How can a small business with limited time and budget know when a marketing trend is the real deal they should invest in?
As a small business ourselves, we understand the struggle…
This is why we put together a 6 step process to discover which marketing trends are worth it.
Step 1: Keep An Open Mind
When you first come across a new marketing trend, keep an open mind. Why? Because whenever we try new things or think about change, we have our doubts. Sometimes these doubts lead us to avoid trying new things. This is not what we want for you, especially when we’re talking about new marketing trends to try.
For example, let’s talk about TikTok. When it first came out, most businesses were writing off the platform because they said that their target audience wasn’t on it. But that was a mistake!
Step 2: Research, Research, Research!
Do your research and see how others are utilizing the marketing trend. How? By following reliable business publications and papers like Forbes and Business Insider. Keep an eye on your industry leaders, as they often are the first to catch on to new trends. And stay on top of trending topics in the news and media using tools like BuzzSumo, Google Trends, and Similarweb.
Step 3: Have Your Goals In Mind
After you do your research, the next best thing is to see if this trend will align with your current goals and audience.
For example, TikTok is promoting videos that are 7 seconds long where people have big blocks of text that take more than 7 seconds to watch. While this can help you get more views, is it going to grow your business and community in the long run or make a short-term win?
Another example is keyword stuffing websites, which was popular 10 years ago to take advantage of the Google algorithm. This provided a quick win for businesses, but Google soon learned how people were taking advantage of it and now punishes businesses that do this by not promoting them in search results.
Also, Clubhouse, a social networking app, grew very quickly in 2020. Everyone was told to get on Clubhouse and take advantage of all the growth potential, but being on Clubhouse required a lot of time and effort to get a reward. Do you have the time to commit to it? Is your audience even on Clubhouse?
These are all questions you should ask yourself when you spot new marketing trends to make sure you keep your goals in mind.
Step 4: Start Small
When you discover a new marketing trend, it doesn’t mean you have to drop everything you’re doing and jump on the bandwagon. It’s okay to start small! Test out new trends on a small scale before committing to them fully. This way, you don’t have to spend a ton of time, money, or energy on something that may not even work for you and your business.
It’s the reality of life. Certain things work for some people and don’t for others. So you don’t want to pigeonhole yourself by going all-in before you’ve even tested it.
For example, on TikTok, you could start off making one video a week (and even sharing that same video on Instagram) and see what sort of engagement you get. It's a small start, but one that can start showing you if your audience is on TikTok.
By just understanding the basics of certain platforms or creating a profile, you'll be in great shape. Our
Creator Do's and Don'ts download has great tips for starting out with video content.
Step 5: Be Prepared
Be prepared to pivot if something isn't working!
Life is about growing. But you can’t grow without a little failure. So if you try a new marketing trend and it just isn’t working for you, be prepared to pivot. All is not lost!
Plans change; that’s just how life goes. It’s okay to pivot if need be.
For example, say you’re spending a ton of time direct messaging people through your social media accounts, but you’re not seeing a lot of response—It’s time to move on!
Pivoting is not a bad thing! It shows that you tried something new and can recognize when things are or are not working for your business.
Step 6: Never Stop Learning
Always be willing to learn and try new things and celebrate doing so.
Like I said before, life is about growth, which only happens when you learn new things and take action!
A lot of companies with full marketing departments will test a new marketing idea once a month. While you might not have time to do that, once you have your marketing honed in, commit to trying something new once a quarter! A regular commitment to trying new things will help keep your business out of a plateau and make you more knowledgeable about what works and what doesn't.
The #1 Marketing Strategy That Works 100% Of The Time
Whatever trends you do or don’t decide to try in your marketing…
You should know that there is ONE key marketing strategy that always works…
And that is—Market to your customers and clients like they’re real people!
The marketing trend you use doesn’t matter as much as focusing on your customers and clients first!
And the simplest way to keep your customers and clients happy is to make their lives easier.
For example, we understand that the people who use
Wavoto are busy business owners. Most likely, they’re solopreneurs, influencers, or they may have a small team, so they are constantly working on projects and trying to maximize their time, energy, and of course, their marketing budgets.
To help them accomplish this and to make their lives easier, we’ve put everything they need to run a successful online business in ONE place.
And who better to aim your marketing efforts at than your ideal audience. We make discovering your customer base extremely easy with our Discovering your Avatar worksheet.
Download today for free by clicking here!