328: Organic marketing plan - try my 3 month plan

When you think about marketing your business, do you immediately think about social media?

Because here's the thing: organic marketing is so much bigger than Instagram posts and TikTok videos.

In this episode, I’m giving you a behind-the-scenes look at one of the workshops I recently ran around Australia, where I unpack the first pillar of a marketing plan: organic marketing.

We dive into all the different ways you can market your business without spending money on ads, from social media and email marketing to Google reviews, networking, speaking gigs, podcasting, SEO and more. 

The goal? To help you stop feeling overwhelmed by all the options and instead choose one organic marketing channel to intentionally focus on for the next three months.

If you LOVED this episode, make sure you share this on your Instagram stories and tag us @contentqueenmariah.

⁠⁠⁠⁠LEARN THE DETAILS OF A CONTENT STRATEGY WITH MY FREE AUDIO GUIDE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

KEY EPISODE TAKEAWAYS 👇

✨ Why organic marketing is more than just social media

✨ How to choose the right marketing channel for your strengths and business goals

✨ The simple three-month marketing experiment that can create real momentum

✨ Why consistency and simplicity will always beat an overly complicated strategy

SHOW RESOURCES 👇

If you like this episode, don't forget to share it to your Instagram stories and tag me⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @contentqueenmariah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

Other than that, enjoy - chat next week 💕

PODCAST TRANSCRIPTION

This is episode 328, and let's talk about having an organic marketing plan, and you can try my three-month plan with me. Welcome to the Content Queen podcast. I'm your host, Mariah, entrepreneur, storyteller, digital nomad, creative content boot camp, and founder of Content Queen, with over 10 years' experience in marketing.

This podcast is here to help you create your perfect content marketing or organic marketing plan, blending storytelling and strategy. So let's get into it. Hello, gang. Okay. This is a solo episode, and we are not filming in our usual solo episode style because I thought we'd try something cool this week.

As you know, I do loads of workshops around Australia in our bus, Narenkita, and I thought it would be cool to showcase a little part, a little snippet of my workshop, one that I did recently on the three pillars of a marketing plan, and the first one being organic. And the whole goal of this was to show you, or show the people that were in the workshop, [00:01:00] that organic marketing is more than just social media, the re- the avenues that they could take, and then getting them thinking a little bit outside the box in how they could market their business.

And then the goal was they would choose something to implement for three months. So I thought I would share that snippet of that part of the workshop. It's pretty short. It doesn't go for too long, but I just wanted to share a little bit more about what I teach in my workshops, but also I think it's really helpful and very practical and very actionable.

I find this is what we need now. We don't need these big, elaborate plans yet if we haven't got something consistent. Someone in my membership, uh, just said to me, "You know, I'm not posting. What could I do?" And I said, "Okay, you know, first, how can we help you?" And I said, "Let's, let's just take it back. How much can you post realistically?

Strip it back, commit to that, and then grow and evolve from there." Sometimes that's what we need, you know? I've really struggled to get back into my routine, my morning routine of journaling and reading, because we've been on the road, off the road. Right now I'm house-sitting for [00:02:00] my brother. So, like, things have been, like, so chaotic that that's the first thing to go, right?

And I went to a really awesome lunch with one of my clients on Friday, and they had a m- like, a burnout coach, um, come and speak, mindset coach come and speak, and she just talked about those little tiny things. And if you can't completely do what you want, like you can't get to the Pilates, you can't journal for, what, what's a downsize that you could do?

So think about that with your marketing as well. If things are really stressful and hectic, how can you downsize? But then also how can you then work in the back end on the plans and the systems that will help you moving forward? So you will see a little bit of insight into my workshop, but one of the things that I really want you to encourage, encourage you to do is, if you haven't invested a little bit more time and energy into your organic marketing plan, come and join me in boot camp.

We're starting July 7th with our first 10:00 AM call. Now, unlike normal boot camps, this one's gonna work a little differently. I wanna try something new. Basically, it's six weeks, and I used to do a call every [00:03:00] second week. Now, I'm going to do six calls, and every week, someone is going to be working on their strategy with me.

So if you can't join every call, that's fine. If it ends up being me and that one person, that's also okay. But all you really need to do is commit to that one call with me, and then you can do the modules in your own time. And I thought that's a really good way for you to get some one-on-one time with me without the price of a one-on-one strategy.

So if you really need help and support, and you've been thinking about where to invest your marketing dollars, come and do boot camp starting July 7th. As I said, we have a call every week. You can join other people's calls and get ideas as well and see how I work with other industries. Uh, but it's a really great way for you to get access to how I do strategy and get this organic marketing plan that you can try for three months.

