Marketing your business or profession online in 2020 takes some real planning and serious implementation effort.
I recently wrote about starting a lucrative online business in 2020.
But what if you are interested in getting more customers and clients for your existing offline business, profession or services?
And you want to know how to do it through online marketing methods?
Well, there are many things you can do, or do better.
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Let me show you some ways to do this.
Case Study
In Internet Marketing for Personal Injury Lawyers, Inbound Law Marketing gives you a step-by-step guide to the top 10 marketing strategies to grow your law firm.
Now, I’m not trying to highlight the way forward to promote only a law practice… but to promote any offline business or profession.
I only use a law practice as a case in point.
So as you consider some of the top marketing strategies to grow a law firm, remember to think of them as a general template.
Then translate these ideas into ways to grow your own business or professional practice.
The top 10 marketing strategies
So here are the 10 marketing strategies outlined in the Inbound Law Marketing article.
Read the full Inbound Law Marketing article…
Internet Marketing for Personal Injury Lawyers
I think those are all really important things to include in your marketing strategy for 2020.
But I’d like to draw your attention to 3 of them especially.
Creating a brand not just a website
Professionals often confuse a website with a brand.
A website alone is nothing more than a brochure, a calling card.
It tells people what you offer and how they can obtain it.
But you can do so much better than that.
You can use your website as a means to establish your brand.
That means your unique position and services in your field.
It must speak to your target audience.
In the case example, that target audience is lawyers.
But digging deeper, it could be malpractice lawyers, divorce lawyers and so forth.
Now, take that concept to your business.
These same principles apply to realtors, mattress retailers and any other business or profession.
So what is your profession or business?
Now, deliver a consistent message that defines you and your business.
Define clearly what your brand is.
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Why does your business or practice offer more value than anyone else?
The purpose of your website is to deliver that message loud and clear.
Niching out your practice area
Make your business stand out in the crowd.
Let people know about your special practices, strengths and expertise.
Nobody wants to do business with a general practice business.
To excel, you need to use the power of the internet to market your specific, specialized strengths.
There are so many ways to use the internet to reach your target audience.
Your website, blog, advertising… are all great tools to use.
But unless you learn to stand out with a strong branding message, in a clearly defined niche, you will not benefit from it’s full power.
And the best way to do that is to develop brand and niche-specific content.
Then market it to your own narrowly defined, target audience.
Investing in content marketing
To build your brand and your unique message, you need to develop original content that is both valuable and informative.
And you need to do it consistently across a wide array of internet platforms.
These might include
- your blog or website,
- other blogs and websites,
- social media platforms like Twitter,
- Facebook,
- LinkedIn,
- YouTube and others.
Having your own blog is especially powerful for publishing your unique content.
Build “Content Upgrades” + “Landing Pages” Into Your Blog Posts, Seamlessly & Fast
Consider it as the hub of your entire online presence.
From that hub base of your operation, you should be publishing high-quality and valuable content tailored to your target audience.
And you should do so regularly in order to attract new customers and clients.
Then use social media platforms to strategically market your blog content.
You can even reach out to influencers in your locality and in your niche.
They can help you to market your content even more effectively.
Marketing your profession online in 2020
Are you ready to promote your business or profession with online marketing in 2020?
At the very least, you should invest both time and resources into
- writing quality blog posts
- running an effective social media campaign
- producing videos and live video events
- employing SEO best practices
If you don’t have the resources or expertise for doing any of these things, you should invest in hiring people who can perform these services for you.
And also consider investing in a good consultant or marketing coach who can help you coordinate all these things.
Let me know your thoughts, ideas and your marketing plans for the next 12 months in the comments below.
Are you ready to market your profession online in 2020?
–Donna
PS: Make sure to share this post on you favorite social sites.
Much thanks 🙂
Twitter: mitch_m
March 5, 2020 at 3:27 pm #
Good stuff Donna. I’ve done all of these things, and I’m ranked in the top 5 for one of my keyword phrases; I’ve been in the top 5 for 15 years! However, people need to know that if you’re niche is finite it’ll take more than ranking well, and if it’s so popular that a lot of others are doing it you’re going to have the same issue. The best all of us can do is create the best content we can, promote it on the right social media platforms, promote it again without being obnoxious, and, when you can, interact with those who seem interested in it that you feel aren’t just sharing it “because”… you’ll know 🙂
Mitch Mitchell recently posted.. 5 Ways Having A Blog Is More Important Than Social Media
Hi Mitch
You’ve put all the pieces together with the best words… create your best content and promote it robustly.
That’s really all yo can do, and it’s really the best you can do.
I know you’ve made some real and lasting connections with your blog, and isn’t that a great reward?
I think it is.
And it’s all because you are always authentic… you surely tell it like it is.
Plus, you do it consistently.
That’s all a great way to show others “the way” to do it.
Nice hearing from you.
-Donna
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January 17, 2020 at 1:45 am #
Hey Donna mam,
Excellent post with smart tips for marketing the profession online. The top 10 marketing strategies that you have included are really a great strategy. Doing investment on content marketing will helps a lot to create a brand. Making connections are also essential, hence connecting with the people along with followups also works well.
Brand is an identity and we can create a good brand with a proper and quality content. As this post will helps several people and readers.
Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Aadarsh
You do need to invest in content marketing, for sure.
It’s the only way to make sure your content is making it’s mark.
This is certainly where your effort needs to go.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..How to do live video and meetings in an emergency
Hi Donna!
This article really resonated with me, especially on the point of building a brand vs. just building a website.
In the past, my blogs were the focus of 90% of my energy, and the overwhelming majority of my content was published there. Even on social media, one of their key focuses was to simply drive traffic back to the blogs.
