First, we wish everyone health and safety during through this COVID crisis.
I will outline 4 myths and mistakes in marketing during a crisis. And stick around until the end, I’ll share 3 takeaways you could implement right away.
Given our new paradigm, I’ll put a positive spin on the 4 myths and mistakes in marketing that i’ve seen.
Not all businesses are suffering financially, but all businesses have changed in some way whether it’s a process or protocol of doing business to ensure safety. People are looking for new ways to connect including efficient ways to do conduct their business.
It’s more important than ever to stay in touch with people whether it’s email, a text or direct messenger in a social media platform.
The number one priority is reaching out to all of your clients to see how they are doing and a polite nudge to remind them that you’re available if they have any questions about anything during this overwhelming time.
We can call it marketing or we can call it staying connected in a meaningful, purposeful way.
If you are looking to do more than just survive in your business, it’s more important now than ever to either level up your marketing or at the very least, START marketing if you’ve been putting it off or getting by with minimal efforts.
If people don’t hear from you now when they need you the most, they will find another resource they feel can rely on. I’ve heard more than a few times, “I don’t hear from you all year and now you show up. It’s too late.”
The best part is that because we’re in the digital age, the currency is time. You don’t need to invest in big advertising budgets like the Mad Men days. No magazines print ads, no billboards, no Super Bowl ads.
Here are four myths and mistakes people make when it comes to marketing.
Myth #1 – I don’t know what to say.
There’s more to what you do every day than you realize that people would be interested to know. You know a lot more than someone who isn’t in your business but doesn’t business with you. Delivering value of what you can offer someone will help to show that you’re present in your business and available when they need you.
For people to know, like & trust you, it’s ok to show your personal side. I like to work in my yard so i’ll post projects in and around the house. It helps to show that you’re human. It will also help to show how people can relate to you.
YOU are a brand whether you own a business or work for a business. You do not need to sell your product or service every time you’re marketing.
Myth #2 – I don’t have time.
Some people may not think they have the time because they may not have seen results worthy of scheduling the time for this task. If you carved out 10-30 minutes every day or every other day dedicated to intentional and meaningful engagement, you would see results in how people pay attention to you.
The more you spend engaging on a platform, the more you get noticed even if you don’t think the metrics are displaying a lot views.
Business is about relationships. People have to know how to relate to you but if you don’t exist online, then they won’t know how to find you or know how you can help them.
Myth #3 – I don’t have an audience.
If you didn’t have an audience you wouldn’t be in business. You have people all around you, but perhaps you didn’t think of them as an audience. With the INFLUENCER movement, if you don’t have a million followers or get a million views on a post, people think they’re doing it wrong or that it’s a waste of time because they’re not getting those results.
The flaw in this mentality is that we have to appreciate that for any number of views we get online is less time we have to be in our car driving to a meeting with just one person.
Don’t look at the views or the metrics if you’re just starting out. Focus on the practice of developing a new habit of scheduling time to devote to marketing. If you aren’t creating content, then curate quality content that you trust and that you find relevant to your business.
Myth #4 –There are too many platforms.
Who doesn’t like having choices? To be able to pick from Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, YouTube or any other platform you are familiar with means you get to enjoy however you feel most comfortable when delivering your content.
- Maybe you want to practice with video so you may utilize Facebook Live because you’ve been on that platform longer or you save your videos to your Youtube playlist.
- Maybe you want to be more business-like while extolling the virtues of your products and services, so you go to Linkedin.
- Maybe you like snapping photos and want to include a meaningful, inspiring message, so you go to Instagram or Pinterest.
- Or the newest darling, maybe you want to bust a move or deliver a message with curated music in the background, you go to TikTok.