So let's check out my time at the workshop. All right, so the three pillars being organic marketing, paid marketing, and collaborations. So the first one being organic marketing. So organic marketing is basically anything you do without having to physically put [00:04:00] dollars behind it. So if we think social media, we think, uh, blogs, we think, uh, podcasting, et cetera.

I've got an extensive list, but this is a good way to look at it because it's not just social media. Organic is not just being on socials. There's so many levers that we can pull when it comes to organic. So yeah, it can be community building, could be speaking gigs, could be public relations. PR sometimes can be its own entity, but for the sake of this, we'll look at YouTube.

Does everyone have a Google My Business profile? Anyone that has, like, a physical location Yeah, great. Very, very important to have a Google My Business because obviously when people are searching for things, you wanna come up in the maps or you wanna come up. Good thing about Google My Business is a profile that you wanna try and generate reviews for as well if you're not.

So basically, if you have a physical location, it's important to have a Google My Business 'cause if someone's saying, "Lawyer near me," for example, um, and they're in your [00:05:00] local area, you can show up. Or if they're even googling your name, it's like a panel that comes up on the side of Google, tells them what business you run, how many reviews you might have.

Um, so basically the importance of Google My Business is you wanna show up when someone is searching for your service. And if you are actively encouraging Google reviews, it is very extremely helpful for continually to show up because Google sees you as a trusted source. So if you are ever asking for testimonials from client...

I've just started sending my Google review page 'cause it's public, it's forward-facing, and you can copy and paste those reviews and pop them on your website if you like. But I find it's the most trusted place to get reviews. Every time I work with someone, I send them the Google review, even if I do a free session, because I think it's important to try and get those.

I have a client that has 2,000 Google reviews, and yeah, the... It just, it's that, um, amplification and, and [00:06:00] momentum that builds from having something like that. So if you can build it into your process, it just allows you to continue to get that reach. So yes, social media of course is Key. We always think, "Oh yeah, social media allows us to reach loads of people," but there's other things like blogging, and then we've got SEO, so how you show up on Google, and now we've got GEO, which is AI.

So is AI recommending you? Um, so that comes through, yeah, our website. If you've got a website, keeping that website up to date, using really simple language in your social media content. So say, for example, you might use jargon. I mean, I know that happens in marketing, it can happen in finance. Try and simplify everything.

So if someone was researching it, now with social media, it does come up in Google. So if someone's searching something and you've happened to do a social media post on it, it will come up. And now we've got things like ChatGPT, they're searching YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit to find [00:07:00] sources to give to you. So, and then we've got...

Does anyone do email marketing? Does anyone have a database that they engage in? Yeah. Great. Yep. Amazing. So we have email marketing, which means you have a list of clients that you can email at any time, share what you're up to, what you're doing. It's not just emailing through Gmail or your Outlook. It's a specific platform that you can continue to communicate.

Um, podcasting, Pinterest, networking being one of them. You know, coming to things like this, going to business events, et cetera. Um, and then we have YouTube, community building, speaking gigs. So that's why I want you to try and think a little outside the box around what organic channels could we start focusing on.

Now, when it comes to social media, obviously we know there is Instagram and Facebook and TikTok, et cetera. A lot of the times we do try and repurpose across a lot of them to get more money from, or from our time and energy. But I want to spend a little bit of time. So what is [00:08:00] one organic channel that you want to intentionally focus on for the next three months?

So have a think about it. I mean, you can discuss amongst you, um, why that channel? Does my audience spend time there? Does it suit my strengths? Because I'm a big believer in there is no point you being on a channel if you don't think it is a strength of yours. So I don't... Yes, people say, "Be on video. Show up on video."

But if you don't feel natural, you don't feel authentic, it's just, the audience is going to know. They're gonna be like, "They don't wanna be here, so I'm just gonna keep scrolling." I'm a big believer there's no point doing something if people... It's not gonna stop the scroll on social media. It's not going to captivate people.

And then do you, does it suit my capacity? You know, there might not be any point starting a TikTok 'cause it does take time. It does take work. So it's not something you can just throw, throw up and exit the app. It's does, do I have the capacity to do it? So what is one channel that you could try for the next [00:09:00] three months?

And also, you can ask yourself, what do you currently use? What's working and what's not currently working? Like, there's extensive amount of platforms, but just think anything where you are not putting actual dollars behind. This is just organic marketing. So yeah, social media, blogging. SEO can be, like, optimizing your website to make sure it's, you know, you're getting all these keywords that people would be searching.

