In Florence, during the Renaissance, cobblers who made shoes for noblemen often walked barefoot themselves. They were so busy serving others that they neglected their own needs. The marketing industry is at risk of the same irony. Agencies, consultants, and freelancers excel at promoting others — yet many fail miserably at promoting themselves.
If you’re in the marketing business, you don’t just need digital marketing ideas. You need digital marketing discipline. You must be the cobbler who wears his own shoes. Because nothing sells a marketing service better than watching the marketer execute masterfully on his own brand.
Here are digital marketing ideas for the marketing industry — sharpened by science, made thrilling with history, and designed to keep you one step ahead.
1. Be Your Own Case Study
When Coca-Cola launched in 1886, it didn’t just sell syrup in soda fountains. It marketed itself relentlessly with signage, posters, and catchy slogans — before anyone asked for it. It became its own best case study in mass communication.
Action: Instead of just telling clients what you can do, show them. Run your own campaigns. Grow your own following. Make your agency blog rank on Google. If you claim you can generate leads with Facebook Ads, prove it by generating your own. Demonstration trumps explanation.
2. Build a Content Empire, Not Just Posts
In ancient Athens, philosophers like Aristotle built schools not just by teaching but by publishing ideas that lived beyond them. They built intellectual empires.
Action: Don’t just post on Instagram. Build a publishing machine. Create long-form blog articles, podcasts, and videos. Offer insights, research, and practical frameworks. When prospects consume your content, they’re already halfway sold before they ever book a call.
3. Master the Art of Positioning
When the East India Company dominated global trade in the 17th century, they weren’t the only traders. But they positioned themselves as the gateway to exotic goods. Positioning won them empires.
Action: In marketing, you can’t be everything to everyone. Decide: are you the “growth hackers for startups,” the “luxury branding specialists,” or the “SEO powerhouse for law firms”? Clarity creates magnetism. Without it, you’re just another agency in a crowded room.
4. Email: The Forgotten Gold Mine
In the Middle Ages, merchants sent handwritten letters sealed with wax across continents to maintain trust and trade. Communication was currency.
Action: Use email not just for clients, but for your own brand. Build segmented lists. Send weekly insights, cheat sheets, and campaigns that nurture. Don’t treat your own email marketing like an afterthought — treat it as your personal marketplace.
5. Use Social Proof Like Caesar Used His Triumphs
When Julius Caesar returned victorious to Rome, he paraded through the city with spoils and captives, sending one message: I win, therefore I lead.
Action: Flaunt your wins. Share testimonials, showcase client results, and publish mini-case studies. Don’t assume prospects know your value — prove it with evidence, consistently and boldly.
6. Experiment Publicly
Thomas Edison didn’t just invent the lightbulb. He failed publicly, thousands of times, and told the world about it. That narrative made him a legend.
Action: Share your experiments. Try new ad formats, new funnels, new outreach strategies — and publish the results. Clients love a marketer who tests on themselves first. It signals courage and competence.
7. Build a Brand, Not Just a Business
The Medici family didn’t just trade; they built a dynasty that symbolized power, trust, and influence. That’s why kings borrowed from them.
Action: Create a distinctive brand identity. Not just a logo, but a philosophy, tone, and presence. When your marketing agency becomes a recognizable voice in the industry, price resistance drops, and opportunities multiply.
8. Analytics Is the Compass, Not the Map
Ancient sailors didn’t have GPS, but they used stars, compasses, and logs to navigate trade routes. Without data, they’d drift into storms.
Action: Track your own performance the way you track your clients’. Audit your website analytics, ad spend, and funnel performance. If you can’t measure your own marketing, why should clients trust you with theirs?
Final Word: Eat Your Own Cooking
The marketing industry has always had two tribes: those who talk, and those who do. History doesn’t remember the talkers. It remembers the doers.
Digital marketing for the marketing industry isn’t just about applying tricks. It’s about embodying the craft. If you can’t market yourself, you’re the shoemaker without shoes, the general without victories, the trader without goods.
So publish boldly. Prove relentlessly. Experiment openly. Because in the end, the best marketing you’ll ever do for your agency is the marketing you do on yourself.
