Setting Digital Marketing Goals for 2019

As a marketing professional, I am always looking for new ways to grow and build on my understanding of marketing. I do that by reading online marketing blogs and networking with other marketing professionals. This year, I’ve decided to really invest in reading educational books surrounding the marketing space. We’re ever-evolving in this field and I am thirsty for knowledge to help my company grow and help myself become a stronger marketer.
I recently picked up a book titled, This is Marketing – You Can’t Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin. Seth Godin is a marketing master. He popularized the idea of permission marketing, and is a member of the Marketing Hall of Fame. Seth focuses on people first and on building relationships with people through marketing versus traditional marketing which  is more focused on getting the numbers.

In this book, Seth breaks down marketing in five steps:

• Step One: Invent a thing worth making, with a story worth telling and a contribution worth talking about.
• Step Two: Design and build it in a way that a select group of  people will benefit from it and care about it.
• Step Three: Tell a story that matches the built-in narrative and dreams of that tiny group of people, the smallest visible market.
• Step Four: Spread the word.
• Step Five: Show up– regularly, consistently and generously, for years and years– to organize and lead and build confidence in the change you seek to make. You need to earn permission to follow up and earn enrollment to teach.

There is a lot to be taken away from these steps for building out your practice’s marketing plan. We often preach the traditional model of marketing, but what if this year you take it a step further? What if in 2019, you break out of that mold and truly, in the words of Seth, invent a thing worth making. Orthodontics, Oral Surgery, Periodontology, whatever specialized field you are in, use your story to change the way prospective patients and patients interact with your brand, your practice and ultimately, you.

With the five steps of marketing as your foundation, it’s time to answer the w’s—who, what, when, where, and why. At the back of the book, Seth provides a simple marketing worksheet. When thinking about your 2019 strategy, I employ you to ask yourself some of these basic questions:

• Who’s it for?
• What’s it for?
• What is the worldview of the audience you’re seeking to reach?
• What are they afraid of?
• What story will you tell? Is it true?
• What change are you seeking to make?
• What will they tell their friends?
• What asset are you building?
• Are you proud of it?  

By going through the simple marketing sheet above, you’ve created the framework for targeting your new audience and thus started your new digital marketing strategy. At the end of the day, we need to remember one of Seth Godin’s sayings; “Marketing is a contest for people’s attention.” In 2019, I encourage you to find new ways to build and create a new way to connect with your targeted audience.

For more information about Seth Godin check out his website where you can learn about other books he wrote about his marketing philosophy, read his blog, and listen to his talks. It’s time to put on your marketing hat and start planning.

—Alexis Mallos, Senior Marketing Manager, Sesame Communications