Yes. Hmm. Uh, definitely. So for example, you probably wouldn't see a Gen Z on Facebook. So yes, it is. In saying that, though, if you ha- What I always try and look at is like, okay, who is my demographic that I am trying to reach? And then you can repurpose across. So just, if you have done content for Instagram, at the click of a button you can put it on another platform.

Why wouldn't you amplify it? Because you're spending time on one piece of content. Why wouldn't you put it somewhere else? Because you don't, y- we also don't know that. Yes, statistically, we can go, "Not a lot [00:10:00] of Gen Z," but it doesn't mean they're not. You know what I mean? So it's not a hard rule, no, there are no 20-year-olds on Facebook at all, because there are some.

But I think in terms of if you are going to spend energy trying to target, say, a younger demographic, you would choose those channels and try and choose that language and choose that type of content that they would consume, and then repurpose it and see how it translates on other channels. Of course, if we had a whole marketing team, we'd have different content for different channels and optimize, but we just don't.

And even now com- big companies don't have the capacity to do that or the resources, so. TikTokers- Mm-hmm ... offside Facebook and- Mm-hmm. I can't dance. You don't have to dance. So let's stop the myth of TikTok right now. It is not a dancing app. It is not an app for under, for 10-year-olds. It started as an app in China, where dancing and trends were just the popular thing that they did on there.

It is now one of the number one [00:11:00] growth channels for businesses. No. Oh. Yeah. Yeah. And it doesn't mean, as I said, keep in mind just because I'm saying it's a good channel doesn't mean it's going to work for a lawyer. Doesn't mean it's going to work... Like, it's, it, you have to think that this is a channel where we really think we're going to reach our audience.

For example, the hospitality business that I work with, everything popped off, popped off on TikTok. We had millions of views on our videos. Like, one fish and chip, grilled versus fried. Yeah. For a restaurant. 1.1 million views on one video. They tripled their revenue over the Christmas period, and now Facebook is their biggest growth channel.

But I do a TikTok approach first. So in saying that, I always go, "What will work on TikTok already?" 'Cause that won't, whatever works on Facebook and Instagram does not translate on TikTok. Your carousels, your static images doesn't work as well. Whereas if I [00:12:00] create a really engaging video that works on TikTok, it'll nine times out of 10 work on Instagram and, um, Facebook.

Can I give you some ideas of stuff that really worked well? I've already got one. I'm gonna learn to dance. You can. It's all about finding the style that suits the business. So yeah, some businesses do dance, and it does work. But what worked really well for us, when petrol prices went up, we showed them how to get from Brisbane on the bus.

It's 50 cent travel in Queensland. And we had so many posts, uh, comments, tags, et cetera. So basically we just gave them a rundown on, get on this train to go to here and get the bus to here, and for 20, $20.50 you can have a day out and a lunch. Which when petrol prices skyrocketed, that was so comforting, and it was during school holidays.

So during the school holidays, um, at the fish and chip shop, they were a little bit concerned because petrol prices went up. Everyone had canceled their [00:13:00] holidays, and the weather was terrible 'cause it's a weather-based business, and I think they were only $300 short on their last year. So... And there was so many comments like, "This is great marketing."

So it's... When you are marketing something like hospitality, it's everything to do with your audience and nothing to do with you, but it is to do with what you give. So something on TikTok that works well is what is the experience like? What does it look like when I get there? And how can you market something th- that is a hidden gem.

I didn't know it existed So trying to find those angles, and yes, i- if you are going to try TikTok, it is very video heavy. Think- Yeah. Oh, absolutely ... need to do a video. But in saying that, it's all about finding the process that works. So what we do is we'll go up there, like, every few months and just do a whole...

Every- all the staff know we're filming that day. We have a plan on what we're gonna film, and that lasts us, like, six months. Like, we can't go up to Queensland every week to get content. I mean, I don't, I don't mind the free fish and chips, but, like, it's just not, doesn't, it's not [00:14:00] viable. But that's why having that strategy is really important if you downloaded that, um, if you got the link for that.

Yeah. 'Cause you'll create a plan, and in there is creating your posting plan, and then you can start batching your content. And in editing, in saying that, like, some people just throw up a video they've just filmed and put up there, maybe chopped the edges and put some music on- Mm ... and they can work really well.

So try not to overthink what you're putting out there, and then just see what gets traction. Absolutely, and it's just about the environment that you wanna create and, like, having a think about what do we wanna be known for, what is the experience we want people to feel, and how can we replicate that through social media?

