Let the Dead Things Go
“The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let the dead things go.”
You know what’s spooky? The time and efforts put into marketing efforts that don’t work.
As I write this, I’m sitting on my deck enjoying a beautiful autumn Virginia day, and dead leaves keep falling on my laptop from the maple tree above me. I watch them swirl and dance their way from the branch to the ground, and in the midst of the beautiful display, I’m reminded that each year I have a minor depression that soon all we’ll see are the bare limbs left behind.
But, as many a philosopher has said, some things must die for others to live - and the same is true when it comes to great marketing.
As you look ahead to 2023, what marketing efforts do you need to let “die”?
These three questions may help prioritize and inform your decision:
What takes the most time (with little ROI)?
I used to post several times daily on a Twitter account with less than 200 followers. This was before Twitter had increased their character limit to 280, so I was condensing several tweets a day to 140 characters, ensuring it was punchy and interesting, and including a quality graphic, then interacting with any responses, and retweeting content that was relevant to our audience from curated accounts.
All of this effort averaged out to about 2 hours daily, or 8 hours a week. And for what? Although we had thought that Twitter was an important channel for that brand, after about two months of doing so, we changed our course.
What are you spending time doing that isn’t garnering results aligned with your business goals? We know your time and resources are valuable, so focus on the things that have the largest ROI, and let the other things go.
What is relevant to your audience?
Sometimes businesses will spend a lot of time telling their audience WHAT they’re doing - but not enough time getting to know what their audience VALUES. Not to sound harsh, but the reality is this: Unless your audience has already built a loyalty and trust with your business, they don’t care what you’re doing. They want to connect with brands/businesses that will enrich their lives.
If you’re putting out a lot of messaging or content but not getting the engagement you’d like, take a moment to think about how you’re connecting with and building value in your audiences’ lives with the content you’re putting out. You may need to reevaluate.
Do you have a strategy?
This is the monster in my marketing nightmares. Marketing without a purpose, that’s inconsistent, or that doesn’t align with your brand may temporarily bring an influx of customers or attention, but does not set a business up for long-term success. It’s time to stop throwing spaghetti at a wall - your business is worth more than guesses or last-minute changes, and should have a strategy and plan to back up your efforts.
Ongoing, effective marketing takes time and thought, and - just like the maple tree dropping leaves - will be more beautiful next year when what’s dead is gone.
Want to talk through your ideas to help decide what needs to go? I’d love to chat.
