While no article on the internet will give you the key to grow your business in 2022, I’ve attempted to outline five simple ways to get the ball rolling in the growth direction. These are simple, practical, and time-tested. 

1 – Think 50/50

50% of your marketing activities should be activation (getting people to sign up for a demo, have a conversation, etc.) and the other 50% should be on long-term brand building (awareness campaigns, content marketing).

By taking this two-pronged approach you’re filling your sales funnel with great leads today while planting seeds for tomorrow. And it’s the brand-building seeds you plant today which will lead to less Googling of “how to grow your business” at 10:34pm in the years to come.

The B2B Institute has excellent material on this topic and I highly recommend you read it!

2 - Get regular at social

This seems like advice from 2011 (which it is) but we still encounter brands whose social media is spotty at best. Social is like a flywheel. The more you put in, the more you get out — but if you stop putting effort in,it will come to a halt and take a while to spin back up.

A great way to get in the habit of social is to take a sustainable approach. Just like it’s better to eat a balanced diet for a whole year than to go on some super restrictive diet for 2 weeks – it’s better you post consistently than 20 times in 2 weeks and then get burnt out.

Start by making a commitment to post on one channel once per week. Then after a quarter, up it to twice a week. Once you get to consistently posting to one channel multiple times per week, add on another channel. You’ll see engagement increase and the organization will start building muscle for social.

3 - Experiment with ad channels

There are so many different channels available now. It’s not just Google Ads and social networks anymore.

You can reach new audiences on connected TVs via MNTN.

You can try out-of-home using Blip Billboards.

You can try your hand at programmatic with Choozle.

The best part? All of the platforms mentioned above (and the hundreds of others I didn’t mention) are self-service! That means you don’t have to talk to people (if you’re like me that’s a huge bonus) and you can really get your hands dirty by truly getting to know the platform. As Gary Vee says, it’s all about clouds and dirt: Having the big strategic idea, and then becoming an expert practitioner.

Try experimenting with new channels and you may find growth by talking to your audience in a different way. Why? Because the medium is the message. Even though your brand positioning and value props haven’t changed, a different way of speaking to your target audience (the medium) may work better for you.

4 - Manually check-in with your existing customers

I’m not talking some [*FIRSTNAME] [*LASTNAME] newsletter blast. I’m talking about listing out your top 10, 100, 1000 customers, depending on your scale, and have leaders schedule 1:1 “how are things?” meetings with them. Or if that’s too much, a personalized, non-templated check-in email.

You’ll find if you’re actually sincere in checking in and don’t take shortcuts, new business will be drummed up. This seems so simple but it’s the simplicity that causes organizations to not think of this easy tactic as worthwhile since it doesn’t involve strategy meetings and spending money on creative.

Try simple check-ins with your existing customers and you’ll find they’re very willing and even happy to have a conversation with you.

5 - Use video ads to boost brand awareness

The shiniest marketing asset you can make to boost brand awareness is a great video ad. And I’m using the term “video ad” on purpose.

I see tons of companies making “corporate videos” or “explainers,” but those aren’t shiny. They are great for prospects already in your sales funnel – to reassure them your product works. But they don’t make customers gravitate towards your brand the way a shiny video ad does.

The recipe for effective video ads is simple. Pick at least one of the following attributes and make an ad that hits it…

• Beautiful - A film. Something poetic and visually stunning. This Palms spot is beautiful.
• Funny - A spot that makes people laugh or even chuckle. This Nuance spot is funny.
• Make me cry - A spot that makes your audience feel happy to be alive. This Frontline19 spot makes you cry.

Check out this article on how to make a great video ad and this one on how to distribute them.