But yeah, with your Instagram, it's probably not, um, y- your Facebook will be getting more results because Instagram now is, is very visual, like, video. Um, if, especially if you wanna reach people that aren't following you- Video is the best way to do it because how the algorithm works is it'll take visuals and just send it to your followers and it'll take video and it'll push it out- [00:15:00] Yeah

further. Yeah. No, it's not the same company. Like they are all belongings. Yeah, 'cause Meta owns- Oh ... Facebook, Instagram, TikTok's separate. That's when we can start to use things like schedulers. Um- Yeah ... they're either inexpensive or free. There's one called Metricool that's free. Um, and you can pop your content in there and then it can push it out to different places.

In saying that though, the thing that I don't love about them is with Instagram and TikTok is they do really like you to use the platform to create and edit and do all the things in it. So usually I just have like, um, a time at 6:00 PM. Everything's already in there, everything's already set up, and then I just hit live or you can schedule through the platform.

So you could just have it, you know, spend one day a week setting it all up. Mm. Just their algorithms are different but you do have more potential. And in saying that, like I said before, not everyone needs to go viral. Potentially, wine bar? Yes. You wanna get- We want to go viral. You wanna get those impressions and impressions.

So with the fish and chip shop, and I did a [00:16:00] video on it like we had across last year, I think it was like five million impressions and that's not the goal for everybody, but for them, yes, we need, we need to reach more people. So I don't think viral is ever gonna save someone's business but for some businesses the goal is you wanna reach more people.

For me, absolutely not. I could not I struggle to keep up with what I've got. Like I don't need to have that viral moment. So every business is very different. Yeah, I- not really. Mainly what the, how the algorithm... Hashtags is mainly just the keyword so that it knows where to send people. So it knows the topic but now how the algorithm works is it, the, what you're saying in the video, what's being displayed in the video, like it has the smarts to be able to do that whereas five years ago hashtags was how it categorized your content.

Yeah. But now how it works is basically it'll push it out to a small audience. If they engage with it, it'll push it out to a bigger audience. If they, like, and then it just spiral. Like, and [00:17:00] I've even had a video on TikTok in April that I posted of 2023 Yeah, I had some comments and views, and then December or...

I just started getting all these notifications. It went viral six months later which doesn't happen on an Instagram or a Facebook. So I think the algorithm is a little more refreshing for people, it's a little bit more in the favor of the creator, not the, um... 'Cause how- TikTok know they're nothing without their creators, so that's why.

Not as m- no, like, and this is what can be really crazy because they'll be like, "Earthquake in Japan," and everyone freaks out, and then they realize it's been posted, like, three weeks ago. Yeah. Yeah. That's right. So you've always gotta look at the d- the date. Yeah. So it's a little bit more what we call evergreen.

So evergreen means y- so if you had a blog, you created a blog three years ago, it's always gonna be there. People can always find it if they Google that keyword and it comes up, whereas Instagram and Facebook, it's just kinda like push it out and after a few hours, never to be seen again. With TikTok, [00:18:00] you do get a lot for the content that you put out there, and actually, like, the first hour is not critical, whereas on your Instagram and your Facebook- Yeah

it's like- LinkedIn. Yeah, LinkedI- actually, LinkedIn changed their algorithm slightly. Um, I do find I'm getting a lot of older stuff- Yes, I was gonna mention that ... now. Which is good. Yeah. So yeah, is anyone gonna try something different that they're not already doing? Or is everyone i- happy with what you're using in the organic space?

I am. Yeah, so like, you know, trying to think outside the box- Yeah ... of things. It's not always, "Yep, this is the linear path of social media," et cetera. Like, me doing these workshops- Yeah ... has helped my visibility a lot. Yeah. And, you know, it's, it's how... And also what I do is I film it, so I get the content and then I put it on social media.

So you, you create this sort of cycle of keeping using things. Using things. So you've got a new job. You are now Insta boyfriend. It wouldn't be easy. Mitch can give you the tips. I'll [00:19:00] be in touch. So yeah, love that. It's not always, doesn't always have to be social media. It doesn't always have to be something online as well.

It can be... You know, I saw, um, when I was in Ellie Beach, the Pilates studio that I went to- Mm ... over Easter, they did this, um, I don't know, Pilates on the grass event. And it was free for members or $20 for, um, anyone outside of that. And then she launched off the back of it an Easter egg hunt that included some unlimited Pilates memberships in there.

So people had to buy them- Mm ... but they, I don't know, she had clue. I didn't follow it because then I was leaving. Um, but it looked really something different. You know, like an event turning into- Like that loves part ... a bit of a marketing campaign. Yeah. Again, I think it all does come down to als- not just your business goals, but also your personality.

