EP25: Five Strategies to Kickstart Your Marketing for Q4 and 2021

Oct 6

“Recent studies show that video accounts for over 70% of the decision making in customers. Video is also becoming more and more affordable and easier to make. If you haven’t already started or consider implementing video, this is the time.”

Before even starting on an action plan for Q4, you should review your business and what you’ve done in 2020 first and then plan for what’s next. On today’s episode, I’ll be sharing Five Tips to to help you kickstart your Fall and 2021 Marketing Strategy. I’ll also be sharing a preview of what’s coming up here at Focus & Bloom Studios.

While we’re shy of a few months to end the year, the effects of what has happened in 2020 need to be taken into consideration as we get ready for 2021. On today’s episode, I’ll be sharing 5 Strategists for your Fall & 2021 Marketing. I’ll also be sharing a preview of what’s coming up here at Focus & Bloom Studios.

Let’s start with:

Review and Adjust as Needed

Before even starting on an action plan for Q4, you should review your business and what you’ve done in 2020 first and then plan for what’s next.

On episode 2 of season 1 of the Focus & Bloom Podcast, I talk about How to Set SMART Goals for your business. In a nutshell, I’m breaking down your goals in two smaller chunks of time so it makes it easier to see and keep track of.

Ana Quintana who I interviewed on episode 15, talks about Mindset, and how to thrive in a competitive industry, always shares a memory of what one of her Harvard professors would say, that is: “ What doesn’t get measured, doesn’t get done” Measure your progress.

A quick PROTIP!

As you are reviewing your business, one thing should you also look into is your contracts and refund policies and see if anything needs to be reviewed to take into consideration the current situation with COVID-19.

Now that you’ve reviewed what you’ve accomplished and check your goals for 2020 and this upcoming quarter, here are some marketing trends to consider implementing as we move into the end of 2020 and into 2021

1. VIDEO MARKETING

By now, you should know that video is key in marketing. Recent studies show that video accounts for over 70% of the decision making in customers. Video is also becoming more and more affordable and easier to make. If you haven’t already started or consider implementing video, this is the time.

There are a variety of types of videos you can implement that go from sharing a bit about you and your brand and how it can help solve your clients pinpoint problem, there are educational videos and even fun behind the scenes videos that can give an insider’s look at how things run.

2. LIVE STREAMS, WEBINARS AND ONLINE COURSES

Keeping on with the video theme, live streams, and webinars are a great way to have an even more personable experience with your audience. Because people are spending more time at home, one of the top things people are doing is educating themselves on a variety of things! If you’ve considered teaching, these two approaches are a great way to open the doors to an online course you create. Typically these webinars are of low to no cost to attend, and sometimes are accompanied by online challenges that give your audience a glimpse of how it looks to work with you.

Don’t forget, you can always repurpose your webinar or your livestream video into smaller video clips or you can even make it a lead magnet so you can grow your email list.. You can do so by creating a landing page where people can sign up to be on your email list and in exchange they can get access to the webinar. For this, my favorite tool is Flodesk but you can do this with almost any other email platform.

3. TELL STORIES AND PERSONALIZE THE CLIENT EXPERIENCE

One of the best ways to connect with an audience is to tell stories. By telling stories, you open the doors to create and foster better connections with your audience. It’s a way to learn more practical ways in which they can address what it is they need help with. Stories come in many ways and you can share them on various platforms.

In episode 13, Dani Page shares some good tips on nurture sequences, as well as how to write copy that converts, that you can use as part of your email marketing strategy.

Pro Tip on telling stories. You want to balance out your approach to sharing stories. If you are sharing a personal story, you want to find a seamless way to intertwine how your customers can experience a similar story but in their own personal way.

4. CONTENT STRATEGY

It goes without saying that you need to have a strategy. There are many marketing tips and tactics you can implement but if you don’t have a plan, you’re shooting blind darts.

As you think of your content strategy, and this is not just for social media but for your email campaigns, website and video marketing efforts, you want to think about your core content pillars.

Content pillars are large pieces of content that you can divide into smaller batches to focus, highlight or bring attention to. These will provide a framework to work with when coming up with the content you want to share with your audience and can be presented in various formats like blogs, videos, social posts, emails, livestreams just to mention a few ways to attract different potential leads through different channels or platforms.

5. BUILD YOUR SOCIAL PROOF

We’ve heard of word of mouth and it is still the best way to market. It’s free and it’s backed up by a real person. How many times have we not tried something that was recommended by someone we know? From hair salons, to restaurants, to business books, to even podcasts! (cough, shameless plug here, please feel free to share this podcast with a fellow entrepreneur friend.)

There are various ways to use social proof within your marketing strategy. The first one that you can start with by having your past clients share a review or recommend your product or services to someone else.