Evergreen Marketing refers to marketing strategies that stay relevant over a long period of time.
Like evergreen trees, evergreen content (also known as timeless content) is always fresh and doesn’t lose its luster. It remains perfectly relevant despite new fads or drastic changes in marketing. Think back to the most popular toys or snacks that were around when you were a kid. Now, see if you can remember the ads that they ran for them.
Are the companies that made them still around? Can you hear the advertising jingle in your head?
A lot of toys and fad snacks don’t last, but the companies do. Just because a product’s popularity comes and goes doesn’t mean that the company fades. I mean, McDonald’s did serve pizza at one point, and seeing how there is a McDonald’s seemingly everywhere it is clear they survived their pizza mishap.
Yes, there are many types of marketing, but not all of them create the same long-lasting effect that evergreen marketing does. Evergreen marketing builds a strong brand awareness that will ensure customers remember your business and want to keep coming back.
Creating a successful evergreen marketing strategy will revolve around your business’ brand, not necessarily your product. Evergreen content is what you create to sustain your relationship with your target audience. This is where your business proves it can be helpful, trustworthy, innovative, and unique.
Basically, evergreen content is the Holy Grail of marketing 101 (or at least really close).
Why Evergreen Marketing is the Goal
Evergreen content is profitable to the businesses that use it because it appeals to many demographics across many niches. One evergreen ad, article, or advertisement can speak louder than several different non-evergreen ads combined.
Evergreen marketing helps small businesses:
- Save substantially
- Increase profits
- Gain more customers
- Gain popularity
- Reach many different demographics
Evergreen Marketing: Who Wore it Best?
In this article, we are going to explore five marketing ideas that you should try.
These business marketing ideas can help you create evergreen content that will outlast any changes in trends. While we’re at it, we are going to take some time to study “the greats.” These companies have paved the way for evergreen marketing and what it can mean for us today. These brands make business marketing seem effortless and have advertised across the board to all ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Their content has remained relevant to the test of time.
1. Offer Guides
Raise your hand if you’ve used a YouTube video or blog post to learn how to complete a task. Yes, even if it was a YouTube video on how to start a lawnmower.
Moving on…
People love to have a helping hand when it comes to learning a new task. Your business can capitalize on that fact by offering guides to your potential customers, followers, clients, and anyone else who’s interested. Guides make for some great evergreen marketing content because they will always be useful and relevant. They can be in the form of a blog or video. Choose your guide around your niche so that you are attracting an audience that will then be able to purchase your product or service.
Keep in mind the best way to reach your potential customers as well, whether that’s through social media or some other form of digital marketing. Maybe your target audience primarily uses social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. This provides you the opportunity to take advantage of Facebook videos and Instagram stories when you begin offering your guides.
Home Depot is a great example of a company that offers guides. They have free in-store guides available as well as free tutorial videos on their website.
2. Provide Expertise
Here is the chance to let your resume shine while creating an evergreen marketing plan template with minimal effort. If you run a landscaping business, then writing a few blog posts about landscaping tips or best practices won’t be very taxing. Providing expertise within your content marketing strategy is evergreen because it is something that doesn’t change often, if at all.
There are a lot of reasons people are drawn to content that centers around expertise. The main reason is that it provides a sense of trust. People will be eager to trust a nutritionist on the advantages of a vegan diet rather than a fashion blogger that wrote an opinion piece.
Dave Ramsey is a great example of how providing expertise can be incredibly lucrative. Ramsey, a financial expert and advisor, has created his entire business around his experience and his expertise in finance. People trust his advice because he once lived a life of financial hardship and has since found a way to pay off all his debt. His expertise provides great evergreen content.
This strategy is especially beneficial for small business owners so that they can use their expertise to reach their audience and assure them that they are knowledgeable about the category their business occupies.
3. Universal Topics and Needs
Your business may corner the market on a universal topic or need. The product or service that you provide may be the unifier among your customer base. For example, parenting is a universal reality for many like-minded people. If your business sells children’s clothing, then it would make sense to run your evergreen marketing campaign off of the general subject of parenting. Evergreen content could be parenting advice in a weekly blog post with the implementation of parent (customer) testimonials.
The Apple iPhone meets the universal need for communication. They aren’t the only mobile service provider, of course, but they are one of the most popular. Apple has the right idea in their sentimental ads that pull at heartstrings. People desire connection, creativity, and practicality. The iPhone meets all of these values in one swoop. Technology changes so frequently that you may think that Apple’s content is far from evergreen. Although technology changes, the human desire for social interaction doesn’t. That’s why Apple’s content is considered evergreen.
Contrast this to a typical seasonal content calendar that is only applicable to the user a few months out of every year!
As a small business owner, you could attempt this through email marketing. Compile an email list and begin sending out a weekly newsletter providing information on a given topic with the help of customer expertise and be sure to encourage them to also visit your social media platforms, website, or blog.
4. Specialize
Consistency in the product or aesthetic that you are providing is a fast track to evergreen marketing. Specialize in something. That doesn’t mean that your product or the general vibe of your business cannot shift or be changed over time. Providing customers with a consistent picture of what to expect has a long-lasting benefit and will provide your business with strong brand awareness. It makes your business reliable and it helps generate consistency in your customer base. Your evergreen marketing plan may not reach across every demographic initially, but you will still be able to convey a trustworthy presence.
Panera Bread has always taken a lot of pride in the food that they serve. The overall atmosphere of Panera Bread is relaxed and assuring. Despite having just announced an improved menu, they took pride in their business practices long ago. Their content was evergreen because customers knew what to expect and still do.
Specializing is one of the best ideas for small businesses because it gives them a chance to stand out and create a strong image. In doing so, small businesses may find that customers trust their brand and will help promote it through word-of-mouth marketing.
5. Use Common Language
If you want your content to remain evergreen then you need to use common language. This is one of the most important marketing tactics to add to your small business marketing strategy. You may use any trending terms in order to reach your demographic, but the general rule of thumb is that you want your content to be understood for up to seven years. Cultural references should also be used sparingly. It’s perfectly okay to reference things in order to make your point in the ad, but accept that this run might not be your evergreen gem.
You should also avoid using so many hyperlinks that the reader has a hard time understanding the topic. Remember, your content may outlast those links you’re referencing, so find ways to keep those links relevant. Explain things where appropriate and only hyperlink if it’s necessary and doesn’t take away from your content.
And, of course, never forget to leverage Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms where your existing content can help reach new audiences. Evergreen content works as a consistent lead generation magnet and a strong inbound content marketing strategy is vital.
Getting Started
We have taken the time to see five ways to use evergreen marketing with examples. Before wrapping things up, it’s important to take a few more things with you. Know that an evergreen marketing campaign may be the goal, but it won’t be found by putting your business in a box.
It’s important to be true to your brand and avoid doing things just because you think it will make your business appear timeless. Make the content relevant to your target audience. Try several business marketing techniques that mesh well within your niche. How-To Guides, Expertise, Opinion pieces, Q & A articles, and sharing the history of your business are all great Evergreen Marketing tactics to test out.
Try creating a marketing calendar. This will ensure you are touching on all your content marketing ideas as well as spreading them out in the most effective manner.
To create evergreen content think about what sets your business apart from the rest. What can you offer customers through your content? Now, it’s time to take these business marketing ideas, get your team together, and create something timeless.
