#72 | Marketing Tips & Tactics With Brad Batesole

If you’re looking to level up your marketing and grow your personal or professional brand, this episode is for you. Our expert of the week, Brad Batesole, has been wildly successful in his growth marketing career by helping big brands get even bigger. 

This author, LinkedIn Learning instructor, and content creator sat down with the Coffee With Kim community to discuss the future of marketing and dispel major industry myths. He also shared the number one thing that will set you apart your competition – hint, it has nothing to do with work efficiency. 

Helping Big Brands Get Bigger (05:05)

Brad has a niche for helping big brands get bigger. TMZ, Toyota, and LinkedIn all trust his insights to grow their company. He says the key is being an early adopter of new tools. 

“When social media was just getting started companies weren’t able to buy ads but I saw there’d be an opportunity soon. I postured myself as someone with early access and told companies they’d be able to reach their audience in this new way through me. I then went to Facebook and showed them I had these large companies committed to buying ads when it’s time.” The rest is history. 

Finding Good Mentors (09:55)

Although foresight is great for business, Brad and I agree mentors can take you farther than you can go alone. He credits his mom as his first mentor and someone who showed him that what he desired to achieve was possible.

Find a mentor by having conversations with peers doing something different yet equally challenging. Check out my episode on the four mentors you must have to narrow down who you’ll reach out to.

The Future of Marketing (13:30)

Because Brad has always been a futurist, I wanted his take on the future of marketing for companies and entrepreneurs alike. He said we’re likely to see:

• More specialization – Traditionally, marketers were generalists but more companies are realizing specialization in marketing is important. Ai, metaverse, SEO or buying ads are getting more sophisticated and it’ll be hard to be an expert at many things.

• Privatization – Companies will return to “magazine marketing”, where they allow consumers to find their niche content vs retaining their data, studying and approaching them.

That said, industry newbies should look into being a product marketer with a program management hat. You’ll gain exposure to a function that allows you to specialize, refine your skills, and move up the success ladder more easily.

The Biggest Marketing Myth  (25:30)

Marketing’s biggest myth says you have to be really good at everything. Brad suggests finding an opportunity to specialize instead. 

“If there’s a conference for it there’s enough business to support that niche.” (Tweet this!) As we move into a creator economy, entrepreneurs will need marketers who are really good at one thing rather than being just ok at general skills.”

Don’t be afraid of getting pigeon holed into one category, many marketing skills are transferable. Learn how to showcase your skills to your audience on LinkedIn with this freebie!

Soft Skills & Authenticity (27:06)

Brad and I agreed soft skills will be imperative as we hopefully return to in-person events in 2022. 

“There’s a ton of access to learn something and get decent at it. But, if I’m not practicing how to be a good leader, communicate, and have a professional presence, companies will likely decline. If you are well-rounded and have exceptional soft skills you can get in and figure out the tactical.” (Tweet this!)

Remember people work with who they know, like, and trust. Soft skills make you stand out and can be the determining factor between you and another candidate. 

Authenticity is equally as important and starts at the core of an organization. Growth marketing says you can’t grow outside of yourself if you don’t believe what you’re selling. (Tweet this!)

Tips For Kickstarter Campaigns (35:10)

Ready to get your idea off the ground with a kickstarter campaign but haven’t mastered all the details? Use Brad’s top two tips to get ahead:

1. Don’t worry about what you’re launching and why, instead reverse engineer the best 50-60 campaigns in the last quarter, deduce what you’re seeing thematically and determine a hypothesis to try and recreate the success. 

2. Perform early testing to get raw, real feedback from those outside of your friends and family. Be willing to accept and embrace the hard questions and find out how to make your product better. 

Feedback is hands down the best way to improve your products and services. I love using typeform to get real time responses from clients.

Speed Round (44:20)

• What’s the best thing you’ve started using or doing lately? My kizik sneakers
• What is the next thing you’re hoping to learn? 3D modeling
• What are your favorite social media accounts to follow? I enjoy following everyone I’m connected with on LinkedIn
• What is the best book you’ve read recently? Goliath 
• Recommendations for marketing books? Start With Why, Purple Cow and Bond Salesman by William Townsend

Homework: Send 10 digital letters to folks that inspire you and you can learn from, and send one hand written letter to a friend in the mail.

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Want To Learn 1 on 1 with Me?: I’m passionate about making YOU stand out at work. After a 45 minute training, Avery (aka my newest shining star) implemented my tactics and got a new job making $60k MORE than the last. Want some of that secret sauce for yourself? Check out more here. 

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