13 Aug Does Your Marketing Have a Squirrel Problem?
Do you get excited about new marketing ideas? Do you love to run after them, leaving behind what you’re already doing? Do you think that shiny new thing will fix all your lead generation woes?
If so, your marketing could have a squirrel problem.
I’ve written before about how marketing is a long-term investment. It’s kind of like saving for retirement. You don’t contribute to your 401(k) for a few months and then give up when you don’t see eye-popping results. Instead, you save every month for years. As the years go by, your portfolio produces results (aka, it grows).
Marketing is a lot like that. Keep at it, and you will reap the rewards: more leads, more sales conversations, more clients and more revenue.
And by the way, your marketing doesn’t have to be super shiny and sexy to produce results.
When I started my agency, I networked my butt off. As I built my in-person network, I built a network on LinkedIn. I also committed to blogging every week and sending a monthly newsletter.
Shiny new things popped up during this time. Instagram took off, Facebook advertising became a thing, video-first apps appeared (RIP Periscope), influencers were suddenly everywhere, and marketing automation tools sprouted like dandelions.
I stuck to what works, and I’ve never looked back.
How to avoid a squirrel problem in your marketing
Squirrels move pretty fast. They dart up trees, jump across branches and zig zag all over the place. Even when they’re sitting on a branch eating an acorn, their little hands and teeth are moving rapidly.
First, stop darting all over the place with your marketing.
You don’t need to do everything under the sun at once. You will get overwhelmed, and you will dilute your efforts.
Pick one or two marketing programs to start with. This could be blogging and a newsletter. Or podcasting and social media. As you get into a rhythm, you will learn what works and what doesn’t, and you’ll start to see results.
I flat out tell new clients that we will start with one thing, like blogging. A couple of months later, we might add an email newsletter. And a couple of months after that, we might pull in some social media.
Second, stick with it.
Like I already said, marketing is a long-term investment. If you dash off in a new direction every time you see the equivalent of an acorn drop from a tree, you’ll never see decent results.
Give a new program, platform or strategy at least six months to work; 12 to 18 months is even better.
And by the way, it’s OK to try something new … and fail. When Facebook Live launched, I did a weekly broadcast for a few months. After seeing no traction, I stopped. As much as I enjoyed live video, I decided to just stick with what was already working (see above). No harm, no foul.
The next time you think about chasing after the next big marketing thing, stop. If your current marketing efforts are working, it might not be worth the time and effort.
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