Expert Round-Up Topic: What Is a Marketing Tactic That Outperformed Your Expectations?
HENRY WONG
My unexpected tactic was the use of podcasts as a marketing tool. I was at first surprised at how effective they were in marketing my book. I set up a system to get myself booked on business and leadership podcasts, where I would be regularly pitching on a weekly basis. I found platforms where people might be interested in the ideas behind my book. What worked well was how deep we could explore ideas and the content to my book over the course of 45 to 60 minutes. It was even more effective because the format allowed the host to promote the book at the end. Listeners became interested enough in the ideas being shared that they bought the book. I could trace the sales history to when many of the interviews were first posted. The key was having a good pitch that provided insights and free advice, as opposed to simply pitching the book. I went deeper so the producer could see there was more than a book promotion. I believe they could see how listeners would gain valuable information from the conversation. In addition to increased book sales, there was interest in me as a speaker.
Henry Wong is a brand strategist, speaker, and author of Telling Your Story, Building Your Brand.
LINDSEY WALLACE
The art of reciprocity when it comes to community management. The simple concept of commenting on other pages from your business page. Comment on things often, and don’t be afraid to stand out. Comments get impressions. Doesn’t matter which platform. Brands started figuring this our when large, widely recognized brands like Wendy’s started clapping back and becoming clever when responding to tweets. Now, that tactic has spread to brands constantly commenting on influencer’s profiles across TikTok, Instagram, etc., on trending content where they know they will be seen. The cleverer the comment, the more attention the brand will garner and earn “cool points”, therefore positively affecting the brand’s positioning and the way the public views them.
The more trust your brand has in their social media manager – the better. Commenting isn’t something that you can work up the chain. Marketing needs freedom in order to stand out, and act quickly.
DAVID COSTELLO
I have seen that using actual questions from readers to shape content strategy is a great promotion method. Authors can collect the questions that readers ask most and turn each one into an article, newsletter, LinkedIn post or quick video.
This type of content speaks to the needs of the author’s target audience so it usually gets more attention and interaction than a message that simply says, “Buy my book.” The book then becomes the logical next step for anyone who wants to dive in further.
David Costello is the owner of editing.services.
https://editing.services/editing-proofreading/book-editing-proofreading
SEAN REDFEARN
Without a doubt the key marketing tactic that always outperforms others is turning marketing into an operational model for your business. By default, most businesses treat marketing tactics like an on-off tap, deploying individual campaigns and tactics without any real direction and investing in marketing only when the business needs it. Normally, by then it is too late.
Over the 22 years I’ve delivered B2B marketing for national and global businesses, the winners are always those who commit to creating a marketing system that consistently puts your brand, products and services, front and centre to your ideal customers, even when the buyers in the market are not at the buying stage. That is the tactic that wins.
Develop a process that encompasses a multi-channel approach. Use LinkedIn and SEO for demand creation and brand visibility, and Google for demand capture to generate leads for when a buyer is in the market. Plus, you can now leverage AI, so you can answer all the challenges your buyer has, allowing your brand, products, and services to be cited in the AI results. The ability to report on multi-channel attribution has now also been made easier by using tools like Claude and Windsor.ai to consolidate reporting into a single interactive, board-level report. This tactic alone makes it easier to tell a story with the data and secure budget sign-off.
Implementing a repeatable and scalable marketing process within your business will always outperform any individual tactic.
Sean Redfearn is the Founder of Red-Fern and author of The Always-On Manufacturing Marketing System.