Now I see my company’s blogs as just another platform to build brand and publish content. Perhaps it is still the most important one, since it’s the one we actually control, but it no longer makes up the majority of our content. Between social sites, YouTube and audio outlets, it’s now a much smaller portion, relatively speaking.
And the results have been phenomenal!
James McAllister recently posted..8 Gadgets That Will Make Your Entrepreneurial Life More Enjoyable
Hi James
All of your online platforms… including blogs, social media sites… exist to support your core message… your brand.
You certainly have put a lot of work and effort into establishing your brand, and I know it’s paid off for you.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Working a side hustle for security
Twitter: MosClement
January 14, 2020 at 4:59 am #
Hi Donna,
Your article is fantastic, and I agree with you that one should strive to establish a viable brand and not just setting up a website. Your brand is your identity and it must be unique to you. Moreover, you cannot have a solid brand without the right content. That is where investing content comes in. Creating quality content materials that inform the reader will take you places as a formidable brand. However, one needs to hone his content skills to be able to produce informative blog pieces regularly.
Moss Clement recently posted.. 6 SEO Mistakes That Are Destroying Your Marketing Tactics
Hi Moss
Creating the right content to support your brand is so important.
And yes, it takes skill, and of course, a great deal of time and effort.
There is shortcut to this process that I’ve detailed, to help you easily create great content fast.
Whatever method you prefer, you must create content consistently that promotes your brand.
-Donna
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Hello Donna,
Thank you for sharing such a informative blog.
Really I need to focus on online marketing for my family business. Because it’s so traditional.
Hi Vipul
People in family businesses often just keep repeating what’s always been done.
So, yes… get out there and explore the internet by all means!
It’s a powerful way to build a local business.
-Donna
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Twitter: marquitaherald
January 10, 2020 at 10:05 am #
Before I comment on your post let me take this opportunity to say I APPRECIATE YOU! Recently I invested some time researching blogs in a variety of niches to see what people are doing and what I might learn. WOW! Just one example: I subscribed to a well-known blog and received a bonus gift with information that was stunningly out of date and links to resources, a third of which did not work. There were also recommendations to other blogs – a nice touch, except several of those recommended, haven’t posted new content in years, YEARS. I fully understand that for some (many?) a blog is not a priority, but as I know you have said many times here, it still represents our brand so either do it right or do not do it! Okay, I’m getting off my rant box now.
I picked out three of the times on your strategy list that I sorely need to work on. Reviews and testimonials (case studies), regional opportunities and advertising. I receive the most amazing emails from people thanking me, but other than choking up and maybe shedding a tear or two, I never follow up. Seriously need to create a plan to do that – first step, I’m going to reopen comments starting with my next post.
And I really think there may be opportunities on the regional side now that I’m living on the mainland. I belong to several local online groups and people are always whining about how tough life is, why people can’t be more compassionate, etc.. I see the need, I just have to figure out how I can fill it. As far as advertising, I am SO out of practice, but it’s on the agenda for 2020.
Thanks again for all you do Donna, and Happy 2020!
Marquita Herald recently posted..The Beauty of Forward Momentum
Hi Marquita
Thank you so much for your kind words and clear insights.
Yes, connecting with people initially is important, but it does little good unless you take Follow Up seriously!
I recently heard Ray Higdon talking about follow-up, and he said something like: People who say they suck at follow-up, usually never follow-up with anybody.
So true.
Just gotta do it.
It becomes habit-forming like most good business practices.
-Donna
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January 10, 2020 at 3:09 am #
Hey Donna, thanks for sharing. I am thinking of starting Facebook live this year to grow my Facebook group as people are getting more result from the FB group. Another thing I want to start is to write epic contents and provide more value for my blog readers.
Hi Anthony
Writing epic content takes lots of time and really concise processing.
It’s a great idea, if you have that kind of time, or can hire somebody to do it.
You might consider simply mixing “epic content” with your regular content roll.
For instance. Maybe 1 out of every 10 or 20 blog posts would be of “epic” proportions.
FB Live is much easier, faster and I believe… far more effective.
Try it both ways, of course… then assess the results of both.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Prepare your blog for 2020
Twitter: Lisapatb
January 9, 2020 at 5:58 am #
Hi Donna, I’m thinking about case studies. I would have to get approval from clients before doing one. I’m wondering how to do it to benefit the reader and the client at the same time. I’m also working on defining my target audience better this year. Thanks for the tips here Donna and I’d love your thoughts of the case studies. Hope things are well up your way!
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Hi Lisa
In my intuitive consulting practice, I would write a newsletter that had many case studies.
I did not get approval from clients because I changed their names and precise circumstances to conceal their identity.
So if I was talking about “Kathy” from Minnesota who struggled with a career decision in her acting career… I would simply create a story about “Alice” from New Jersey who had issues with her teaching career.
Things like that.
Never had a problem with it.
Case studies are a great way to show people how you handle yourself in your profession.
-Donna
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January 8, 2020 at 5:59 pm #
Hi Donna,
Marketing is necessary to reach the maximum number of potential clients. As a blogger, it is always important to turn your blog into a brand. It can take time, investment and efforts to make your business a brand.
This year, bloggers should focus more on creating in-depth content and marketing that content using multiple methods.
Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Gaurav
It’s so important to market your content “using multiple methods” as you suggest.
This is part of getting out of your comfort zone, as I so often tell people they must do to grow.
Bloggers get comfortable with their routine… write a blog post, share it on Twitter and Facebook… then on to the next blog post.
But there are so many ways to share your content, and really, when you are trying to build your profession with new clients, you’ve got to spend way more time marketing your content than creating it.
-Donna
Donna Merrill recently posted..Start a lucrative online business in 2020