Don't let the marketing vampire in
Writing those what's your best marketing technique - and GO! posts on social media is like inviting in the vampire into your home.
Why? You have to go through what each person wrote. Then, you may start seeing stuff that'll make their suggestions a bust:
I used Groupon!
Hmm, but I have to offer a rock bottom deal and cope with bargain shoppers and even any up-sell still risks eating into my profits...
I did a Facebook campaign - short and intense - $10/day for 5 days.
Hmm, but I see from their profile that this person lives in a densely populated urban centre, and I'm a bit more small town...
I have a long standing referral program and my clients from 10 years still return.
Hmmm, I've only been in business 1 year and have only 15 names on my list...
Can you see the vampire suckage?
You've invited this super-long thread of stuff others do, and everyone throws out a tidbit. Quickly it can become a mire of realizing that the needs and life-cycle of each business can differ drastically and it becomes quite clear that you will spend a lot of hamster-wheel time evaluating every recommendation or trying things that may waste both time and money. It's a hit-and-miss approach. This is a lot of work to find the diamond in the rough - something that can suit you.
It's actually a little bit like your client sending you a Pinterest board. We tell them to use it for inspiration only and not to copy the images exactly. We get annoyed right? These calls for 'best marketing tactics' have a whiff of this - you often just try to copy what others have done. If you must do it, it should be in a research and development phase as an environmental scan as part of your annual marketing update. But most of us do it to drum up immediate business (because you haven't done your marketing plan - tsk, tsk), and it's a BAD way of actually deciding how to find your clients and choose your marketing strategies, because it's way too time-consuming for unpredictable results.
There is a better way. And it lies in Science Fiction.
We've all seen the movies where people swap bodies, right? So, on the count of three, you are going to project yourself into the body of your ideal client. Ok, are you there? You/she is walking down the street. Take a look at the reflection of a storefront window - what do you/she look like - messy bun and yoga pants? Coach bag and skinny jeans? Hippy? Modern but down to earth? For sake of example, let's take that last one because she appeals to you. She is walking into her fave coffee shop - she's a stay at home mom to her 2 girls 10 and 8, but isn't the homeschool type. She's really the higher-profile volunteer mom. At the shop, she sees the latest issue of "Family Magazine" on the stand, with a list of Summer Camps. Is it that time already? Yep, she flips through the copy as she sips her latte. Her kids expressed interest in tennis this year. Do you see your opportunity? An annual ad in this magazine to catch mom's attention as she searches for summer camps might be the way to go. And the magazine also has online advertising and an email blast once a month that will get your name in front of potential clients just like this one. Next, summer camps. Mom is sending her kids to be enriched at sports camp, and likely has to outfit them in tennis gear. How about offering a value-add portrait in summer packages, of kids in their sports camp gear? If that kid turns into a tennis pro, what would that first portrait be worth to those parents?
It's pretty easy to post in an online group, asking for ideas. Borderline lazy - feed me your marketing success and I will passively eat it up, with the risk of spinning my wheels in marketing overwhelm.
It's equally easy to sit down and close your eyes, and imagine being a day in the shoes of someone who is a perfect client for you. It's not lazy though - you are actively creating, and the bonus is that you create exactly what you want, without any wild goose chases off on tangents that may never suit you. No method is ever perfect, but this one is a whole lot closer to the bull's eye.
The next time you feel at at dead end, project yourself Sci-Fi style, into the body of your client. See the world from her eyes - who she talks to, where she goes and what she buys, what's going on in her family life. From there, you will find ideas for engaging with her, out of which will come some great marketing ideas.
Do you need some marketing help? I've put together a readymade marketing plan for photographers. I've done most of the work, you just tweak to suit. Find it here.
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