Listen to the podcast or read the edited, short transcript below:
At Done By Nine, we’ve just celebrated our third anniversary. Today, I want to share the top marketing tactics I’ve found most helpful in marketing a marketing company.
In this edited podcast transcript, I’ll explain what’s worked well for us and how you can implement similar marketing tactics.
The history before Done By Nine
Done By Nine was established in 2020 after a 10+ year media and digital marketing career. The journey began working in promotions and marketing for New Zealand-based media organisations such as NZME and MediaWorks, both on-air and behind the scenes.
During this time, the internet became a significant source of video and audio content and started to change the game. Radio stations began adapting, thinking about reaching new audiences online. Podcasts and videos became popular, meaning radio stations started building media-rich websites. Web teams become separate entities with their strategies and targets.
Facebook became popular (which shows my age!), and we started publicising our content and finding new audiences on the platform.
I soon moved on with my career and joined a travel organisation called International Volunteer HQ. In this role, I worked on digital marketing, finding new customers and volunteers to take part in travel experiences in 40 destinations worldwide. Our client base was mainly from the US, UK, Australia, and a smaller portion from New Zealand.
I spent around six and a half to seven years with IVHQ, working and testing various marketing strategies such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, website development, user acquisition, and conversion strategies. We explored different tools and methods to find new customers, from video and podcasting to product development.
This role opened my eyes to the world of digital marketing and what was possible in growing a community online.
I attended conferences like MozCon in Seattle, Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, and Search Love in London, learning from the best in the business. These experiences were the foundations for starting Done By Nine, which was quickly launched in March 2020, as COVID-19 began to impact the travel industry.
Done By Nine – Where we are now
Instead of focusing on freelancing, I had a vision of building a marketing company.
I initially developed a brand, persona, website, and marketing strategy. Nine months into our journey, we started building our team, as it was simply too big for my wife and I to handle.
Three years later, we’re proud to have worked with over 100 to 150 businesses through workshops, webinars, and direct collaborations.
As we entered our third year, we recently gathered our team for a strategy day to review our marketing strategy, customer personas, and processes.
We discussed our ‘Marketing Blend’ which is our core process. The ‘Marketing Blend’ combines ideas and tactics that form the basis of our marketing strategy.
The ‘Marketing Blend’ is designed to give companies their new ‘Marketing North Star’ while also making it easily accessible and visible to all members of a client’s organisation, from direct team members to board or manager level.
Our strategy day was also a chance to re-energise, look forward to our future goals, and reflect on the marketing tactics that have helped us get to where we are today.
A look back at how we marketed Done By Nine
This led me to the topic of today’s podcast and transcript. I reflected on my early days as a freelancer. I looked back at the first tactics in my marketing strategy that worked well for me, starting with building a robust online presence and brand.
It’s crucial to ensure that people know about your business, what you offer, who you serve, and the problem you solve. Building a digital home for your business, like a website, is crucial to gain the trust from potential customers.
In our early days, I hacked together a basic WordPress website, but it worked, and that’s what matters. Utilising available tools in the early stages of your business is crucial.
I built the website with a strong focus on Search Engine Optimisation as people started searching for my business!
Over time, we received numerous inquiries through the website, even from referrals, making it necessary to prioritise website maintenance and updates and our overall digital footprint.
I still believe that auditing and regularly updating your online footprint is essential to keep up with business growth and ensure that all touchpoints and digital assets align with your brand’s tone of voice, especially as you evolve.
Using social media as a new brand/business
Social media is a great platform to promote your brand. I focused on LinkedIn for organic social media promotion.
Posting on your personal LinkedIn page to solve your target audience’s problems is an effective way to get cut through. People like hearing stories from others, so building personal branding across your LinkedIn profile can help you drive brand awareness and increase website traffic.
In my experience, prioritise your personal branding if you must choose between your personal and business page.
As the business grew, we added different social media platforms. Instagram became a pivotal platform after we added a designer to the team.
As a visual platform, Instagram enabled us to showcase our brand’s visual elements effectively.
We’ve found that Facebook has been instrumental in reaching a new cold audience, particularly with advertising.
Advertising on Facebook is much more affordable than on platforms like LinkedIn. So investing in Facebook advertising was a great starting point for us.
Using a consistent ads budget
What was most effective, though, was consistent advertising.
We’ve been advertising non-stop since day one. This has been a pivotal point for our success. When researching our local and national competitors, we noticed that only a few marketing companies were advertising effectively, which allowed us to cut through the noise and appear authoritative.
Google advertising has been incredibly beneficial for us.
People go to Google with a specific intent – they have a problem or desire that needs solving. Over time, we’ve identified the keywords that work well for us, allowing our ads to appear in relevant searches. We’ve also learned which keywords aren’t profitable and turned them into negative ones. This narrowed our focus, kept our budgets under control and ensured that money was well spent.
One of the most significant pieces of feedback we’ve received about our marketing is our remarketing strategy. Once people have interacted with our content, we retarget them with different messages to remind them of our presence and value.
Our remarketing campaign has been essential in reminding people that we exist and building trust and authority with potential clients, especially as the awareness to lead journey can be long for our type of product.
Our biggest marketing game changer: Video
Another game changer for us has been video.
We began by participating in webinars, which helped build momentum in the local business community. Over time, we expanded our video content by conducting interviews, hosting lunchtime sessions, and sharing tips and tactics.
We’ve even incorporated videos on our website, introducing ourselves and explaining our services. These videos have established rapport, authority, and trust with potential clients.
We also use video in other aspects of our business, such as presenting proposals to prospective clients using ‘Loom’. This personal touch sets us apart from competitors. It demonstrates that we’ve put thought into our recommendations and tailored them to the client’s needs.
Over the past three years, we’ve continued to evolve and improve, focusing on these key strategies for growth.
Hopefully, our story has provided you with some ideas to consider for your marketing strategy, regardless of your business’s stage.
