I was just sitting here at my desk wondering why most entrepreneurs aren't where they want to be. And I really think that it is because they haven't set up a marketing system. You probably know that your marketing system is always running in the background. And I hope that you are making an extra push to get yourself out there in a bigger way each quarter.
When you set up your marketing system the right way you are:
Building your audience online on social media
Growing your email list
Nurturing leads
Making offers that turn into sales
The first piece in your successful marketing system is building an online audience. Why do you want an online audience? Well, for a few reasons such as:
You always have people to market your product and services to.
You get to influence ideal clients by educating them.
You get to position yourself as a leader.
You get the opportunity to gain insights on how your target audience thinks and acts and what moves them to purchase. (Think about asking a simple question such as "Will my customers sign up for this webinar?" and being able to actually ASK them before creating it!)
So the first question you want to ask is, "Where do my ideal clients hang out online?" I know you are probably thinking that there are a ton of choices, which is true! New social sites are always popping up. Following are what I think were the top ones in 2017:
FaceBook. Largest social site. Everyone and their mom is on here (seriously); pay-to-play platform for pages (meaning you must be willing to invest in Facebook Ads to get engagement and grow your page); instant reach (with FaceBook ads); opportunity to build a thriving community with Facebook groups.
TIP: photos and video work best.
Instagram. Your online magazine, polished and on point lifestyle photos. Ability to grow a following without paid ads and now connect with your followers even further with stories; Age range is 18-45; trendy and loves being on the cutting edge.
Youtube. People come here when they want to learn something; they are active buyers (looking for answers).
TIP: Educational, entertaining and inspiring videos work best.
LinkedIn. Similar to Facebook, but for business professionals. Great platform for gaining B2B (business to business) clients.
TIP: Optimize your profile with keywords and testimonials.
Pinterest. Visual search engine. ALL photos that can be linked back to your content. Great for targeting women of all ages and driving traffic to your website.
Now you have the opportunity to pick. Which one of these platforms feels in alignment for you (lights you up), and where you feel your target audience is at? Unless you have a social media team, I recommend picking one platform to spend 80 percent of your energy on first, before branching out to other social media platforms.
Here is what it takes to create an audience on ANY of these platforms:
Consistency. This means committing to posting with a regular schedule.
Create your social strategy with content themes. The follow four themes will help you to attract your ideal client.
Education (tips, how-tos, thought leadership)
Inspiration (draw emotion, behind the scenes, motivational sayings)
Entertainment (create humor, evoke laughter)
Culture (testimonials, behind the scenes)
Create connection and vulnerability. This one is very important and is one of my 2018 goals. In order to attract your tribe to you, you must willing to be open and vulnerable. Open means being helpful, sharing your story, expressing your struggles and letting people know that you understand them. It means really allowing yourself to drop into your heart. People want to do business with people who care.
Now that you understand some foundational steps to building your online audience on social media, watch for my next post where I will uncover how to turn your social audience into a thriving email list. This is the juiciest part because an email list is how you can create a wait list of clients who are waiting to work with you. Stay tuned for that post ;)
This week I am excited to be attending the Social Media Marketing World conference, the largest social media conference in the world. The presenters are a cross section of experts across social media platforms and content formats. I'm sure to return with what-is-working-now information that I will be sharing.
