Sort out your social media

So, number one, sort out your social media.

Don’t panic – just have a bit of a logical Spring clean. You don’t have to have an account on every single social media channel. It can be overwhelming and daunting thinking about posting on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn…

First step – which channel do you enjoy the most? Where do you enjoy spending your time and interacting?

Personally, as a social media consultant, I love Instagram the best, but you have to think about where your potential clients are. Think about your target age group, your target customer, your ideal customer. Think about where they hang out online, where do they go and get information? Is it Pinterest?

If you’re B2B, are they on LinkedIn or Twitter? For B2B generally, the places you should be communicating are LinkedIn and Twitter. If you’re a consumer, you sell products or services to the consumer, then you should probably be on Facebook or Instagram.

For the younger generation, if that’s your target, think about Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.

Now it’s 2021, have a clear out. There is no shame in deleting a social media account. It will probably free up your time and make you feel better and more focused.

Plan in advance

My second tip for Kickstarting your marketing in 2021 is to plan in advance.

Think about what you want to achieve with your marketing in 2021. It might be ‘I want to improve social media’. You might think ‘I want to start a blog’, ‘I want to create a weekly e-newsletter’, ‘I’m going to start using video more’, ‘I want to get some new photography for my business’.

Plan all these activities in. Actually write it down. Get a planner or a journal. I use an Excel spreadsheet, literally week by week. I have every week, and I plan out what I’m going to do week by week. Find what works for you.

Think about the things you want to achieve with your marketing, and plan in when you are going to do it, otherwise it will just end up being a thought and you’ll never get it done. Create yourself a little ‘Me Marketing Plan’ with those aims that you want to achieve this year, next year and get them written down.

The other thing to think about is what’s happening in your business? Are there any anniversaries coming up?  Are you attending any meetings?  Are there any events?  Have you hit any milestones?

This year for me, my business will have been going for ten years. It’s my ten year anniversary, so I’m definitely going to plan in some kind of promotion or celebration, something special. Maybe a course launch or who knows what. So, I’ll plan that in.

Anything that you’ve got for the year ahead – plan it in. It can be simpler to plan for each quarter of the year so plan the first three months and then progress and complete up to June.

So, think about planning.

Get Networking!

My third tip to Kickstart your marketing in 2021 is networking. I hear people going “Ohhhh! Cringe, I hate networking.”  The best marketing tool is word of mouth and the best person to do that for your business is you.

So, get out there, meet people, get networking.

Now obviously, in the middle of a global pandemic we can’t get out there and get networking; however, there are so many companies who have now gone online and do networking online. Hunt those events down, get online and get networking.

You will be amazed at the people you’ll meet. Don’t go into this with the mindset of thinking that everyone you are going to meet is going to buy from you. Be more open-minded than that. You need to think that the people you are meeting, are connections for the future.

You might not ever work with them, but they could be a great connection. For example, if you were doing a competition and you need a prize; “Oh, I could have such and such that I met networking.”

If you are looking for a new Trustee “oh, I know that person from networking.” You know, there are so many different connections you can make, you can find stakeholders for your business, you can find partners, people to collaborate with. It’s not just about selling.

And then the more people that you meet, the more people that get to know you, the more people know about your business and what you do, and then they will recommend you.

So, it’s a really, really powerful tool that people just forget about. So, don’t forget about it. It’s one of the best things you can do.  Please think about that for kickstarting your marketing. My networking has gone online over the past 10 months and I continue to build my contacts across a wide spectrum of businesses and those contacts know me as a Marketing Consultant and Social Media Coach.

So, they are my three tips. Sort out and clear out your social media, make some aims and plan what you are going to do in terms of your marketing in 2021, and also get networking, increase that word of mouth knowledge about your business. These three things really can have a massive impact and will kickstart your marketing in 2021.

If you need any more help with your marketing or social media why not join my Facebook Group ‘Marketing Made Easy With Lisa’ and sign up for my e-newsletter for my latest tips and news or send me a message.