear this year and really make a commitment to some of these tips in 2020, you will beat your competition because they can’t be bothered, or they’re too busy and their marketing gets pushed aside.

Go get those eyeballs!

Need more help? Download the free guide below or come to one of our upcoming workshops in 2020 here.

https://www.facebook.com/socialmediatodd/videos/10219271693735401/

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