Make sure you avoid best practices. 

That is, avoid believing your best practices are your differentiator.

Here’s your assignment:

Google the industry you’re in. So, “marketing for accounting best practices”, or, “marketing for roofing best practices – whichever industry you’re in. 

Your search will present the best marketing practices for your industry to try. So none of the ideas will differentiate you. They’re what everyone else is doing. I mean, it’s page 1 of Google, after all. 

I would say best practices is simply the ballpark you need to be playing in. Some of the things are relevant and you should do them, but they are not going to help you stand out, make your marketing more efficient, or represent your individual, unique brand. 

The one thing to do is what no one else is doing. That’s the essence of effective marketing. Look at the best practices in your industry and ask yourself what the one thing is that no one is doing yet. That’s the action that is probably going to serve you best.