Accountants are particularly prone to wanting to have all their ducks in a row before launching anything new.
This is particularly applicable to marketing. Because it’s a creative area, not a rules-and-regulations one, the desire to get things right is even more pronounced. There are new opportunities. New ideas. Google has changed its algorithms – again. Should we use Periscope for video? Is Vimeo better than YouTube? What about Pinterest? What does the best website landing page look like?
And before you know it, you’ve just parked the whole marketing idea because there’s no time to get all the ducks in a row.
But you don’t need all your ducks in a row.
You just need to start with one duck.
Because the best kind of marketing – the content marketing approach that works best for professional services, particularly accountants – is stackable.
This means one small marketing item on another, and another, and another, until you have a whole library of helpful content. This content is interconnected in a way that enables your prospects to go from one item to the next, at their own pace, on their own timeline – and then do business with you when they are ready.
For example, say you want to run a campaign around property owners. Or hair & beauty businesses. Or contractors. Freelancers. R&D tax credits. Auto enrolment. (These are all examples of campaigns some of our clients are running right now.)
Well, you don’t begin with everything. Your stackable marketing doesn’t begin with all your ducks in a row, but it starts with one duck. It could go like this:
Duck 1: Website landing page
First, because your website is your marketing hub, you set up a simple landing page that explains what the offering is. Includes some basic information, good imagery, key issues, and a call to action (say, to get in touch).
- Launch your landing page. (You don’t necessarily have to add a menu item to your main website menu.)
Duck 2: Share on social
Every new marketing item you build needs to be shared on all your social media engines. Ideally, you share it once to all of them (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Plus, etc etc), and then multiple times to your clients’ preferred engine. If most of your clients and future clients use Twitter, post more there.
- Share your new landing page on social. Remember, no need to be salesy. Just direct the right audience to this new place on your site.
Duck 3: Helpful item
Next, you want to give your audience some information in a format that is helpful and useful. (Choose an item from the 27 content ideas.) Remember to think about your audience first – so just because you like the idea of an ebook doesn’t mean it’s the best choice for freelancers. (Ebooks for freelancers are everywhere.)
- Add this item to your website landing page. Replace the original call to action, or shift it about.
- Also, share your helpful item on social. Multiple times. (Use Hootsuite or Buffer to schedule posts.)
Duck 4: Regular emails
Having someone’s email address after they’ve downloaded one item is good. Sending them regular, helpful information on a consistent basis is even better. (People who want to receive it and don’t opt-out are the best of all.) Think of something that you can send out regularly that will continually remind your prospects that you are still around – perhaps a series of emails on making the most of auto enrolment. (It is extremely important that these emails are valuable and helpful, not pushy and salesy.)
- Include a leadbox or pop-up on your website encouraging visitors to get these helpful emails.
- Make sure your emails mention your helpful item, and website landing page.
- Share your helpful emails signup on social. Schedule a few more posts on your new landing page and helpful item.
Duck 5: Run an event
Whether online or offline, an event can be an excellent way to build on your campaign. Consider a small get-together of clients, or a webinar or even a podcast. Invite a strategic partner or guest speaker. Create a landing page on your website for this event (or if you have multiple events, a full events page summarising everything that is happening).
- Link your event to your original landing page.
- Adjust your series of emails to direct people to your upcoming event(s).
- Schedule a series of posts to share your event on social.
- Contact strategic partner or guest speakers to ask them to share the event page via email and social.
Duck 6: Something amazing and new
The stacks I’ve shared above are some of the most popular and most profitable elements of a marketing campaign – but there are hundreds more, and new ideas every day that you can make the most of. Even if you try something that doesn’t work out brilliantly well, it can still be another layer in your marketing stack.
Now, guess what you have: a row of ducks.
After you’ve completed the first few, you’ll find it becomes much easier to add another, and another.
And now, you don’t just have one duck. You have a row of them.
Your ducks, my friend, are in a row.
And they’re walking.
And they’re getting you business.