You are the founder of your business. If that's not authentic to you, why would you do it? Exactly. Authentic to you. Yeah. Yeah. You said authentic. But you do get lost- Because- ... in it sometimes. Like it's a- Yeah, I get it ... find yourself looking at all these videos and maybe I should [00:20:00] be doing- Yeah ... those things, you know?

Yeah. You can use inspiration. Yeah. But I think, I, I totally feel I'm in a very trendy space of social media and marketing, and when Instagram Reels came out, all the marketers jumped on Instagram Reels, and they're like, "I'm an Instagram Reel coach, and I can make your reels go viral." And of course they did.

They'll talk, they're doing reels on Instagram Reels. Like, of course it's gonna get traction. Um, and I was like, "Oh, should I go down that path?" And no, I stayed in my lane and now everyone's talking strategy. I'm like, "Now who's trendy?" Didn't even mean it, but no, you've gotta do what's authentic to you. Even the AI space, like everyone's talking about social media and AI, and I'm like, I'm exhausted, but I've done a couple podcasts on it with my authentic take on it.

But apart from that, I'm just like, not, I just don't, it's not authentic to me. I don't wanna spend hours learning AI. My coach just gave me a session yesterday and I was like, "Now I've gotta implement it. I don't wanna do it." Like, I use it, but to optimize it and do all the great things that it does, and I don't wanna teach someone that, like, I don't...

[00:21:00] That to me gives me anxiety. So you have to do things that are authentic to you. For sure. Yeah. So are we trying TikTok or what? What are you thinking? No. Cheers, buddy. Yeah, I do recommend doing that. If you are gonna try something different, um, consume a little bit, like you don't have to become wildly obsessed like me, like I have an absolute deep obsession with TikTok.

It's a little bit, it's a little bit unhealthy. Uh, but just get a feel for what people post on there. There was actually a girl in Melbourne that she started a wine bar and she actually documented the whole process from start to finish. So when she'd opened it, she had a line out the door. Obviously, that approach doesn't work for everyone, but I took on that built-in public, they call it, approach for a client that built a recovery space in Shellharbour, in New South Wales.

So we took them like what paint color should we use, what this, and we had founding members from the day the doors opened. So- Yeah, they're part of it before it even- Yeah. So you could do that with, oh, we're, we're gonna launch a new- [00:22:00] Menu ... menu, a new this, you know, bring, bring the people along the journey.

But, um, there is a session at the end you can book with me, so please do that 'cause I've got a gazillion ideas for you guys Anyone else gonna try something different? Yep. Okay, we'll move on. I'm gonna download TikTok. Great. So if you're listening to that segment of my workshop, is there something you wanna try for three months?

Is there something outside the box that you wanna try? Maybe you need a little bit more support, or you wanna build a strategy around it. Again, as I said before, come and join me in boot camp. If you're listening to this and there is... after the date of July 7th, 2026, you can still join 'cause I can add you on the end.

I am only taking on six people, so I'll let you know if it's sold out. I'll probably start another live round. That is one thing I forgot to say at the start. It is only six people 'cause it's six weeks, um, and I can't do more than one. So then I'll just probably roll into another one if it's already sold out, and I will let you know.

I could probably just extend the week two. So if you're listening to [00:23:00] this outside of July 7th, send me a message. I can let you know when the next live round is gonna be, if I'm planning on opening up another one. And yeah, basically every six people I will run a new one. So yeah, if y- if you're listening to this outside, go to the link in the show notes, check it out.

There might already be a live date picked, or you can just send me an email, information@contentqueenmariah, and I can let you know when the next one is on. You can reply to the email if you're on my mailing list. They go out every Saturday, so you'll see an email then, and you can hit Reply. But be a content queen or king, and remember that developing your strategy and story develops your business.

Thank you so much for joining me today, and please don't forget to share this with all your business and entrepreneurial friends. You can do this by adding it to your Insta Stories and tagging me, @thecontentqueenmariah, or just tell 'em about it. If you do rate and review, you may have seen we've had lots of amazing guests on.

I have been busy doing podcast interviews 'cause I'm getting lots of pitches. So we have reached 30,000 downloads of this podcast, which is incredible. I'm so excited. I haven't even had time to, like, digest [00:24:00] and celebrate that. Because we're getting into the charts, people are seeing us, they're listening to it more, and then other business owners that have expertise are seeing this, and they're reaching out to me.

So if you love the caliber of content that we're having, please continue to rate and review if you haven't done so already. And yeah, if you come over and follow me on Instagram, you can send me a message on what you thought, if there's any episodes you want me to do in the future, or if you wanna learn more about boot camp or how I can support you.

Please do TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn. I'm always there, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye.

PodcastMariah MacInnesmarketing, marketing advice, how to be authentic online, business ownerComment