I love gardening. I get a rush from seeing plants come up for the first time each spring, and I enjoy observing the long-term changes that occur in the yard over the years as plants fill out and mature.
However, it’s all too easy sometimes for all of us who love gardening to stand out in the yard with the hose, drowning a poor plant in water. As much as we love to garden, sometimes we resent the time it takes to water, so instead of watering a little each day, we try to get away with once per week — soaking plants to the bone and then letting them slowly desiccate until the next overwatering session.
We do that sometimes in marketing, too. When we’re in the mood, we tend to blast customers with messaging. Maybe we publish six blog posts in a day and then don’t think about blogging for the next three months. Maybe we send a flurry of email newsletters over the course of a week, but then let that channel dry up if we don’t see immediate results. Perhaps we check in on Facebook for a couple days, answer any outstanding questions, and then forget about the platform for another month while working on other projects.
It happens to so many business leaders, but… that’s not a great way to run a Whatcom County business. Here’s why:
Consistency is key to long-term relationships
The simple truth is that marketing happens every day, whether we mean it to or not. A stagnant Twitter account and an inactive blog can speak almost as effectively as well-crafted content that meets the needs of your customers.
What works? Drip marketing. Just like it sounds, drip marketing is the practice of engaging with your customers a little bit each day, spreading your marketing efforts evenly over a month to ensure maximum benefit without exasperating customers with floods of content. Just like drip irrigation keeps the water coming a little each day, drip marketing keeps your brand fresh in the minds of customers through small, regular effort. Here’s what that looks like:
- Engagement on social media at least a few days each week.
- Regularly scheduled email newsletters that provide fresh, interesting content once or twice per month.
- Blog posts (at least one or two per month) that are published consistently and at well-spaced intervals, rather than in flurries.
- Personal connection out in the community at networking events, community classes and presentations.
- Brand presence throughout the Whatcom County community — through event sponsorship, promotional gifts, advertising and more.
Drip, drip, drip
Reputations are built over time. The conscious use of drip marketing techniques can help shape your business reputation in positive ways.
In many cases, effective drip marketing can also obviate the need for expensive one-time campaigns aimed at making a splash with new customers. Using drip marketing to consistently get your business in front of customers — through friendly interactions on social media, sponsorship ads at community events, timely email content and more — can keep your business at the top of customers’ minds, so that they’ll think of you when they need you. It’s also excellent for SEO positioning.
Delegate marketing tasks
However, don’t feel overwhelmed! With a bit of foresight, drip marketing tasks can be spread out to the members of your team.
First, take an inventory of the skills present on your team. Ask your team what they’re good at and what they enjoy doing, whether it’s writing, engaging on social media, copy editing, graphic design or any other tasks that are part of your marketing workflow. Then, delegate the necessary tasks and be sure to set time goals so that your team can work together on these projects.
Alternately, if there are skills gaps on your team or if some of the work doesn’t seem like a great fit, you might consider outsourcing some of the work to the right Whatcom County marketing partner. Consistency and relationship building are the name of the game here at PR Consulting; local business leaders value and appreciate having PRC as part of their team.
We’ve designed monthly service bundles for outsourced marketing, allowing for the building of relationships while your company news is steadily and consistently delivered throughout the Whatcom County community. Please contact BPRC in Bellingham to learn more!
