Mark Armstrong Illustration Specializing In Content Marketing Advertising Editorial Infographics Animation Videos and Social Media

There are lots of good marketing practices. Let’s look at six of them.

1. Have a niche

In other words: specialize. Be clear on what you’re selling. You can’t be all things to all people. You’ll only frustrate yourself and confuse your customers.

Lynda Falkenstein, author of Nichecraft, puts it this way: “Smaller is bigger in business, and smaller is not all over the map; it’s highly focused.” Make a wish list. Describe your ideal client(s). Then you’ll know who to go after.

2. Have a content promotion strategy before you create content

Having a promotion strategy means you know who you’re creating the content for (your target audience), and how you’re going to promote it: email campaign, influencers, different social media platforms, etc.

Where do your ideal prospects hang out? Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat? You know because you’ve done the research. That’s where you’ll promote your content on social media.

3. Use visuals

Why? This HubSpot infographic sums it up: visuals grab attention; they generate more views for your posts; visual content is more understandable; it influences emotions, generates more social engagement, etc, etc.

Steve Masters of Vertical Leap writes that “The more eye-catching the art, the more likely users are to like and share it. The images you use are just as important as the words on the page.”

4. Put the customer first

Marketing is about adding value to customers’ lives. You have to align your goals with the customer’s. CEO Jeff Bezos attributes Amazon’s success to three big ideas: “Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.”

Being “customer-centric” creates trust. Customers are more likely to share their good experience and become ambassadors for your brand.

5. Be Better, Not Cheaper

I’ll just quote the very wise Seth Godin:

“Once you decide to become a cheap commodity, all of the choices you made to be a non-commodity fall victim to your pursuit of cheap.

“Cheap is the last refuge for the marketer who can’t figure out how to be better.

“The alternative is to choose to be worth it, remarkable, reliable, a good neighbor, a worthy citizen, leading edge, comfortable, trusted, funny, easy, cutting edge or just about anything except, ‘the cheapest at any cost.'”

6. Ask for referrals

When you connect with a prospect, follow up. Stay in touch. Nurture the relationship. Once you’re hired, do good work and ask for a referral.

Aubre Andrus writes, “The client may be able to refer you to a friend or someone internally to a different department within the same company. Every connection you make has a network; ask to be a part of it. It’s free and effective.”

She adds: “In order to ask clients to confidently refer you, you need to build a strong reputation. That means consistently producing outstanding work.”

Here’s the whole post condensed into a single infographic:

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Do you have a marketing tip you’d care to share? Please leave a comment.

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You might also enjoy my infographic about content marketing. It explains what it is, how it evolved, and what characterizes good content.

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About Mark: I’m an illustrator specializing in humor, editorial, branding, social media, and content marketing. I create images that get content seen and shared.

You can view my portfolio, and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Questions? Send me an email.