With the lockdown remaining in full force across the UK, we’re continuing our search for inspiration. This month, we speak to our contacts about the best marketing advice they’ve ever been given.
Erika Mizun-Moller, Tea Agency
“Have clarity and an outward-looking tone of voice with a laser focus on a niche audience. Each type of campaign – social, email, SEO – will have its own specific pointers. You can’t repurpose exactly the same writing and visuals for each – do your homework before you start a comprehensive campaign.”
Rob Dodsworth, Norfolk Wedding Photographer
“Don’t communicate with people when they are otherwise distracted and/or rushing about.
“I usually try to remember this when I’m planning phone and video calls. I rarely do those on people’s lunch breaks/ mealtimes. If people are distracted by their food and/or are hungry because you called when they would normally be dining, then their mind is on their belly and not on what you have to say.
“Essentially, it’s about prioritising attention.
“That’s why, for me, I focus on my website more than my social media. There is too much to distract people on social media. They may spend 3 seconds on a picture but then it’s forgotten. The average visit time on my website is 3 minutes+.
“If I am going to prioritise one medium to focus my marketing efforts, it will be the website. It’s why I never send traffic away from my website to social media channels. That makes no sense to me. If people are on your website you should want them to take action. That action should not be clicking off to Instagram. If they do that, you’ve lost them down the rabbit hole.”
Read more: April Inspiration
Sandeep Cavill, Emotional Skills
“The thing that’s had the biggest impact on me, my attitude and how I approach marketing is going to meet-ups, particularly The Marketing Meetup and SearchNorwich.
“The Marketing Meetup has made me appreciate the importance of the ‘listening’ part of what we do – not just from a work point of view, but from a life perspective.
“I try to do that more; make more of an effort to really listen (to the speakers who share their knowledge and the attendees I have a chinwag with) and understand people/the world and help.
“Listening might sound simple but doing it well takes effort.”
James Davey, The Armoury
“It’s not all about price.
“It used to be Price / Value / Price / Service as the primary order of considerations for consumers making a purchase.
“However, we have had a race to bottom with multi-brand stores dominating the continual race to offer the lowest price.
“Now it is about being able to differentiate yourself as a branded proposition with a real focus on offering the customer value for money and true perceived quality.
“It’s why more niche and experience-led brands are succeeding at present. Price is still a factor, albeit considered as a construct of value.
“The considerations have now shifted to become more like: Quality / Service / Price / Value.”
Nikki Berry, NB Creative Communications
“A couple for me… ‘if you can’t tell it simply, you don’t understand it well enough’ given by someone at one of my first agencies and also ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’.”
Matt Colley, Edidit
“The best piece of marketing advice I’ve received wasn’t actually marketing advice; it applies to just about everything.
“A dear friend of mine once said to me in my twenties: ‘Slow down. The world doesn’t move as fast as you do.’
“I often remind myself of this when I’m racing off into the distance, getting overenthusiastic or overly despondent. I do have a tendency to run on instinct, and when I follow this piece of advice I generally remind myself to be more reflective, to take a step back and consider the consequences of my actions before I plough ahead relentlessly!”
Mark Williams-Cook, Candour
“What’s the best piece of hashtag marketing advice you’ve ever been given? Your brand is not what you say it is, it’s what people say about it online.
“Are there any tips that have stayed with you throughout your career? If you’re doing a repetitive task on a computer, you’re using the computer wrong.
“Any pointers for running successful campaigns? Make sure it passes the ‘So what?’ test.”
Lucy Mowatt, Method Marketing
“The most important word in marketing is ‘you’.”
Lee Carnihan, Curveball Media
“This is one of the best tips ever is from Leo Burnett. It tells you what to focus on and use as a measure of success:
“‘If you don’t get noticed, you don’t have anything. You just have to be noticed, but the art is in getting noticed naturally, without screaming or without tricks.'”
Caleb Rule, Pedowitz Group
“Don’t be afraid to fail if you can back up why you did something. A good leader will praise the effort and ask what you learned and how you’ll improve.”
Katie Nuttall, Nimble Chick
“Don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t. Just be yourself.”
What about you? What’s the best marketing advice you’ve ever been given? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.