There’s no denying that economically things are challenging right now, the “r” word (recession) has been mentioned too many times to count in the media and many business owners are understandably worried. When businesses are feeling the pinch, one of the first costs they cut can be marketing, but in fact the one thing you don’t do in a downturn is stop promoting yourself.
So what is “marketing”? In its simplest form it helps businesses make more money by increasing their visibility and putting them in front of bigger audiences. But there’s a myriad of ways to do this and social media is only one of them!
First Things First
Do you know who your ideal audience is? I mean really know them…. what their pain points are, their interests, what media they consume, where they hang out? If not, stop and take the time to research who you really want to work with, not just who pays the bills – there’s a difference. Once you profile your “people”, and you may well have more than one target audience, you’ll be in a far stronger position to know what content to create, and where to publish it.
The Power Of Social Media
Social media is unquestionably one of the most cost effective methods to promote your business and it helps build the critical “know, like and trust” factor. The more you show up, providing value and solutions to those pain points, the more credible you become and trust builds. We buy with our heads and our hearts, but gaining that emotional connection won’t come from posting sporadically, you need to commit to consistency; there is no magic wand we can wave to instantly reach thousands of followers. Posting three times a week minimum is necessary to build an online presence, ideally daily, but you don’t have to be on every single social media channel, it goes back to where your ideal audience is. Identify their channels and go hang out – social media is about being social, so engage with other people’s content. Don’t just post and run, start building relationships!
Video
Many of us dread being on camera but 80% of online content is now video and the engagement rates across platforms far exceed text and imagery alone. You only have to see the growth that TikTok gained during Covid; it’s now the fastest growing social media platform globally. Build your confidence through practice; lighting is critical – always light the eyes, frame yourself centrally and prepare a script. Remember people watch to learn from you, they’re not looking at your wrinkles; video really is the best way to show your personality and the expert that you are.
Lead Generation
LinkedIn is 75% more efficient at generating leads than other social media platforms but as I mentioned, people don’t engage enough. If you’re serious about using LinkedIn for lead generation consider LinkedIn premium or Sales Navigator and there are various ways of streamlining your search criteria to target your ideal audience. Adding 10-20 minutes a day to your diary to connect, engage and start conversations with your new connections will help you stand out from the crowd. Start from a position of value, i.e. how you can help someone, rather than “selling” in the first few comments – you wouldn’t ask a complete stranger on the street to jump on a call with you, so don’t do it online!
Nurturing Your Audience
We never actually own our social profiles, they are owned by the platforms themselves and in the unlikely event of one of them closing down, how would that affect your business? Moving your prospects into your own CRM (customer retention management) system enables you to stay in touch and nurture your audience. It used to take 7 touch points to gain an enquiry; now we need to be seen 30-50 times and setting up effective sales funnels and email marketing sequences continues to drip feed information into people’s inboxes so they get used to seeing you. The “tech” to set this all up is not as complicated as it may initially seem, and it’s measurable, so you can really gauge your ROI.
PR (Public Relations)
Social media can get you so far but there will come a point where you need to reach a wider audience. Whether you work with a PR agency or do it yourself, the key tip is research! Spend time looking at publications and journalists who write about what you do and remember, it’s not strictly about you – it’s about the value you can provide to their readers.
Customer Experience
Above all else, customer experience is critical. If you go above and beyond to serve your clients well and exceed their expectations, you’ll find they’ll naturally become your ambassadors by way of referrals and recommendations. We buy from people we trust and whilst we may not remember every little detail, don’t we always remember how a brand make’s us feel?
About The Author:
Elena Kale has been a professional marketer for 28 years, reaching exec team level before taking the leap to start her own business, Inspired Marketing & Media Ltd 6 years ago. She now works with SMEs across industry sectors providing both coaching and “done for you” marketing services helping businesses get on with what they do best and ultimately make more money. With clients ranging from start-ups, to larger, well established companies, her business provides a full service of marketing activities and is growing year on year.
To Find Out More Follow Elena On:
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/elena-kale/
And for more free visibility tips click here – https://elenaimm.kartra.com/page/get-visible.