Tanya Williams’ top tips on marketing your business without relying on social media
Plenty of small businesses spend an irreplaceable amount of time and money on their marketing. Too often, the power of social media is emphasised as the only way to grow your business in today’s world. Tanya Williams is a marketing maverick whose book, Sales Without Socials, urges business owners to rethink the way they market their services and products.
Tanya has spent years helping small business owners and soloists make the most of their marketing spend. She joined Cec Busby on the Flying Solo podcast to share her helpful tips for business owners navigating the ever-changing world of marketing.
Embracing the unknown
“I never wanted to be working in a job where it was the same thing day in, day out,” Tanya explains. “And you certainly can’t say that about marketing, particularly in the digital world.”
Tanya Williams, marketing expert and author
It’s no secret that marketing is an essential tool for any business, small or large. At the rate at which technology continues to grow, and the lasting impact the pandemic has had on consumer’s shopping habits, establishing a strong online presence is absolutely crucial for emerging businesses.
However, the volatility attached to advertising, marketing and social presence can be extremely overwhelming to business owners, especially those going at it solo.
“There’s such a crowded marketplace, no matter what business you’re in,” says Tanya. “What I’m seeing these days is too much emphasis put on social media.”
Throughout Tanya’s career, she has seen the role of social media drastically change when it comes to marketing.
“I’m not anti-social media; it has its place in the marketing mix,” says the marketing guru. “If you’re in eCommerce, social could be great for you because you’re selling a low price product; it’s where your audience is.”
But, as Tanya emphasises, for many businesses offering professional services rather than products, the bulk of their audience isn’t so easily targeted on Instagram or Facebook.
“We have been brainwashed by social media channels and all these experts that say we have to be on it, and it’s simply not true,” Tanya says.
Listen to Tanya Williams on the Flying Solo podcast:
Build, borrow and buy
When it comes to finding the best way to market your business, knowing your audience and their habits is key. Tanya urges business owners to reconsider alternative methods to how they currently approach and connect with their customers.
“There are so many different things that people can do when it comes to not marketing on social media,” she says. “I look at it in three different categories: you’ve got your build strategies, borrow strategies and buy strategies.
“Build strategies tend to take longer because you’re building your own audience or you’re building some sort of online community,” Tanya explains. “So many people have these databases and they don’t do anything with them – it’s a lot of gold that sits there that they’re not actually utilising. It could be good old-fashioned snail mail, being really creative with your direct mail pieces, or reaching out to past customers. You stand out because no one does that anymore.”
Borrow strategies are things like partnerships, collaborations and guesting, where you might be a guest contributor on someone else’s platform, such as podcasts, webinars or events.
“Collaborations are hugely under-utilised. Find those people that have the same audience as you, and that are complementary to what you do,” she suggests.
Lastly, Tanya explains the role of buy strategies such as YouTube ads, Google ads and sponsorships.
“Buy strategies tend to work the fastest because we’re putting money behind it,” she reveals.
Diversifying your strategies
Given the transformative nature of social media, Tanya recommends that business owners diversify their marketing habits and tactics.
“I find that people who are focused solely on social media spend the most time on their marketing and probably get the least results, because they’re just focused on social and putting all their eggs in one basket,” Tanya says. “You can easily spend 40 hours a month on social media and get really small results, if anything; or you can spend half that time on other marketing strategies that work better for you.
She also urges business owners to consider the old-school power of word-of-mouth.
“It’s a warmer lead because there’s already a level of trust there,” Tanya explains. “There’s some credibility around word-of-mouth, so the chances of you converting that lead are a lot higher.”
Above all, the key to successful marketing is maintaining a consistent, rather than constant, presence.
“It’s not about constantly banging on people’s heads and being in front of them all the time,” Tanya notes. “But, it’s important to have a consistent presence.”
Tanya shared lots of great tips for small and solo businesses to nail their marketing without social media in this Flying Solo episode. Listen to the full chat now.
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