When Michelangelo sculpted the Statue of David, I don’t believe he did it with dynamite. So too, did Dali never create his art with a paintball gun. Jackson Pollock, maybe, but that’s another discussion.
A strategic marketing approach means leveraging specific tools and directionality in your marketing strategy. Sadly, that means your ice cream shop probably doesn’t need a hot air balloon—at least not in year one. We didn’t say you can’t have multiple strategies!
Having a strategic marketing approach works on several levels. We’ll go into a few of them today to drive the point.
One Strategy Does Not Fit All
While it’s good news for marketers and clients looking to grow their skills (and bad news for me trying to stay original on the internet), there is no shortage of guides and breakdowns of popular marketing strategies. Two clicks later, you might see a fifty-page PDF on content marketing and another 60-page behemoth on Blue Ocean Strategy. There sure is a lot out there.
The question for us experts becomes, “hey, if you’re an expert, why isn’t the answer front and center?”
To which I’d respond—I’m getting there.
Companies exist in all sizes and face in all directions: B2B, B2C, B2B2C, and all kinds of other Star Wars sounding names. Picking a marketing strategy at random or from “top sellers” who won’t consult with you means possibly sending out feelers in the wrong direction, wasting money on clicks that don’t serve your business, and neglecting the channels which are most effective for your business—especially the free ones.
There are only so many hours in the day. Having a strategy that fits your needs means that these hours are explicitly spent growing in ways that benefit you, not just SEO agencies.
Content Strategy Must React
We’ve all unfollowed pages that no longer provide relatable content. Maybe you followed because of a specific meme or an aesthetic they no longer follow. Your clients may be doing the same for you, and you’d be none the wiser if you didn’t keep on top of your analytics.
Having an understanding of your audience involves proactive research of competitors and market trends, as well as an open mind. When your strategies are no longer working, you must be open to a pivot. Otherwise, what are you doing but wasting your own and your followers time?
Being strategic in this sense means not only starting with a plan but redeploying as additional info becomes available. For instance, are you posting inefficient content or just posting at the wrong times? A good strategy is like a sail—it works best when going with the wind, not against it.
Having a marketing strategy means spending your time doing the right tasks for the right audience. It doesn’t mean chaining yourself like Odysseus on his ship, ears blocked and eyes closed as you forge onwards.
When you’re ready to build out that strategy and learn what has made my clients succeed across the years, I’m willing to chat. Book a meeting today to get started!